The Botfly lays its eggs on a smaller fly or a mosquito, which carry them to a host, whereby they burrow in. They exist all over, preying on horses and cattle, but the human variant “dermatoba hominis” only occurs in Central America.

They live off the host until they get big enough (after about 8 weeks) after which time they work their way out and pupate into another Botfly.

Theodore

My Botfly was called Theodore. I think I caught him somewhere in the Toledo district of Belize, when I overnighted in Punta Gorda. (Other than that I spent most jungle time in Elijio Panti National Park, although our volunteers living there for over a week received none.)

He was lodged in the right side of my back about halfway down. At first it just felt like a mosquito bite, but after a week or so, it started to hurt about 2 or 3 times a day. A real niggly pain like an intense stinging or someone pushing a needle in.

However, I wasn’t too sure that it was a Botfly. Everyone wants one (just for the story) and they’re quite rare considering the number of visitors to Central America. Eventually, I brooched the subject with those around me, and they confirmed that there was infact a tail poking out from the lump.

It was a nice gimmick, and a bit of a head turner. On getting back to the UK there was a vast polarisation of views of its existence. From weeks 3 to 4, it was starting to get quite big. The pain only came about once a day, but was becoming quite intense and lasting about 25 seconds.

Botflies should be removed, as they can cause a bit of a mess in your flesh, rather than left to “harmlessly drop out”. I could actually feel him moving around under my skin and he would cause a great deal of bleeding, which ruined a few t-shirts! Time for him to come out methinks!

Dead or Alive

There is much debate about the methods of extraction. Perusing the videos on youtube.com will show a variety of methods. Generally, the last resort should be going to the doctor, as the average GP’s inexperience of anything tropical will result in them slicing it open to take it out, leaving you with a nice scar. However, they know what they are doing more than you might!

It is inadvisable to kill the Botfly in your skin, as there is a high chance of infection, nor trying to squeeze it out whilst fully alive. It has “anal barbs” and will hold on for dear life. It it ruptures or part gets left in you, it spells big trouble

The Birth

The consensus amongst those I have spoken to who have them, and have removed many, seems to be to stun it with some vaseline and Duct tape/clear dressing, or some other method of restricting its airway. After several attempts with normal dressings (helping to stem the bleeding and thinking we should kill it), I realised that its a stubborn little bugger and won’t easily die.

We eventually used a clear dressing (like a large square of transparent sticky-back plastic) for about 5 hours. When we removed the dressing, it was stunned enough so that it couldn’t hold on easily, and a firm squeezing from underneath popped him out. Of course the wound should be then dressed, as it’s now a gaping hole that is very prone to infection.

Tips

All quite easy actually.

• Get them out sooner rather than later (do as I say, not as I do…), as they can lead to further problems such as infections
• You can easily tell if you have a Botfly. It’s a bite that doesn’t go away and starts to hurt and weep, and has a breathing tail poking from it(!)
• Don’t be disgusted. It has chosen you! Fairyness aside, so what? It’s a cool story.

Further Reading

• Wikipedia Article on Human Botflies
• Botfly videos on Youtube

Disclaimer

Note: These are my recommendations from my experience. I take no responsibility for what worked for me being done to you. See the doctor if you’re unsure!