Vacuum cleaner infested with dirty maggots!

[Zero999]

I've been helping my parents to sort out their shed today and found an old vacuum cleaner. At first we were using it to clean the garage and I discovered some moths flying out of it. I opened it up, more moths flew out and I discovered a load of filthy maggots. Most of them are living in the filter but there are also some in the pipe, cylinder and underneath the filter near the motor.

What can I do about this? I'm worried the maggots will turn into nasty moths which will lay eggs in furnishings, producing more fabric devouring maggots.

I've tried brushing the filter but it didn't remove them. I'm not sure if the filter can be cleaned with hot water otherwise I'd wash it with a strong detergent. At the moment the vacuum is lying on the lawn, in the hope the birds will eat the maggots.

[Zero999]

[Gyro]

If it makes you feel any better, they're larvae, not maggots (fly).   

They've probably come from vacuuming a moth infested woollen carpet or rug.

[Red Squirrel]

Mmm extra juicy protein.   

Might be able to use a pesticide like Cyonara or something and they will hopefully all die off.

[maginnovision]

Do your cleaning and then take the thing to a dump. Problem solved. If you can vacuum up a good amount of dirt/dust they'll likely die.

[Nusa]

It's clearly a replaceable filter. If you don't want to try cleaning it, buy a new filter.

[Monkeh]

It's a wet vac - that filter should be the type which is washable. Dunk it in a bucket of boiling water.

[soldar]

Diluted bleach. I use it on everything and it works wonders. I always have a spray bottle at hand.

[joseph nicholas]

Spray with Popoxur it works, sort of, for roaches.

[taydin]

I would attack it with compressed air. But only if an air dryer follows the compressor. You don't want to humidify the filter and cause all of the dust to stick to it.

Or if you don't have an air dryer after the compressor, you could wash the filter and then hit it with compressed air.

[james_s]

Can't you just buy a new filter? I recently replaced the one in my shop vac, I think it was only about $10.

[coppercone2]

is anyone else paranoid about their shop vac after seeing this lovely thread?

[Red Squirrel]

Nevermind shop vac just realized I have not emptied my central vac in like 5 years.  Almost scared to go open that canister lol.

[james_s]

We had one of those central vacuums when I was a kid. The thing was more trouble than it was worth, often clogging the pipe if someone accidentally vacuumed up a toy or something. Also the hose was a pain to lug around and never seemed quite long enough to get where you wanted it. Eventually my parents bought a regular upright vacuum cleaner and abandoned the central one.

[coppercone2]

batteries

[GK]

Mmm extra juicy protein.   

I had weevil larvae in a packet of pasta a few months ago. Only noticed when I was about to pour the pasta out and saw a couple of the bastards floating on the top. I fished those two out and tossed the uncooked rest of the packet. It was late, I just wanted to eat and I wasn't going to check inside every fecking penne. I just threw on the sauce and thereafter didn't notice any difference.

[Gyro]

Let's not forget that any bag of flour will develop weevils if left for long enough, it's impossible to filter out the eggs. Use until the black bits get too large. 

[Electro Detective]

Take it outdoors and hit it with some low odour crawling insect spray, and game over..   

The next lot of invaders won't even think about sqwatting, much less visiting your vac   

[james_s]

I wouldn't spray poison in there, remember when you turn on the vacuum it's gonna blow that vapor out all over the place.

[rsjsouza]

Let's not forget that any bag of flour will develop weevils if left for long enough, it's impossible to filter out the eggs. Use until the black bits get too large. 

That reminded me of a couple of Lindt assorted boxes of chocolates that my parents bought but were forgotten in the back of a cabinet. About a year later when I opened these boxes, several squares had small holes in them with maggots that had the exact same color as the milk chocolate. The boxes had no holes or gaps on them - they were really bred from the inside.

[james_s]

I remember opening a box of muffin mix once that had larvae crawling around in it. The allowable amount of "filth" in food products is pretty gross really, best not to think about it.

[Zero999]

Thanks for the replies.

I doubt the larvae got in there though vacuuming a moth infested rug, because it's not been used for ten years. It's possible the eggs have been dormant for that long, but I think the eggs were more likely laid this year.

I'm hesitant to use poisons because they will be sprayed out of the vacuum cleaner's vent, when switched on. Is there anything I can use which won't leave any residue? I'd also rather remove the larvae, rather than simply kill them because they'll rot, which won't be pleasant either.

Yes, it's a wet vac' but it has separate filters for wet and dry and it's currently fitted with the latter. The wet filter is lost amongst the rubbish. I could try washing it in hot water and strong detergent, but it's not designed for it and it will take a long time to dry. I'll have a look into buying a replacement filter. Using the vacuum for the last time, before dumpling it could also be an option, but it's my dad's and I think he wants to keep it.

Would putting the filter in a bag and deep freezing it work? That might kill the larvae but it probably wouldn't harm any unhatched eggs and there's still the issue of removing them.

I like the compressed air idea, but don't have a compressor. I wonder if canned air would do? I suppose I need to be careful not to blast the little buggers to pieces, which would be messy.

Currently the vacuum is in the back garden, protected from the rain by a bucket. Is leaving it outside for long enough for the larvae to turn into moths and bugger off, a viable solution? I suppose it could take awhile and there's the risk of them damaging the filter if they run out of dirt to eat.

Has anyone else had problems with household appliances or electronics being infested with vermin? If so, what did they do?

[SiliconWizard]

I'm hesitant to use poisons because they will be sprayed out of the vacuum cleaner's vent, when switched on.

I absolutely second that. Any chemicals that you're going to use will be diffused for quite a while when using the vacuum cleaner... unless you can wash them off thoroughly, but really can you not find a replacement for the filter? And if not, maybe you can even build one yourself out of some piece of new A/C filter?

[Gyro]

I doubt the larvae got in there though vacuuming a moth infested rug, because it's not been used for ten years. It's possible the eggs have been dormant for that long, but I think the eggs were more likely laid this year.

Well that's good at least.

I'll have a look into buying a replacement filter. Using the vacuum for the last time, before dumpling it could also be an option, but it's my dad's and I think he wants to keep it.

I see it's a Lidl one... Aldi have a nice shiny metal one in on Thursday. 

Would putting the filter in a bag and deep freezing it work? That might kill the larvae but it probably wouldn't harm any unhatched eggs and there's still the issue of removing them.

Yes it would. I've seen references to putting woollen clothing in a sealed bag in the freezer to kill eggs.

Has anyone else had problems with household appliances or electronics being infested with vermin? If so, what did they do?

Well I used to work with traffic junction controllers that used to grow some spectacular ants nests if there was any sort of breech in the pitch infill around the cables in the base frame.

[coppercone2]

lol , this is like a episode of the simpsons right now

your finances are truly hermetic

burn the fucker before it hatches