The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 835: Attack Of The Screw Worms
Feb 16, 2026
Caleb Hubbard, a veterinary entomologist at New Mexico State University specializing in pest threats, walks through the danger of New World screwworm. He covers how screwworms attack living tissue, historic outbreaks like the Florida Keys event, and the sterile-insect eradication strategy. The conversation also touches on detection, reporting, and limits of current control tools.
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Florida Keys Key Deer Crisis
- In 2016 Florida Keys outbreaks, screwworm infested threatened Key deer, burrowed through skulls and ate brains, prompting emergency eradication.
- Authorities eradicated the outbreak using massive sterile-fly releases and local response.
Single‑Mating Biology Enables SIT
- SIT works because female screwworms mate only once, so mating with sterile males prevents viable offspring.
- Large, repeated sterile releases are necessary and have been successfully used on islands and local outbreaks.
Sterile Releases Require Sustained Effort
- Expect sterile fly releases to be repeated over weeks and delivered by ground boxes or airplane drops; monitoring distinguishes sterile from wild adults.
- Authorities must sustain releases until collected flies show sterility and cases decline.