tl;Dr
screwworms are a species of fly that lays eggs in open wounds or orifices, after which the larvae will feed on the hatching site, typically causing more screwworms to lay eggs. they were mostly eradicated via releasing millions of irradiated, sterile males into their population, a thing we still do every month, but for whatever reason, they broke through the biological barrier keeping them back and have made it all the way to Mexico.
the infection of eggs and larvae is incredibly painful and horrifying, and while humans are much less likely to be affected, the agriculture sector will take an enormous hit to their livestocks if it keeps spreading.
I’m sorry, but this really is a ‘nuke the entire site from orbit’ situation. The loss of the southern US and Central America will, of course, be mourned as a terrible loss, but it’ll be worth it to make sure those things are dealt with. Permanently.
Holy. Fuck. I grew up on a farm. I’ve seen some shit; that just comes with the territory when livestock, heavy equipment, and farm implements are involved. Fly strike alone will have you napalming flying insects.
That video of the myiasis infection in the dude’s nose… <shiver>. Clive Barker wishes he could make horror like that.
Edit: I’m an idiot. Myiasis == fly strike. The species of fly is the variable.
Time to make more cuts in disaster relief and disease control.
Man, don’t read this article unless you have a strange desire to have nightmares.
Look, all you need to do is fill the hole where they burrow into you with Vaseline and cover it with duct tape for a couple days. Except for your pets, of course. For them you have to squeeze it like a zit and when you can see the face, grab it with a pair of pliers and slowly…gently…extract it.
Or, maybe, like, have a functioning government.
I think you’re thinking of a bot fly…which is a whole other type of horrible…
I am apparently. I’m more familiar with them, had a dog with what I assumed was screwworm when I was a kid, but maybe it was botfly as well. I didn’t actually know there was endemic botfly in the Western hemisphere.
So it’s mostly in South America and Central America I think…in the long long ago a website Rotten.com had surgical pictures of a Bot Fly larvae being removed…(Gross in its own right) From a toddlers eye ball.
I mean I am glad that kid who would be at least 35 now had removed and all, but HOW THE FUCK DID IT GET IN THERE‽
Probably another area where the government will save money to finance more millionaires tax breaks.
Send them to Mar-A-Lago please.
sounds woke to me, I will ask Trump to ban the use of the word.
Thanks, I hate it
Trump will get right on that. 🤦🏻♂️
This makes me glad that I immediately hunt down any fly I find in my home until it is dead. I had a sudden fly infestation years ago and have never been lazy about even just one fly in my home since.
I did not need to see that deer picture. Lmao
