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Hi, this is my first time posting to the yeshivaworld coffee room. I am curious if anyone else ever had a similar problem and if they can help me. I noticed a few tiny moths flying around my house a few months ago but didnt think much of it. I killed them every time I found one but they kept coming. To make a long story short, after doing some research, I realized that I was infested with these pantry moths. I was obviously horrified and threw out everything in my pantry for fear of foods being infested. I cleaned every shelf in my pantry very well and waited a few days before restocking.
It is now a few weeks later. I hadn’t seen any moths for a few weeks after restocking. But about 2 weeks ago I started finding these moths again and I don’t know what to do. I bought some traps but they don’t seem to be working. I would rather not get an exterminator because of the expense. If anyone can give me any tips I would REALLY appreciate it.
if you look up on wikipedia, you will find info about the Indian meal moth or pantry moth. It is possible that they have laid eggs in your cabinets. These moths can infiltrate packages, even into tupperware. The eggs are tiny, with Pesach coming, and having to purchase new products, maybe try spraying with raid or cleaning with bleach products. Also, when you buy new products, try putting in a bay leaf.
I feel for you. We’ve had almond moth, grain moth and weevil infestations over the years. They can be a real pain to get rid of.
We got some very good advice from the local Agricultural Extension Service. The circular they sent us had a lot of really good advice.
First thing, all grains, flour, nuts and seeds have insect eggs and larvae. Even if you can’t see them or the eggs don’t hatch before you use the stuff up, they’re there. So you have to do two things, prevent them from hatching and prevent the infestation from spreading.
To prevent the eggs from hatching either use the stuff up fast or kill the eggs.
Killing the little buggers
If you already have an infestation go through everything. Throw away anything that has insects OUTSIDE. Lots of people just toss it in the kitchen trash and forget that bugs will leave the waste bin. Go through your cupboard and pantry.
We found that vacuum cleaner and shop vac did a great job of sucking the little monsters up and smashing them into tiny pieces. Check the ceilings and corners. Moths especially go for the ceiling. Clean out the cupboards. Vacuum the insides. Wash off all the food containers to get any eggs.
Enjoy your new eye-hand coordination. You will be catching bugs out of the air for the next few weeks.
Reducing the Plague
Insects are very efficient at turning your food into more insects. Deny them access to food. If they have food deny them access to your kitchen. Glass jars with good lids and sealable food-plastic storage containers keep them in if they hatched inside or out if they hatched somewhere else.
If you live somewhere warm encourage geckos to take up residence in your house. They are almost as good at turning bugs into geckos as moths are at turning flour into moths.
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