How to Feed Flies to Produce Maggots
The female fly can lay up to 500 eggs over three to four days. The eggs hatch into larva, called maggots, which are used to feed reptiles and as fishing bait. If you want flies to lay eggs to provide you with maggots, you will need to supply the right foods to attract the flies, encourage breeding and provide a suitable place for the females to lay their eggs. This can all be done in one, correctly supplied compost pile.
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Things You'll Need
- Decomposing animal and vegetable matter
- Sugar or a soft drink
- Horse manure
- Rotting meat
- Water spray bottle or hose with spray attachment
Instructions
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Make a pile outdoors of rotting vegetable matter. Pour sugar or a soft drink onto the pile and add horse manure or rotting meat to draw in and feed the flies.
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Spray the pile with water once a day with a spray bottle or a hose, just enough to keep it damp, not wet. Add more rotting vegetable matter and horse manure to the pile if you do not observe flies congregating.
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Add decaying animal matter, such as rotting chicken, to the pile to feed the female flies after breeding. Wait approximately four days. Observe female flies laying masses of small, white eggs on the pile. The eggs will hatch as quickly as 12 hours after they are laid, and the maggots will burrow into the pile. If you do not observe maggots after two days, add more sugar and animal protein on the pile. Wait four to six days and check again for maggots.
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Tips & Warnings
Spray the eggs several times a day with water, if necessary, to keep them damp. The eggs will not hatch if they dry out.
Female flies will lay the greatest number of eggs in an environment between 77° and 86° F.
Position your compost pile far away from your home. It will smell badly, and flies can carry disease-causing bacteria.
References
Resources
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