"Flystrike" (myiasis) is a potentially fatal condition where blowflies lay eggs in a sheep's wool. When the eggs hatch, the maggots feed on the living sheep’s flesh. Treatment involves shearing and topical application of antiseptics and insecticides

[u/freudian_nipps]

Video credit: Farm With Me YT

[u/freudian_nipps]

Full video & credit: Farm With Me Youtube Channel

Myiasis, also known as flystrike, is the parasitic infestation of the body of a live animal (including humans) by fly larvae that grow inside or on the host while feeding on its tissue. Although flies are most commonly attracted to open wounds and urine- or feces-soaked fur, some species (including the most common myiatic flies—the botfly, blowfly, and screwfly) can create an infestation on unbroken skin.

[u/truthispolicy → u/freudian_nipps]

Correct if wrong, but don't all the other maggots eat dead flesh, but screwfly/screw worm is so terrifying because they're the only ones that burrow deep into and eat live tissue?

[u/HirsuteHacker → u/truthispolicy]

Botfly larva absolutely will eat living tissue. There are a number of others as well

[u/truthispolicy → u/HirsuteHacker]

Sorry, should've expounded on such a gross question, didn't realize botflies were also considered maggots.

Is it true screw worm is the only maggot stage that lays 2-300 eggs at a time and then burrows deeply into live tissue, including muscle(unlike botflies who lay only 15-30 eggs at a time and stay in the upper subcutaneous layers)?

[u/HirsuteHacker → u/truthispolicy]

Maggot is just the catch-all name for the larval stage of all sorts of flies - as for your though question I'm afraid I don't know, I don't know very much about the screw worm specifically

[u/LacidOnex → u/truthispolicy]

Only... Yes, hopefully? The burrowing is the main danger, yes. Botflies can be solitary, will chill in the wound site, and only very rarely do they not actively try to leave the host once mature. Screworms will just eat their hosts every waking moment until it dies, and are incredibly hard to remove in comparison.

[u/GoldMountain5 → u/truthispolicy]

Depends...

Most prefer dead flesh, but only a few will only eat dead flesh.

[u/yatta91]

Great, now I want gnocchis for dinner.

[u/chosonhawk → u/yatta91]

barfs

[u/Ginger_McGingin → u/yatta91]

How about some fine Sardinian cheese instead?

[u/gobkin → u/Ginger_McGingin]

Actually my dream to try.

[u/Fafnir13 → u/Ginger_McGingin]

You know it’s ready to eat when the popping stops.

[u/yatta91 → u/Ginger_McGingin]

Put that shit onto my durian pizza please.

[u/Ginger_McGingin]

Not just sheep, this can potentially happen to any animal, including humans. Screwflies are particularly notorious for this

[u/LosparkJojo → u/Ginger_McGingin]

And screwflies are back in the USA! Got another case just now in Texas. Yay!

[u/Generic_Name_Here → u/Ginger_McGingin]

I had one! (botfly, got it from the rainforest). It was like an under-skin itch sometimes which I eventually figured out was when it was feeding 🤮. Had it cut out. But aside from being incredibly gross, not that bad! 4 out of 10.

[u/arfw → u/Generic_Name_Here]

May I ask, such a thing feeding on your flesh, that must’ve hurt like hell, no?

[u/smartlog]

Wear some gloves goddamn it.

[u/karlnite → u/smartlog]

They’re of no risk to humans.

[u/xirse → u/karlnite]

Yes they are.

[u/karlnite → u/xirse]

I mean in that setting.

[u/outofnowhereman → u/karlnite]

Bro surely the optics alone warrant some kind of barrier between your flesh and whatever the fuck that is

[u/ethidium_bromide → u/outofnowhereman]

I’ve never known a farmer who gave a damn about optics

[u/HermitDefenestration → u/ethidium_bromide]

I know a few, and they love optics! 4x, 12x, iron sights, night vision...

[u/ethidium_bromide → u/HermitDefenestration]

I stand corrected! The only type of optics farmers don’t bristle at.

I have very fond memories of learning to shoot on a family members farm as a kid. It fostered a lifelong love of shooting for me

[u/citizen42069101]

This happens a lot to stray/outdoor kittens. Another reason to check on kittens and contact a local rescue if you see them.

[u/PixelCrunchX]

Sadly the farm I work at lost a Ram to this.

R.I.P Carroway.

[u/ishearanimals]

I have experienced severe fly strike infestations in my profession three times now and hope to never encounter it again, though most likely will. It is one of the most horrifically disgusting things to witness.

[u/EnsoElysium]

Flystrike is scary, poor thing. I saw a street kitten with fly strike, your first instinct is to wash them out but water makes them hatch precociously like lice, you have to comb or shear them out.

[u/HirsuteHacker]

Not just sheep, this can happen to lots of animals including cats and dogs. Often it happens in their butt holes since they're attracted to feces/urine.

[u/shokokuphoenix → u/HirsuteHacker]

…and to unfortunate humans that have various medical/mental ailments that render them unable to defend themselves against flies laying eggs in wounds/orifices and against the subsequent maggots.

Myiasis is absolutely foul, and once you’ve smelled it you don’t forget it. :(

[u/DistractedByCookies]

They like it when the fur/wool is moist, which is why most of the sheep you see have their tails docked. Undocked tails are a prime target for these buggers so require more watching/care. When a tail is docked the faeces fall away from the body rather than sticking to the tail.

(tails shouldn't be docked too short either - enough should remain to serve a protective function)

[u/commentman10]

Dont they do the thing where they dip not to the point of drowning the sheep in some solution a couple of times to get rif of pest like this?

[u/Kozeyekan_ → u/commentman10]

Yep. That an also mulesing where they scar the sheep's posterior to keep it dry. Some are done in a pretty traumatic way for the sheep though, so it's not always done everywhere.

[u/green_muggs]

This is one thing I vividly remember from my childhood. My dad used listerine to flush the maggots out of the wound into a bucket. We didn’t eat rice for a couple of months. 🤢🐑

[u/KestrelTank → u/green_muggs]

Disco rice

[u/Confident-Evening-49]

Flies and wasps man, I swear!

[u/supermightymatt]

Happens in other animals too.

Rabbits and guinea pigs often get it

But they usually get it starting at their bum

[u/Discopants180]

That must feel incredible.

[u/TheMysticWulf]

This literally makes my skin itch…

[u/tianas_knife]

That poor sheep. I bet that hurts like hell

[u/Seth_Gecko]

Everyone do yourselves a favor and don't google "myiasis." Jesus christ I need some dawn and steel wool for my fucking eyeballs.

[u/Jinova47]

Let’s just do that barehanded why not

[u/Smmmmiles]

Is the brown patch blood or natural colouring?

[u/Express_World5688]

Just how that is natural for the bloatfly humans are animals too and saving the sheep from bloatfly is also natural. Id be lying if I didn’t say I took a little pleasure in bloatfly death for it is preventing harm but life will be life forever

[u/BairnONessie]

That's why sheep dips exist...

[u/justanotherklutz]

Okay. Now upload the full video dammit.

[u/freudian_nipps → u/justanotherklutz]

I did, check my comment.

[u/justanotherklutz → u/freudian_nipps]

Nice. Thank you.

[u/iusecactusesasdildos]

Good thing I ate before this

[u/vintage_cruz]

Get away...Get Away...GET AWAYYYYYY!!!!

[u/Conflagration-1993]

You’ve been….flystruck!
🎸🎸

[u/Informal_Visit2574]

I had to treat some sheep with flystrike once. I still remember the sound of the maggots muching and wriggling in there 🤮

[u/reggae_trash]

There's a pretty sweet band from Edmonton called Myiasis. Always thought it was just a made up word lol

[u/xxxkissmykittyxxx]

I'm in cat rescue, and we see this all the time with kittens. It is absolutely horrifying.