tiny moths invading the pantry

[susan322]

Does anyone have advice on those pesky small moths
that occaisionally invade the pantry? We try to be very careful, but nonetheless seem to get an infestation every couple of years.. We keep all the grains & sugars in containers, but these pests seem to find homes in spite of our efforts...
HELP!

:cry:

[Jayson]

These small moths come into our homes despite our best efforts. Typically the eggs are in flours and some grains and then brought into the pantry. Keeping these carrier products in the freezer instead of the pantry helps. If that isn't practical spraying with an orange oil product when you first start to see the moths will usually keep them under control.
GOOD LUCK, JAYSON

[Jayson]

These small moths come into our homes despite our best efforts. Typically the eggs are in flours and some grains and then brought into the pantry. Keeping these carrier products in the freezer instead of the pantry helps. If that isn't practical spraying with an orange oil product when you first start to see the moths will usually keep them under control.
GOOD LUCK, JAYSON

[dragonfly]

The most effective thing I have found to keep them out of foods is to place a bay leaf in each container of things like flour, cornmeal, grains, etc.

[northwesterner]

These small moths are the flying stage of weevils, aren't they? That's what I grew up calling them. The stage that causes the most revulsion is when you open a sack of flower and look inside the see the flaky skins left behind, or the crawling bugs themselves. I always wrap my new sacks of flour in a plastic bag and seal it with a twist tie when I bring it into the house. My theory is that:

1. If there are weevils in the house, perhaps they won't get into the flour

or

2. If there are weevils in the flour, perhaps they won't get into the house!

[dcluck]

I've been warring with "weevils" for the past month. They've gotten into a free standing cupboard where we store cook books, flour, cornmeal and other dry meal products and they're in EVERYTHING.

Through research on the internet I've found that there are some general guidelines to follow to keep them under control. Best of all it's a non-chemical approach.

Prevention

1. Freeze all meal products (cereals, flours, animal food/seed, etc) for 24 hours after puchasing in order to kill any eggs/insects that might be present in the products. The idea is to keep them from breeding once you've brought them into your home.

2. Store all food products in air tight containers. A lot of "tupperware" type containers are NOT sufficient. Ziplock bags and mason jars (rubber seal, screw-on lids) are reported to be the best. We use a vaccum sealer for a lot of items.

3. Use bay leaves in cupboards and in products to keep these little monsters at bay (pun intended). I've found tons of references to this as being a particularly effective means of control. Many people put a few leaves in their meal products.

If you've got an existing infestation

1. Inspect food packaging for sign of the insects. Worms, moths, casings, webbing, and tiny holes in the packaging itself. If you see ANY signs of them then immediately take the packaging outside and dump it in the trash. For you composters, you can dump it into your pile, but these vile little creatures are persisten beyond measure. Make sure it's a very hot pile where they'll not have the opportunity to flourish and re-infest your home. Persoanlly I'd take em out as far from my home as possible.

2. Clean every last thing that is stored in the infested space with warm soapy water. Cans, containers, books, EVERYTHING. In the cabinet where we had them we had perhaps about 50 cookbooks and they've taken up residence in at least half of them - inside hard cover spines and between pages. Ugh!! :evil: After cleaning them out of the books, I've placed those books in plastic bags and into the freezer.

3. Remove absolutely everything from the infested storage space, even the shelves if possible and wash all surfaces with soapy water. Don't forget things like door hinges or undersides. Use some sort of brush to get at recessed or hard to wipe areas. It's war and you have to be thurough or it will never end.

4. Once every sign of these tiny demons is erradicated to the best of your ability, place bay leaves in the storage area. A few on every shelf or as needed. As noted before this is supposed to be a particularly effective detterent so don't skimp. Buy in bulk at Costco, or the like, and replace them periodically (I have no idea how long the leaves remain effective).

Hope this is helpful.

~Dave