Question about Maggots?

Question

If a maggot got on your skin, will it try to dig into it?

Answer 1

Not if the skin is unbroken, no. If you had a very serious wound then the maggot might well try to dig in.

Answer 2

If you're talking about regular, run-of-the-mill maggots you find in garbage and such... the general answer is no. Generic housefly maggots only eat decaying organic matter which is why medical maggots are being bred by hospitals to remove dead tissues from patients.

There ARE, however, some fly species that lay their eggs on other animals to become hosts for their larvae. There IS a human Bot Fly which preferentially lays an egg on a person and within minutes, the larvae hatches, finds a pore to burrow into and then digs its way under the skin to feed. Once there, your body produces a tumor as a response to the invasion and the maggot grows.

If you live in the U.S. you are lucky since these Bot Flys are not native to the area. They can be found in Central and South America.

Answer 3

Only if the skin is already broken beneath it. Maggots only like to eat dead tissue, so they are actually used to clean gangrene out of infected wounds these days. Weird, huh?

Answer 4

No it certainly would not eat into your skin.

Maggots are now being used in medicine, low and behold they can take a horrible open wound and close it over time with so little scarring than any plastic surgeon would have no chance of doing.

They only eat dead and decaying flesh.

Answer 5

NO ... maggots only eat dead flesh. they used it during the civil war to clean up infection ... it helps the wound to heal quicker.

Answer 6

YES. be careful

Answer 7

No.