Federal government plans to air-drop sterile flies over Texas to fight flesh-eating maggots

They mate with females in the wild, and the eggs laid by the female aren't fertilized and don't hatch. There are fewer larvae, and over time, the fly population dies out.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Agriculture. 

The USDA expects a new screwworm fly factory to be up and running in southern Mexico by July 2026. It plans to open a fly distribution center in southern Texas by the end of the year so that it can import and distribute flies from Panama if necessary.

The New World Screwworm was considered to be eradicated in the U.S. since 1966, but has recently emerged as a threat following an outbreak in Mexico. 

"Due to the threat of New World Screwworm I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, & bison imports through U.S. southern border ports of entry effective immediately," she wrote on X. 

The pest is endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and some South American countries, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Despite being found in forests and other wooded areas, they often seek hosts like cattle or horses in pastures and fields, per the above source.

Between 1962 and 1975, the U.S. and Mexico bred and released more than 94 billion sterile flies to eradicate the pest, according to the USDA.

Fox News Digital's Khloe Quill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.