My husband bought some birds seeds at a pet shop. I have just found out about them by your article, and I was looking for a safe way to rid them. Food moths This extends to pantry moths found in areas … Hopefully that makes sense! What a pain in the butt these little guys were. Our ceiling looks like a polkadotted grey paint job since these things have silky grey powdered kinda wings and our ceilings are stucco. Lord I can’t believe I just found out about these things. I use a toothpick to clean it out and sprayed it with Clorox cleaner that has bleach. I hyperventilated and puked. They came in on some boxes of food from a .gov food pantry program. Glad we could be of help. Thanks for the feedback on getting rid of pantry moths! I heard about a product called “No more weevils” from a friend. The second bag foils the larvae. Under the rims of supposedly air tight containers, in the edge of where your shelf hits the wall. While these pests are most likely to be active in the spring and summer when the soil is most malleable, they remain active in the winter by burrowing even further into the ground to escape the colder temperatures. Hi Jean, P. D., Sandown, NH. Thanks Janet. Will Eating Pantry Moths or Their Eggs or Larvae Make Me Sick? Adding these wasps to your other cleaning habits (I would suggest releasing them every other week for 2-3, even 6 months, just to be sure you haven’t missed a breeding cycle) works wonders, and when the food supply runs out (new moth eggs) they die. My life is now 100% devoted to killing these things. I REALLY FREAKED AND I CAN’T EAT EGGS ANYMORE. Though pantry moths are not known to cause serious harm or spread diseases, they contaminate food in the kitchen or the pantry which becomes expensive to replace. It seemed new to me. I bought this Panty Moth Spray which I am beginning to think is a rip since all the testimonials now appear to have been written by the person who makes the stuff. I have to do the rest of the house. my husband, daughter and I spent all day yesterday getting rid of those pesky things….we kept trying to get rid of them at night by killing them …..but now we have put the kabosh on them by reading this article……stay tuned. I just finished emptying out my pantry that was infested by these moths. Then saw 2 little worms on cupboard, still … whatever, more stuff from outside. As a person fighting an infestation for over a year, I can tell you what will not work! Also, it has no poisonous substances and is thus safe for people, pets, and the environment. They are underneath the bottoms of shelves. I DUCK TYPED THEM INSIDE HOPING THEY WON’T HURT THE MOTOR. These soft-bodied pests rarely grow larger than three-sixteenths of an inch long, making it difficult to spot a few of these pests outdoors. , Oops! Should I also clean cabinets that contain dishes and glasses? Want to get rid of grain moths? I cleaned the hell out of the my kitchen but they keep re appearing. IT WOULD NOT BE FARE TO GIVE YOUR STUFF AWAY OR SELL IT BECAUSE YOU WOULD JUST PASS THE PROBLEM TO SOMEONE ELSE. i then had to go down the hill to get my house trash can. I vacuum and disinfect again but so far, whilst there are a couple of months, there are no worms and there is absolutely no sign of moths or worms in my new allocated pantry cupboard. Fully grown larvae (1/2 inch) have brown heads and are dirty white in color, sometimes tinged with green, yellow or pink. Like their closet-lurking cousins, pantry moths are destructive pests. If so can you see if it requires a lot of money? They are just really annoying. Good luck! Left it for a day, cleaned all cupboards with boiling water and bleach again twice and have not seen any since. Thanks. Use full strength, let it dry & washed my China & before I put it back n cabinet (entertainment center ). Hi Debbie, Im on a very fixed income and its a very tight one. I have just recently learned of diatameous earth(sp) food grade. I still see the moths flying around the bird seed sometimes when I go in a store. I never would have known, had I not seen the larvae…and even then I didn’t connect them to the moths. *THIS WORKS! We just moved house. They are doing well. Well,looks like I will be recleaning with bleach this weekend. Been in the same place for over 10 years and have had finches almost all that time and never had the problem until several months back. We, too, unwittingly invited an infestation into our pantry in a bag of birdseed. I think you really have to go after the source. Period. I saw a moth in it which at that time didn’t know what it was. Any suggestions you have would be welcome. You might try the pheromone traps to catch any that are left, they worked for me. We have found a few drowning in grease that has been spilt. Read this article and thought, BAM! I can’t say it enough I’ve never seen this before we just moved into this home one year ago and they have been driving me crazy for a year this will be my week end project thank you Jennifer. How To Get Rid Of Pantry Weevils Moths You. ALL GONE. I also have a racquet size bug zapper which is also effective(not to mention satisfying). The bedroom traps were all clean, but the guest bedroom was swarming with moths and the trap caught about ten of them. I bombed my kitchen and spare room where I had cabinets and washed everything down. Even going back after a week I found more and cleaned again. I have had this problem for the past three summers…they get into everything… so much food wasted..even putting stuff in plastic containers doesn’t seem to always help..never in my life have I had this problem. Check your kitchen. Wash the inside of the pantry or cabinet with soap and water, then with a weak bleach solution. I finally caught a group of them squeezing out from behind the shower wall and heading up to the ceiling. hope this helps! My hubby has a concern that I just may lay it down on the bed, and even though it’s off that the bed might catch fire. I figured there were over 100 moths. Vacuum shelves or cabinets that have housed infested foods, … I’m wondering if they’re getting possibly poached by a spider? I never did discover what I brought them home in. Killed 6 or 7 moths in a weeks period, so i know they’re back!!!!!!!! Thanks so much for everyone and their input. Have terminix coming out on monday but that is 4 days away an starting to worry that even if I opened boxes an looked than taped close the ones that I did not find anything may not be sure nothing is in there. Fingers crossed. Still saw a moth every six weeks. She lives in New Zealand and have been using this all natural product for a few years and have been bug free ever since. Washed everything down again and sprayed all cracks. I killed it and didnt think anything of it. So i opened it up and 3 more moths flew out. Diatamaceous earth might work. Ive cleaned out everything!! Make sure you check everything, not just foodstuff. And then I just waited them out. Last year I was I tested with larvae warms. I’ve had a problem with pantry moths as well and I appreciate everyone’s helpful advice! We completely emptied the pantry, wiped with soap and water, sprinkled DE on all the edges, corners and cracks, left two traps, then sprayed the entire pantry with Aunt Norma’s spray two days ago. I can honestly say I think I can claim success. If you gave the “lucky” to find the moth flying through the kitchen, congratulations! If you leave a food source around during that time, there is going to be another infestation and you’re back to square one. I AM SO GLAD to Google this and find it! Because these traps usually mean dealing with dead mice, plenty of people wonder if there’s a way to help get rid of mice without classic mouse traps. Use pheromone moth traps to get rid of moths. Please let me know what you think. Then I hear all your horror stories in my thoughts as I look for a brillo pad (LOL)…”look up on ceiling, corners… hours of bleaching & vinegar… Eyedropper of xyz in every shelf peg-hole, every room… vaccuum & then steam pressure-clean the vaccuum afterwards (or you get full, lab-quality recreated population in spendy vaccuum). Almost look like worms I buy in bulk for growing teenager. Trying to squash a cockroach beneath a shoe or target it with a can of bug spray may not get the job done. Hit every nook and cranny. Potatoes aren’t suppose to be kept in fridge since they tun to nothing but starch. That was in a cupboard next to the cealing. I noticed that some of the holes for pegs (so you can place the shelves at different heights – typical for IKEA stuff) looked like they had been punched properly. After recently getting rid of a light infestation ( because I got on it right away ) caused by bird seed but not finding any other infested food or larvae, I am worried that there is a nest somewhere I haven’t found. Then I discovered I had them all up my arm! They seem to be mostly in the bedrooms and are all over the windows. We’ll see what happens now. If I continue to see them I might have to get that pheromone bait. I’M AFRAID TO GO VISIT WORRYING THAT I WILL BRING THEM TO THEIR PLACE ON SOMETHING I TAKE WITH ME. I’ve found 3 of these moths and 4 larvae in my office in the last 3 days. What is the theory behind using these products? Why are they in rooms that there is no food? The more moth males will be trapped, the sooner the problem will be … I had these guys in a jar of seedless pumpkin seeds brought home from store. After minimal assembly, the TERRO trap looks identical to the SAFER trap, down to the size and color of the lure. Another thing I have found is they occasionally fly around clothes in closet. Thanks everyone for the info! It took all day. It was infested. WHY IS IT THAT NO ONE HAS COME TO OUR RESCUE TO HELP FIND A WAY TO KILL OFF THESE BUGS THAT ARE CAUSING US SO MUCH STRESS IN OUR LIVES???? And pantry moths are not the same insects responsible for damaging your wardrobe. Aside from tossing all food and just eating out I’m outta solutions. Indian meal moths aren’t attracted to clothing other than to use for pupating. I have a big tin of birdseed in my room and have kept adding to it so just got rid of that..I will go through my cabinets as suggested and scrub and throw things out! We all need your help. Also took apart radio and a speaker for an ipod they were inside in their coccoons! havent seen them in our food yet but will keep my eyes open. What I noticed today was the larva infestation didn’t travel very far away from the original outbreak. Anyway, I see no evidence that anything else got infested but I immediately bought Tupperware and zip lock bags for all edible items in other cabinets. Finding an adult moth may be a sign that there are infested items somewhere in the home. So Kitchen moths, cupboard moths, cake moths, bird seed moths, garage moths are not uncommonly heard. I know that wouldn’t get rid of moths by itself. When the cabinets against the ceiling were taken down to could see thousands of dead ones that had nested between the ceiling and the molding all the way around. Here again, females lay hundreds of eggs in food material, typically attaching the eggs to food particles. I also came across these hideous pests in the same way that a lot of you did. Hello, Having moths fly around your kitchen every time you open a bag of cereal. Droves as i kill them more appear Thanks to everyone for writing. we then went to ortho home defense as a last hope. Found our source over summer was keeping a bag of birdseed in cabinet under bookshelves by deck door off of kitchen. I have found little white worms and there skins in some unopened food boxes like mac and cheese, oat meal pancake mix, stuffing, instant mash potatoes, pudding. I didn’t know anything like this existed, then I realised i was forever killing moths. There’s birdseed down there! But now we have downstairs neighbors that have a lot of birdseed. We had never seen these in the 17 years we lived here. Dont see as many now. Thanks everyone for sharing your plight, tips & tricks; even the littlest details have been illuminating (now will consider my outdoor bird area, dry pet food storage & garage, shoe bottoms and poor Ugg boots (that seems the clothes-eating moth though…thankfully do not have)). Great articles here I think the best one will be the peppermint because it drive’s the nervous system crazy I’m insects. In food … Then went to use bag of potaoes stored down lower caninet…peeew the smell- bag only about a week old! Never a sign of the larvae. I’d rather repel them in the first place rather than wait for them to show up and then try to get rid of them. Also, if … I brought them in in a bag of corn for chicken feed I kept in my pantry. Check in corners, under cabinet edges and behind picture frames for cocoons. Maybe someone can help with my other questions? In food processing facilities, their webbing can cause major damage to machinery. What kills them on contact other than squishing? A week later, we are still checking for them, and find the ocassional larva. Have a knit mitten ready to grab them midair when you see one (eliminates the yuck factor). When pantry moths — also known as Indian meal moths — invade your kitchen, they attack a variety of products ranging from grains and nuts to candies and pet food. That’s how my mild infestation turned alarming. Though during my infestation, they still got into glass jars. The webbed innards in unopened 2.5 lb bag with small white worms under box, under honey container beside it… all tossed. I HAVE BEEN USING THEM INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. I popped a few bags into the freezer, but managed to locate the source quickly – an opened bag of aborio rice done up poorly with an elastic band! the moth or the larvae? We dont have many stores around here but we have walmart and lowes. If you spotted moths of Indian food in your pantry, you need to take the next action immediately, as … ugh how I screamed my head off lol……I threw everything away in that cabinet,well not me but my son I wouldn’t even get close to them. In a mere ten minutes, I trapped at least 50 of the buggers. You have entered an incorrect email address! I had never seen the worms, just the moths. I think it might be over. We too had an infestation of pantry moths, caused by a forgotten bag of birds seeds in a corner of the garage. Ants are one of the most common household pests. If you have tried it with success, or dare I say it, failure, please let us know. THanks so much! Still had flying moths. by October They were gone. I’ve seen them flying around bags of dog food at the stores. In the meantime there is no longer a cloud of moths circling the panty. what time of year should the Trichogramma wasps be released to get rid of pantry moths? Anyone have success stories from hiring exterminators? In the process of cleaning the pantry, I also have the assistance of my two felines, who actually scan the shelves when the door is open and bring the little guys down as soon as they see one flying! Just rub on. I know better but had a bag of birdseed in there that I had forgotten about. I came online and found this site. He used to yell at me for doing that. Pantry moths aren’t known for spreading disease, but they can contaminate food in the home kitchen or pantry. I tried everything. I have had pretty good luck with the little tent sticky traps and what I do is line up the plain sticky trap for house flies and windows right at the boarders of the tent trap and it catches a lot of these males as they flutter in and near the tent, catching as many as the tent because they are so busy trying to do some mating dance from the phermones in the tent. My kids just commented that they had lots of moths come in from outside. I’ve tried everything including the traps. baggies do nothing to keep them out…only glass or super thick plastic containers help….but who can afford all this??? They were also in the crease around the top of the metal trash can lid. Now he will have to find another excuse for yelling. However, moths are annoying as they can damage clothes, food, and other things that you can’t exactly protect better than to keep them in a cupboard. Our pantry moth problem, which came from birdseed, went away after using the traps for a few weeks. Or maybe a home inspector would have some prior experience or knowledge on where they could possibly be. And i think they are in there. My ceiling in the office has wallpaper. Just for fun I took the battery out of the drill and there was even one inside there! Glad our post on pantry moths was of help! This can be unsettling to see and expensive to replace. I turned the air to 65, which makes your house a less comfortable place for these little guys. 9. 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