Ep 192 New World Screwworm: Oh-oh here they come

This Podcast Will Kill You

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Health & Fitness, Science

4.8 • 17.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s the stuff nightmares are made of. A fly lands on an open wound and lays hundreds of eggs, from which hatch countless ravenous maggots. There they writhe, devouring flesh, insatiable and relentless. Every minute they dig deeper and deeper until flesh gives way to bone. Even the species name of these maggots inspires a shiver of fear: Cochliomyia hominivorax - “man eater”. This nightmare of a fly is the horrifying reality for many mammals in South America and some Caribbean islands, particularly cattle. And it seems to be making a comeback in the places it was previously eradicated - Central and North America. What exactly this fly does, why it’s such a problem, and how we came to defeat it (temporarily) all feature in this week’s episode. Sterile flies? Archival footage? Gnarly descriptions? This episode has it all.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is exactly right.
0:06.3	Two rich young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over,
0:11.0	but one of them will end up dead and the other tried for murder three times.
0:16.2	It starts with a dream, a nature reserve and a spectacular new home.
0:20.6	But little by little, they lose it.
0:22.5	They actually lose it. They sort of like nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control.
0:32.3	Listen to Hell in Heaven on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:41.0	One screw worm infestation that goes unreported could erase the tremendous gains that have
0:46.2	been made in the southwest against this insidious multi-million dollar pest, the screwworm.
0:51.6	Eradication workers can protect the gains, but only if they know where the
0:55.7	pest strikes. You can help. Stopping screwworms is your concern, especially if you own
1:01.0	livestock or a dog or cat or any other pet. All of you can help by finding and reporting
1:06.5	screw worm infestations. Examine your animals at every opportunity.
1:11.6	Look for cuts, scratches, or other wounds.
1:14.6	If you find a wound that contains insect eggs or larvae,
1:17.6	take about a dozen worms and all eggs from the wound.
1:21.6	After you've taken the samples, treat the wound with approved insecticides.
1:25.6	Place the samples in a container or jar, in alcohol or water.
1:31.3	At this point, speed is important.
1:33.3	Call your county agent.
1:35.3	He'll tell you where to send the samples.
1:37.3	He'll tell you what action to take.
	...

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