Really need some help!

[Elijahs Momma]

I'm extremely embarrassed to put this out there but I just went to take the diapers out of the diaper pail and found maggots *shudders*. I didn't see a lot of them, but I didn't thoroughly examine it - I just saw a few and that was enough for me. What should my plan of action be?

[basje]

Yuck! What an unpleasant surprise. I've not had this happen before but what I would likely do is, get some rubber gloves and brush on the maggots in an outside trashcan. Then stick them in the washer to soak for an hour with super hot water and vinegar. Then wash as usual and inspect.

Good luck!

[IndigoKoi]

Coming from a student nurse approach, are you very sure they were maggots? It is also a possibility they could be tape worms, in fecal matter (I hope i'm not offending you) but tape worms are quite common in children. If they were very skinny it's possible they were tape worms and not maggots, in which case you would have to take your child to the pediatrician. But, if they were really maggots, I think PP suggestion is good, but also make sure you de-contaminate your diaper pail and kill any remaining eggs/larvae. Bleach would work of course, but there are probably some natural solutions out there. I know Thyme oil works for bacteria the same way bleach does, but I don't know about eggs and larvae.

[mumkimum]

How about a and

Haven't BTDT, but I've read quite a few 'yikes, I found bugs in my diaper pail threads' over the years so I'd peruse those a bit. You're so not the only one.

Gloves and really hot water sound like good ideas, as does a touch of bleach or a good tto soap. Actually, basje sounds like she has a good plan there in general. I think the chances of tapeworm are slim, and the occurrence of finding larvae (esp. during the hot summer) are higher right now. Lots of bravery to you in dealing with it.

[myk]

normally i wouldn't use bleach on diapers, but if there are eggs (fly, tapeworm, you name it) i would do a single wash with bleach and the hottest water i can find. i'm not sure if vinegar or any gentler disinfectants can kill eggs.

sorry you had to find that!