I am writing a very brief post this week, but also a very important one. My clients regular comment that maggots are a good thing for wounds as they only eat the unhealthy tissue. This is not true.
The modern flies have a life cycle of egg-maggot-fly-egg. The modern species of maggot will eat healthy tissue as well as dead flesh. This is really important to know, as wounds must be covered from fly attack.
We can purchase sterile maggots that are a special species and they only eat healthy tissue. They can be ordered from a company and arrive wriggling in the post he he These maggots can be really helpful in chronically infected wounds. However, please note, they are a species specifically bred for this purpose and are not the maggot of the common fly!!
Two ways to protect wounds from fly attacks is to bandage, or to use a fly repellant that can be used adjacent to wounds, or some can be used on wounds. In addition, keeping wounds clean and free from infection also helps!