Just one fly can lay up to 300 eggs at a time and is drawn "to the odor of a wound or natural opening on a live, warm-blooded animal."

The New World Screwworm is a larva or maggot of the New World Screwworm fly, which lays eggs in a wound or live tissue like the nostrils, eyes or mouth, according to the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife. The eggs hatch into painful larvae, and then maggots “screw into flesh with sharp mouth hooks” leading to a parasitic infection.

The screwworm can be devastating to crops and livestock, as it can cause serious, often fatal damage to living things.

The flesh-eating fly larvae, which were recently detected in Mexico, were declared eradicated from Texas in the 1960s.

South Texas hunters and outdoor enthusiasts will need to practice caution and monitor animals potentially affected by the New World Screwworm disease.

The New World screwworm fly, which affects livestock, wildlife and pets, is creeping closer to Texas after decades of eradication.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sent out an advisory warning hunters, livestock owners, and outdoorsy folks near the southern border to watch out for a flesh-eating parasite known as the New World Screwworm.