|
Post by sleepymom on Jun 24, 2010 9:04:54 GMT -5
I`m smack in the middle of a basement clean out too. I haven`t found maggots, no food down there at least, but what is worse (to me) is some sort of bugs that eat paper. Even some sort of larval worm (not a maggot, I think?) that drills right through books. Books are *important* to me, but still I`ve let a couple boxes sit neglected in the basement for years. Plus boxes of papers & other random stuff from stash & dashes years ago. Most of this should be trashed, but I have to sort & shake things out because most of it is my DH`s & he wants to save as much as possible. I know exactly what you mean about your DH hiding it better. Mine has the whole basement & around his desks & I`m not allowed to throw anything away, but expected to keep his areas plus the entire house up, and the problem is all mine Sorry to turn your thread into my rant, but I`m right there with you
|
|
|
Post by AnnieOkie on Jun 24, 2010 10:28:09 GMT -5
Dear Little Engine .....I have tears in my eyes from reading your post. I've been there, except for me the maggots were in my kitchen sink and dead and dried up. It was probably one of my worst moments. You have been given good advice. Be diligent on keeping the flies out and you will have no more maggots while you work to restore your basement. You can do it!!!!!
|
|
|
Post by momof3boys on Jun 24, 2010 11:43:35 GMT -5
Dear LittleEngine, You are not dirty or awful! You are a wonderfully courageous person for sharing your story with us and we're happy your here. I once had maggots in my bathroom. I will finish this story later.
|
|
|
Post by littleengine on Jun 24, 2010 12:24:23 GMT -5
Thank you all, so much, for your encouraging words!
I can't post much right now, because all four of my kids are home and want Mommy's attention, but I stayed up until 4 a.m. last night, and got a ton of junk out of my basement. What a relief to see it gone! (Today is our garbage collection day, so by 10 a.m. it was off my curb and gone forever.) I had many weak moments of thinking, oh what if I try soaking this and cleaning it, I paid good money for it and someone out there could use it...but I didn't allow myself to do that, just kept THROWING it out. There definitely was some good stuff in there, but the time and, more importantly, emotional energy it would have taken to clean it up was too high a price. Not worth it. Now, with my rotten moldy dishes gone forever, and a million mildewy things that I was hoping to be able to use, gone gone gone, I feel lighter and so much better. There is still a ton of work to do. But the worst stuff, the truly filthy stuff, is all gone.
|
|
|
Post by clutterfree on Jun 24, 2010 12:39:56 GMT -5
You've made HUGE progress, not just in cleaning it up but in the way you think about the stuff.
Go you!
|
|
|
Post by mouseanne on Jun 24, 2010 13:05:07 GMT -5
Sweetie, I am just so so so proud of you!!! All gone! I got maggots one time, leaving for vacation mid day, had picked up mcdonalds breakfast sandwiches. one was half eaten, and I told girlchild 13 to put it in the outside trash cart. Did not. O! my! maggots all over the laundry room floor...*shudder* and the flies... too. I used flypaper (swept up the maggots) for the flies. Just a note: anyone using flypaper, use disposable gloves (I buy hairdressers gloves by the 100 box - this is not the same as the plastic wrap kind that come in the DIY box) when you take the paper down, put your hand deep in a kitchen bag, grab the strip, pulling the bag inside out around the strip. You will not be able to use the bag for more trash, the strip is too too sticky. THERE IS ARSENIC IN THOSE STRIPS, IS POISON. USE GLOVES. I have friend in mid 50's now, when a teen, had a bad shin burn from a motorcycle exhaust. would not heal. They put a "very special medicine" that would get rid of the dead & infected skin, but she was to NEVER look in the dressing. She said it "felt weird" When she told me about it (we became friends years later), I said, "wow, I never knew anyone who had maggots used on them." She just stared at me & said that explained the "crawly feeling." !!!
|
|
|
Post by Script on Jun 24, 2010 15:06:30 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by clutterific on Jun 24, 2010 16:27:44 GMT -5
Awesome, littleengine! I'm so glad you were able to get the worst stuff out! Also glad you seem to be feeling a bit better. Clutterific
|
|
|
Post by justplucky on Jun 24, 2010 16:50:01 GMT -5
I know others have said this already, but it bears repeating:
YOU are not dirty, YOU are not awful. The mess in your basement is these things, but you are not your mess.
YOU are strong, because you are facing it.
|
|
|
Post by harleyquinn on Jun 24, 2010 17:42:56 GMT -5
post deleted by poster
|
|
hopehope
Banned
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,815
|
Post by hopehope on Jun 24, 2010 19:57:40 GMT -5
bleach. bleach bleach bleach. little engine, i found two maggots today (ugh) and didn't even have the courage to write it down. You deserve that medal!! you are valiant!! chazzakah.
|
|
|
Post by mrsmess on Jun 24, 2010 21:01:18 GMT -5
I know others have said this already, but it bears repeating: YOU are not dirty, YOU are not awful. The mess in your basement is these things, but you are not your mess. YOU are strong, because you are facing it. Well said! Go Little Engine.
|
|
|
Post by howardsgirlfriend on Jun 25, 2010 14:40:39 GMT -5
How brave of you to face the maggots! And even more brave to share it here! You'll give someone else the courage to face their biggest fears, too.
|
|
|
Post by DJ on Jun 25, 2010 16:51:12 GMT -5
i thought maggots for wound debridement seemed way kinder than doing it by hand. as far as you being a bad person... the squalor in your home is not a gauge of your worth, morality or value as a human being. the squalor sounds nasty disgusting gross grody filthy vomit inducing horror. yup. sounds bad. but you are not your items. you are not your home. you are not your possessions. yes it might indicate a problem. it most certainly indicates a problem. but it is a problem. it is a part of your life. it isn't the sole descriptor of who are you.. in some communities you'll see people snark when someone else is described as being "autistic" or "manic depressive" i agree that PC language can go overboard but i also see and believe there is a huge value in identifying someone as "a person with xyz as a problem" they are not in themselves just the problem... you are a person with squalor. You Yourself Are Not Squalor. it is an aspect of your life that you are now dealing with and kudos and good job to you on it GROSSNESS AHEAD------ as far as maggots in animal wounds... they must always be immediately removed because there are different kinds of maggots. some flies will lay eggs in perfectly healthy tissue, burrow in, lay eggs, and the larva feed on healthy tissue. it's never safe to leave unidentified maggots in tissue. Like Eagle said the ones used for medical purposes are raised in sterile lab conditions and from identified strains going back generations. bot flies are nasty vile little things and some can even use the innocent lil house fly as the host for their young. they can cause painful lesions, hardening of the skin, infection and other problems. Despite some maggots being able to be used for healing medical purposes maggots should always be immediately removed from an animal wound because you can't be sure of their origins. sorry, forgot poster's name, but they were intrigued by maggots used for healing purposes when they are such a problem with strays... it's the different varieties that mean they must always be immediately removed. didn't think you'd try maggot experiments with rescues yourself just one of those things i thought i'd throw into the maggot topic
|
|
|
Post by Bizzy on Jun 25, 2010 21:32:27 GMT -5
Hi! go ahead and vomit if you need to-- it is yucky as heck -- but it is not a moral issue. IT IS NOT A MORAL ISSUE. Back when I was tidy I had maggots on the kitchen floor due to a roomate who made her own sourdough bread and was messy with that. She was a cleany in all other ways- but just her dropping flour etc on the floor attracted the little buggers. I freaked out and and at that time ( being tidy and self righteous) I thought - I cannot live here any more! I was such a brat. But since-=-- I have ran into many critters that should not have been there - but were--- like roaches- no matter how clean I was- and other ones- that I invited. Maggots? ick-- but -well- they are only worms and certainly not as dangerous as having rat droppings-- it is ok- you are doing the things you need to do. Do NOT let it become a moral issue- just keep dealing with them. I cleaned houses for years and found LOTS of yucky things- in houses where people maintained well. Just keep going--- toss your noodles if need be and move on. You are doing fine. Bizzy
|
|