# Help - maggots in the toilet! "rat tailed maggots" - the larvae of the drone fly.



## eviecarwash (6 Oct 2007)

Hi there,
For the last two days we have noticed maggots swimming in our toilet. (one or in pairs). Of course we nearly died so I looked it up on the internet and they're "rat tailed maggots" - the larvae of the drone fly. Now I don't know how they got into our water system but we're fairly freaked out! Has anyone else discovered these things - they're about 2 cm long with a long tail. They're brownish in colour. Should we contact the environmental health agency, cause I think they're a sign of contamination in the water??
Any help would be greatly appreciated cause we're fairly disgusted here!


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## mo3art (6 Oct 2007)

*Re: Help - maggots in the toilet!!*

Have you checked your cistern first to see if they are originating from there?


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## D8Lady (6 Oct 2007)

*Re: Help - maggots in the toilet!!*

Eeeeewww! Tons of bleach.


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## eviecarwash (7 Oct 2007)

Hi, we can't take the cistern lid off - it's attached completely but I don't think they're coming from there.  I'd say they're coming from the trap.  Anyway, we put tonnes of bleach down, and no sightings today thank God.  If anyone has any further suggestions or has had this problem, please let me know!
Thanks guys.


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## ajapale (7 Oct 2007)

Out of interest, are you connected to a town sewer or do you have a septic tank?


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## damson (7 Oct 2007)

Don't do what I did out of curiosity: . Ewww!


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## lemon125 (8 Oct 2007)

damson said:


> Don't do what I did out of curiosity: . Ewww!


 

This is going on memory from college but I think those maggots live in areas of extreme pollution and high BOD levels so they would not be living in your cistern as its too clean there. Its more than likely that they came up your drain pipe into your toilet. If you have a septic tank maybe its a sign that its full and the maggots are living on the top of it and its time to remove some of it?

The first time i saw these things was on a farm, hundreds crawling up the walls, they came from the slatted shed that hold cattle manure. It was full too, when it was emptied they maggots disapeared. Most dies when they came out of the slurry. They are not nice and freaked me out when I saw them.


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## Leo (8 Oct 2007)

*Re: Help - maggots in the toilet!!*



alser said:


> i think mo3art means the attic cistern


 
It'd be unusual to have a cistern in the attic, and again, this would be far to clean/ oxygen rich to support such an infestation.


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## Teabag (8 Oct 2007)

Fishermen call maggots 'gentles'. Fantastic coarse fish bait. Just thought I'd add that...


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## eviecarwash (9 Oct 2007)

Hi guys,
Thanks for all your replies.  We don't have a septic tank we're connected to the town supply.  I put tonnes of bleach etc down and we haven't seen any since so hopefully that's the end of them.  Thanks again guys!


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## lemon125 (9 Oct 2007)

Your lucky you dont have a septic tank if you were putting tons of bleech down the toilet! It'd kill your system. 
It might have been a problem with the towns sewage supply, pumps tripped or something. You could have easily has raw sewage coming out rather than the maggots!


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