18 tips to fight off bin pests

Maggots are tricky to control, so prevention is your best option. And that means keeping flies away. Here's how to do it:

• Keep the bottom of your bin dry so that things don’t rot – place newspaper, or a handful of straw or sawdust underneath it. Or, for your food waste caddy, cat litter pellets made from natural wood are biodegradable and great for absorption.
• Keep your rubbish dry. So throw as few wet things in your bin as possible and let waste drain before throwing it away.
• Wrap meat or fish in newspaper or put it in a (biodegradable) bag before throwing it away. Do the same with nappies, animal faeces, used sanitary towels and the 'mat' from meat packaging.
• Movement- keep your bin out of the sun and empty it regularly. This will decrease the rate of rot.
• Clean your bin regularly with hot water and soap.

Once you have them, it is very difficult to get rid of maggots. But with these tips, hopefully you can:

• Place your bin out in the sun with the lid open. Maggots hate light and dry out quickly. With a bit of luck, birds will come to snack on the maggots - so you'll be doing something good for nature, too!
• After emptying your bin, clean it with soapy water. Make sure to rinse thoroughly with water and wipe the bin dry as well. Note: Your Brabantia bin has holes in the inner bucket and most of our outdoor bins are not waterproof either, so you can't leave water in them.
• Always sprinkle some salt or lime over your rubbish. This will dry out the maggots and kill them. 

Even with fruit flies, prevention is better than cure. This is how you do it:

• Store suitable fruit in the fridge. Fruit flies won’t lay their eggs in the cold. Wash fruit that you put on the fruit bowl thoroughly in advance and eat it before it is overripe.
• Preferably throw fruit and food waste in your compost bin outside. Close it properly and empty it on time.
• Rinse dirty glasses immediately. Rinse beer and wine bottles well before putting them away.
• Make sure there is no water at the bottom of your plant pots. This is not good for your plants and attracts fruit flies.
• Do not use fruit-scented detergents (including lemon). Fruit flies love it.

• Place a container with vinegar and a drop of washing-up liquid near the source. Fruit flies will dive in and drown. Wine works too, by the way - just leave a little in the bottle.

• Regularly throw some vinegar with washing-up liquid down the sink. Fruit flies also like to hide in the drain.

• Cut an orange in half and stick some cloves in it. Good against nasty fruit flies and odours.

• Put a basil plant next to your fruit basket or rubbish bin, it will make fruit flies flee. They don't like dill, sage, garlic and lavender either.

• Fruit flies do not like draughts. So open some windows or doors.