Yuck, yuck, yuck...
So I went over to see my son and Dad for the weekend. My 23 year old son stays with Dad at the cottage. Dad is afraid of falling, and feels better with company. It is only for a couple months.
The two of them muddle along. They do not share meals, as Dad eats food I would not feed my dog and my son likes real food. My son also eats later and Dad is in bed by 7 pm.
So along I come, I arrived late on Thursday after Dad was in bed.
Friday morning I am making breakfast and there are fruit flies everywhere. Dad has left an overripe half eaten banana on the counter. Worse he has left compost on the counter, some of it on a Tupperware lid. All around it were maggots. I can handle much, but maggots are the limit. I spent an hour bleaching the bejesus out of the counter and it still gives me the creeps thinking about it.
I talked to my son and he has been working 11 hour days and grabbing take out. He had not been keeping an eye on what Dad was doing.
Next I pull the garbage out of the pail as it is garbage day. Yup the garbage can was also crawling. Lastly was the floor on the other side of the table.
I showed Dad, he watched me clean up, and later that day he put compost on the counter again. There is a compost pail, but he will not use it.
This is the same man who got his knickers in a knot, because my son was feeding the cats on top of the dryer. Dad was concerned that he puts food on it when putting things into the deep freeze or removing things.
Dad has not had a diagnosis of dementia and most people think he is as sharp as a tack, but he is not all there. Nobody who appears to be unconcerned about maggots is 100%.
Of course the house is full of flies.
My son is going to be cleaning up after Dad from now on, and we are hoping he goes back to his place at my brothers house soon
Remind me some time to tell you about when we used maggots for healing. I have heard (though find it difficult to believe) that the practice is coming back. You have a gangrenous leg. You tent it. You put maggots in the tent. And a bit later you have the most BEAUTIFUL wound, completely clean of infection (which the maggots happily ATE), looking like hamburger for all the world--clean and red and healthy and ready to heal.
I will spare you further stories. Only a nurse could enter that kitchen and be quite OK. Well, no, actually, would be yelling at the grandson. But then if YOUR grandson is like MY grandson (of a similar age), they wouldn't hear us over the thingies stuck in their ears while they hold their cell phones up to their visual perview.
You did tickle me. I could just see it. I could feel it. I could live it. But I hope not to.
Yes, I know about the use of maggots to clean wounds. First reference I heard of was in the US Civil War.
Maggots, while head-swimmingly repulsive, aren't likely to do anyone any harm. The best way I know of to deal with them (apart from running outside with your forgotten carving dish and throwing it bodily with its contents straight into the dustbin and not looking back - method 1) is to treat your chickens. They know a good protein feast when they see it wriggling around and will be delighted to help.
I'm going to go and lie down now. I'm not feeling at all well!
I agree that it is not an ideal situation. We have an emergency plan in place for my son to implement if needed. He is not responsible for any hands on care, but he will be cleaning the kitchen after Dad.
Dad mostly manages, he washes at the sink. He would not pay for homecare to come in and I do not have any extra funds.
Dad will not be there much longer. He will be returning to my brother’s house, likely by the end of the month.
Really, a 23 yr old should be enjoying his time off of work. 11 hours a day is a lot. Figure in an hour to get ready for work, another hour for travel? Thats 13 hrs out of a 24hr day. He sleeps 8, it leaves him with 3 hrs for himself and he has to clean up after someone? He should be out enjoying friends.
A Lowe's employee suggested apple cider vinegar (or maybe just plain vinegar - I can't remember now) instead of a fly trap, as there was a problem with the little tiny fruit flies in my father's house.
I set out two little plastic containers, one containing cider vinegar and the other containing just plain vinegar. The little containers restaurants use for butter, tartar sauce and other condiments work quite well. I used a nut pick to poke holes in, from the top.. Flies could get in, but not out. There was an obvious difference in what the little pests preferred.
I wish I could remember which remedy was the best, but the little cups gathered most or the flies in a few days, then the rest just kind of staggered in.
Yes this likely will be Dad's last summer at the cottage. He has been going there since he was 16.
Luckily my son's job is right next door. The neighbours are doing a complete renovation on their house and it is a short, less than a minute walk through the trees. But yes, his days are long and the work is physical. That is why I was not blaming him for the state of the kitchen.
We are hoping Dad heads back to my brother's sooner than later.
Garden Artist, if only they were just fruit fly maggots, yes, there were some of them, but most were house fly maggots. I made a fruit fly trap, when I was over a month ago. I replaced it this visit. I also hung flypaper.
I use wine and a piece of banana in the fruit fly traps. It works well.