Pantry moths...how do I get rid of them?

[Sue G in PA]

I've had these little pantry moths flying around my house for months. I keep my flour, sugar, brown sugar, etc. in plastic containers w/ lids. I keep cereal in the boxes but lids are closed, etc. Why are they here? And, more importanly, how do I get rid of them? I'm noticing little holes in clothes now and wondering if it is the moths. Duh, right? I guess I didn't even think that pantry moths would eat clothing. Moths are moths though, I guess. Any suggestions?

[Mx5]

We have them, too. What I ended up doing was pulling everything off my pantry shelves and inspecting each box of cereal, etc. Guess what? Pantry moths love my dog treats. Blech. They also like some kinds of cereal, oatmeal, and even rice. I washed down the walls and shelves, and now I make the kids put our cereal inside ziplock bags, and placed in the original boxes. I had to get rid of the dog treats, but when I buy more, they too will be in ziplock bags. I found that the moths can get into oatmeal containers even with the lids on... so again, ziplock to the rescue.

 

Sometimes you may be able to see the larva or eggs on the ceiling, near where the walls meet with the ceiling. Wipe 'em down.

 

I found that by eliminating their foodsource, their numbers have dropped dramatically. I've read that putting cedar chips in the pantry may help. I have been putting dried bay leaves in the pots and pans I store in my pantry, and haven't found 1 moth in them (I had found some before). I have been hesitant to buy pesticides / traps for them, but that is what I may end up doing.

 

The Pantry Pest Traps are supposed to work well, and are available at most local hardware stores for around $6. That's what I will probably do when I remember to do so.

[DIY-DY]

We have them, too. What I ended up doing was pulling everything off my pantry shelves and inspecting each box of cereal, etc. Guess what? Pantry moths love my dog treats. Blech. They also like some kinds of cereal, oatmeal, and even rice. I washed down the walls and shelves, and now I make the kids put our cereal inside ziplock bags, and placed in the original boxes. I had to get rid of the dog treats, but when I buy more, they too will be in ziplock bags. I found that the moths can get into oatmeal containers even with the lids on... so again, ziplock to the rescue.

 

Sometimes you may be able to see the larva or eggs on the ceiling, near where the walls meet with the ceiling. Wipe 'em down.

 

I found that by eliminating their foodsource, their numbers have dropped dramatically. I've read that putting cedar chips in the pantry may help. I have been putting dried bay leaves in the pots and pans I store in my pantry, and haven't found 1 moth in them (I had found some before). I have been hesitant to buy pesticides / traps for them, but that is what I may end up doing.

 

The Pantry Pest Traps are supposed to work well, and are available at most local hardware stores for around $6. That's what I will probably do when I remember to do so.

 

Vacuum each and every little hole along the sides. Blech! They do love to hide in those things.

 

Everything Mx5 said is what we did, too, except we switched to plastic bins rather than ZipLock bags.

 

The food that doesn't seem to be contaminated, may still be somewhat at risk. It's a good idea to throw it in the freezer for a few days before moving it to another type of container.

 

It took me about two weeks, vacuuming several times, wiping down religiously, and segregating everything, but we managed to get rid of them.

[Doran]

 

 

 

Here's the thing. The moth larvae hatch out of your grain products. So, yes, even if you keep them in sealed plastic or glass containers, you could still end up w/ worms. Inside the enclosed bins. It's just one of those things that we don't really want to consider. :shudder:

 

So, once you have the moths, it's a tricky business to rid yourself of them without tossing almost ALL the grain products which are currently on your shelves. Hard pastas don't seem quite as susceptible as some things. Nor are newly purchased products. The longer you've had it, the more likely it is that it's infested -- either by the moths which have morphed from the worms and are now busy laying eggs, or because it's had time for the little eggies that came with it to hatch.

 

Be vigilent. Suck up, smash, toss, and clean. Once you think you have the upper hand, don't buy grain products that you can't use up in about a month's time. If you need/want to keep something longer than that, store it in your fridge or freezer. Someone here (can't recall who) also said that you only need to put something in the freezer for 24 hours to kill the eggs that come with the product. After that, the sealed containers apparently do the trick. I'm still relying on storing things long term in the freezer. I have room there, and that method seems to have worked for me.

 

Good luck,

Doran

[Sue G in PA]

I really don't need to deal with this right now. But, knowing full well that dh will NOT deal with it, I suppose I must. So, toss my grains (like I have the money to waste it), buy new and only buy what we'll use. Oh ugh and double ugh. Thanks for your help. I didn't realize it was this bad.

[Doran]

I really don't need to deal with this right now. But, knowing full well that dh will NOT deal with it, I suppose I must. So, toss my grains (like I have the money to waste it), buy new and only buy what we'll use. Oh ugh and double ugh. Thanks for your help. I didn't realize it was this bad.

 

 

How old are the grains you're considering tossing?

 

Honestly, if it was me, I'd sift through it first (I've read that sifting was actually a product of needing to weed out the bugs...but that's another story). I don't mean literally sift. But, look at it hard, long, well. If you see no evidence of bugletts -- or the telltale webs that they seem to leave behind -- , then I'd take the grain (flour, barley, what have you) and put it in the freezer. Try the 24 hour trick if you don't have room, and maybe you can salvage some of the stuff you have. If you KNOW it's ancient and been gathering critters for a long time (like that box of Bisquik you've forgotten at the back of the cupboard, or the Ramen soup that your kids will no longer eat), toss that first and see how you end up.

 

I'm sorry. Sometimes life just keeps on coming, doesn't it?

 

Doran

[EKS]

This works.

 

Do a thorough cleaning. Throw everything away that could possible be contaminated. Besides the obvious grain based stuff, they also like chocolate.

 

Then when you bring new stuff in, this is the procedure to follow.

 

Everything that is going to be stored for a long period (flour, sugar, rice, etc) needs to be in containers. So as soon as you bring some home from the store it goes into the container.

 

Now here is the most important part. Put a bay leaf in each of the containers. You can just put it in the flour (but you have to be careful not to get it in the cookies! Ask me how I know!). Or you can tape it to the inside of the lid. Either way works.

 

The cereal, etc that is eaten over a period of days needs to be closed with a clip. Then make sure that it is eaten quickly.

 

Pasta needs to be bought in the sealed plastic bags rather than the boxes. Same with other grain products if possible. Otherwise, put them in containers with a bay leaf.

 

I never had a problem again after I did these things. Good luck! Pantry moths are terrible!

[hana]

I agree with what others have written, but most specifically with the brand of moth traps (Safer) that someone else mentioned. That is the only brand that has worked for us. It does an excellent job at eliminating the pantry moth population.

 

Good luck! Pantry moths are like the lice of the kitchen (well not quite as bad, but awfully difficult to eliminate entirely).

[PiCO]

Ziploc bags didn't work for me. The mealworms just ate through the bags.

[M&M]

This is what I learned.

 

Pantry moths eat through plastic, love chocolate, and hot peppers.

They lay eggs in the seams of the carboard boxes and packages that processed food comes in. They can also be in the flour...etc.

I cleaned everything out of my pantry, washed everything down, and still they stayed

They lay their eggs everywhere and if you go away on vacation, they will infest everything and will go everywhere. I found moths in toys, closets, food, my basement rafters. It was horrible! :tongue_smilie:

 

 

I do think that they like clothing as well, one of my favorite dresses has several holes in it.

 

 

We used these traps

 

http://www.gardensalive.com/search.asp?ss=pantry+moths

 

I am very careful about what comes into the house. I often freeze grains or store them in the fridge. If is see even one of those moths I will go crazy cleaning everything and the traps will come out. No, the traps will come out anyway....I'm not taking any chances:001_huh: !

 

Good luck!!

[Tammy]

and....I do have two of them! LOL

 

Tammy

[Gamom3]

If a box was open I would throw it out. Come to find out, they were in the brown rice, dog treats, and cereal.

Once we got everything out, we brushed off the larva eggs and sprayed the adults with an organic insect spray that Dh bought for his orchids.

I read on the internet to keep your rice in the frig for about 2 to 3 days to kill any bugs that are in there...sounds gross.

 

I started putting all my flour, grits, and rice in the frig.

I have not seen a moth since!They made me feel like my house was nasty!! I look every time I walk into our pantry!!:eek:

[Blue Hen]

We found them this morning in the dog treats, inside my pantry....

 

I'm cleaning out my pantry --- do they live in tea bags? coffee beans?

 

Thanks

Carole, whose sons are even grossed out by these things!

[Guest Miss Bootcie]

I grew up in a country town and these pests are quite common. First let me tell you what I KNOW for a fact: It does NOT matter if you transfer your dry good to airtight canisters, plastic ziplock bags or other tightly closed containers, when you get home from the grocers. I have transferred my grain and they still got into my sealed containers LATER. My Mom had cereal that had never been opened. They were sealed inside the unopened plastic bag of cereal that was inside the box. Do some scientific research. As I understand it, the grain comes from the mill that way and I guess when you get them later instead of initially, it is probably because their eggs hatch later. Anyway they are quite common in flour, meal, rice, grits and pasta. I have never, ever seen them in sugar, salt or coffee, never - Not even once! Unless someone says they have seen them in sugar, coffee or salt, I am inclined to say that they probably are not very fond of that type of grain...that texture.

 

Anyway, they also like spices. I have had them there. I have had them in grits, rice and pasta and I have seen them on chocolate inside the candy wrapper...not actually crawing in and out of the chocolate itself, but inside the wrapper crawling on the wrapper. It is true that you should look for their webbing inside your containers of grain. :001_unsure:

[Slartibartfast]

I grew up in a country town and these pests are quite common. First let me tell you what I KNOW for a fact: It does NOT matter if you transfer your dry good to airtight canisters, plastic ziplock bags or other tightly closed containers, when you get home from the grocers. I have transferred my grain and they still got into my sealed containers LATER. My Mom had cereal that had never been opened. They were sealed inside the unopened plastic bag of cereal that was inside the box. Do some scientific research. As I understand it, the grain comes from the mill that way and I guess when you get them later instead of initially, it is probably because their eggs hatch later. Anyway they are quite common in flour, meal, rice, grits and pasta. I have never, ever seen them in sugar, salt or coffee, never - Not even once! Unless someone says they have seen them in sugar, coffee or salt, I am inclined to say that they probably are not very fond of that type of grain...that texture.

 

Anyway, they also like spices. I have had them there. I have had them in grits, rice and pasta and I have seen them on chocolate inside the candy wrapper...not actually crawing in and out of the chocolate itself, but inside the wrapper crawling on the wrapper. It is true that you should look for their webbing inside your containers of grain. :001_unsure:

 

I put my stuff in the freezer when I bring it home.

 

I got pantry moths once NEVER AGAIN!!!

 

I had a package of straws and the straws were full of them!! *gag*

[Momling]

Pantry moths are my arch nemeses. You have to be a bit crazed to get rid of them completely. I realized this in our second invasion when I found them in a container of Tums.

[texasmama]

They can also lay eggs in cardboard boxes and paper bags from the grocery store, which some people keep in the pantry. Once you get them, they are very hard to get rid of. I freeze every grain that comes into the house and keep what I can in the freezer. I use hard plastic containers for the rest and haven't had an issue in quite some time. Look on the underneath/bottom of shelving.

[mykdsmomy]

My DH works for Terminix and his advice to me (when we had the same problem) is "you have to find the source". They live in grains. You have to basically take everything out of your cabinet to find the source :( It stinks but it's the only way to get rid of them.

 

Keep everything that is grain based in jars or containers. Good luck

[StephanieZ]

Throw out ALL your grains. Sorry, but you've got to do it. Then vacuum around the pantry every few days, throwing out any more things you find them in.

 

Buy more plastic containers and store all newly purchased grains in sealed plastic containers. If you are aggressive, you can get rid of them in a couple weeks. If not, you'll be doing battle for eternity.

 

BTDT

[Cinder]

We had them once, many years ago. I completely emptied the pantry and threw out a lot of stuff--they had been in a bag of brown rice. Blech! Even though I cleaned out the whole pantry, wiping down shelves, inspecting cracks, etc., they still came back. You have to check every single item in your pantry--every one. I found them on the bottoms of metal cans and even inside the box of ziploc bags! I ended up bug bombing the pantry after that. I'm sure you don't have to bug bomb, but do check everything.

[Poke Salad Annie]

I have used those sticky fly paper thingies you get from Dollar Tree or Dollar General. I leave these hanging in my pantry and change as needed. This in combination with cleaning shelves with a bleach solution, tossing any offending products, and checking new packages has solved my problem.

[Violet Crown]

Meal moths are one reason we started limiting our pantry to the minimum we need to get by, and putting anything that would last more than one week into the freezer. That way when we get an infestation (about once every other year) we can just inspect, use (if it seems uninfested), and toss, keep nothing but the cans and bottles, and clean, clean, clean.

 

They love dried fruits; that's where most of ours go.

 

They eat right through sealed plastic. So far they are stymied by cans and bottles.

[plansrme]

Just sayin'.

[HollyDay]

our pest control guy told me the pantry moths can eat through most plastic storage containers, so any plastic storage is a bad idea. When my pantry had moths, I had to take everything out of it. Every single container had to be opened and inspected, yes they love dog treats! All paper containers (macaroni and cheese, dog treats, pasta) had to be pitched. All plastic containers (rice) had to be pitched. They also like to get under can labels. So, all cans had to have their label removed, and the glue. I used a permanent marker to write on each can what it was. The walls had to be wiped clean with a bleach solution. Everything going back in the pantry had to be in a glass container like a mason jar. I bought some Lid Lock plastic containers from WalMart that are supposed to be bug proof. It is a pain......