Cuterebra "warbles" - Page 1

First, let me say OMG that was the most disgusting, single event of my life. I will have nightmares. Let me explain: a small lump that looked like a sebaceous cyst was found on the shoulder of one of my dogs, while visiting with her new owner. Naturally, I squeezed it, expecting a little bit of liquid and this THING squeezed out onto my hand. I'm holding my hand up to hubby asking him what the heck it is. OMG its a WARBLE, FLY LARVAE. Scarred for life. I can handle blood, guts, abscesses  etc.. this is beyond the most disgusting... yuck.
My question for the masses is has anyone else dealt with these vile parasites? Will topical flea control effectively control them? Will an internal parasite medication or dewormer control them?  I've been searching the www for the past 2 hours and can't find much of anything. I'm not a big fan of pesticides, but the yard and field is going to be sprayed with something.
Melissa

Nothing repels them really.  Botflies are horrible bastards.  My kitten (who is now a healthy 3 year old) once had one...in his THROAT!!!  He was a stray, and we had caught him to get him medical treatment so he could be placed (he never left....surprise), and oh....my poor little guy :(  In his damn throat.

It actually changed his voice once it was removed.

They are very painful, and the wound needs to be kept clean

Is the warble still inside the dog? If so you will need to take him to the vet who will remove it. The opening generally needs to be enlarged to make the hole big enough to pull the warble out. Even if you manage to kill the worm inside the dog, it still has to come out. Are you using a flea preventative? That might help keep the bot flies away. Otherwise just go over the dog from head to toe daily.

I see you did get it out, Now you can use an antibiotic powder on the opening, it will heal. You must have found the warble while it was still immature. It's almost impossible to get a mature one out without doing a little surgical work first.

Yes Blitzen, the whole, nasty, disgusting, disturbing thing came out. The only thing I can think is that it was an immature one, pretty small. The swelling under the skin was maybe the diameter of a dime, and what came out was no bigger than my fingernail. I have never had one on any of my animals, and if I can somehow prevent it, will not have one again. Disgusting.

I use frontline plus usually during the summer. It gets cold enough in the winter that we don't have a problem with the other pests. My other 4 plus 2 indoor kitties got their first dose of frontline plus today.

Xeph, so glad your little kitten healed with no problem. I knew they infected squirrels, but until the research today I had no idea they would infect a dog or cat.

Melissa

They infect horses, too

Here's what my kitten looked like once the botfly was removed....it earned him the nickname of The Angry Bullfrog


Where the larvae was removed from


 

Melissa
Did that stop you from bitting your nails? LOL Cera is doing good!!!

My Papillon has had three botflies. Because he is be coming incontinent we were letting him sleep out side last summer. I noticed him licking his flank area one day and found a large raised lump. I clipped off the hair where I could then see a tiny hole in the center. I cleaned it and decided to keep an eye on it. The next day I could see the larve pushing its tiny head through the opening. Only then did I know what it was. I squeezed it out.

The next two were better hidden and I didn't see them until they were much bigger than the first. I now examine my dog extremely thoroughly every couple days. With all his thick, long fur they are easy to miss. FYI I live in western Washington State and hardly anyone knows they're a problem here.

Hey Paul! I wasn't going to divulge who Cera's new person was, but I was sure you wouldn't be able to resist LOL I've checked all of the dogs over several times ha ha, hoping and praying I don't find another one of those nasty, vile little creatures. Nope, no nail biting for me... dip my hand in boiling hot water and grab the eye bleach. Some things you just can't unsee. Just keep an eye on her to make sure no more pop up. After her reaction with you, I had no doubts that you wouldn't have any problems traveling with her :)

Melissa

Ain't that the truth about eye bleach?

When Barrett had his, I was super pissed, because I had JUST received him back from a vet tech.  I had actually spent the previous TWELVE HOURS picking ticks off him, as an entire friggin nest had hatched on him.  I brought him in to the vet to have him checked out and to have his throat cleaned up, as he had (what I thought was) tick remains stuck in him that I couldn't get out.

They gave him back to me, and I went to check their work, and that effing creepy ass worm POPPED OUT of his throat like it was teasing me while it (as I felt) killed this little kitten I was working so hard to save.

I had been ok up until that point, but when I saw that worm, I burst into hysterical crying.

I think bot flies are the only thing on the planet I hate more than ticks and spiders.

I had this happen to a few of our dogs, I put food grade Diatomaceous earth over the hole, the next day it was gone. From there, it healed up quickly given proper care :) No problem. These were young worms though, I have never seen an adult worm in an animal and don't know how to remove that.