Dealing with pantry moths

Hi people of workshop!

I have a query. Apologies if it is on here already, but I could not find it.

We have been getting quite a lot of small moths roaming around our house and making themselves comfortable. They are very similar looking to the below image.

We have tried using moth balls to remove them, but they don't seem to do anything and just smell awful.

Does anyone have any ideas why these would be propping up or how to remove them? We haven't found anything eaten so we not sure why they are hanging around.

Thanks!

Kay

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Comments

Jason

@kaylah_rose,

Sorry to see you haven't had a response on this problem as yet. Perhaps you could provide us with a little more detail, which might help members.

I take it you don't have any obvious ways that the moths are getting into the house? And they don't seem to be attracted to anything in particularly inside the house?

Jason

kaylah_rose

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/4504#Comment_4504

Hi @Jason

I really have no idea how they are getting in. I feel like there might be a nest somewhere? I actually have been finding them in the pantry so am currently undergoing a major clean through the pantry and the entire kitchen to try and find the source.

I did do a bit of googling to see what came up and I found this. https://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-get-rid-of-pantry-moths-and-larvae-in-your-kitchen/

Freaked me out a bit, but our pantry has brick walls and I think maybe some eggs were in the grout or something like that? If I could move house I would, but I'll try the cleaning first. The moths haven't been around lately so I think it might be working.

Has anyone else ever heard of these?!

Kay

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/64406#Comment_64406

Ah yes @kaylah_rose, if they are pantry moths then they would have probably come in via purchased food.

We've had them before and they prompted us to move to airtight containers and jars for everything.

Good luck with the operation.

Jason

ProjectPete

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/94832#Comment_94832

My first thought was pantry moths and they can be a nightmare to get rid of 🙁 But, based on the ones I've seen/had in Perth they don't look the same.

If they are pantry moths, then like @Jason said, they come in food. Rice, flour, nuts, grains, etc are common. You can get pantry moth traps to attract and kill the living/flying ones but there'll be eggs in you food stuffs still. You need to clear that stuff out "with a fine tooth comb". Depending on what the food is, you can freeze a container (of rice for example) then wash the rice and sift the dead moths/eggs out. Failing that, dump anything they've infested and start over.

kaylah_rose

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/113890#Comment_113890

Thanks @ProjectPete

3 days later and we think we have it complete.

The infestation didn't appear to be too bad, but we threw out nearly everything (being on the cautious side to avoid having to do this again). Coated the entire pantry in bug spray and left overnight. We then used disinfectant and scrubbed every single inch. Our pantries have brick walls so we scrubbed them down twice to remove any left over eggs that might be hiding in the mortar.
I did take your advice and bought pantry moth traps to try and stop them from coming back.

So much wasted food though!! Devastating.

Thanks for your help and advice! At least now I can organise my pantry I guess..

WallsendWoman

I I do talk to text and that only holds a few words at a time and I'll keep losing my dialogue in pasting, . So this is the short one and we'll see how we go.. Paragraphs will jump around to wrong spots and sometimes dispose of the entire work

Wash out every cupboards with a bay leaf tea, concentrating on any joints or hiding places and maybe using a brush.

Dispose of any noticeably infected foods and you will recognise this by webbing in the food. Not necessarily seeing creatures.

I very strongly believe mine came in with ground almonds... I saw no other food damage otherwise but I saw a lot of damage around the house with the cocoons ready to pass out to give me billions and billions more on top of the billions I already had

put food in tins and sealed containers and put them in the freezer. Dispose of the infected and keep the good, checking all the lips under the lids, under the base etc. Dry and insert dry bay leaves in productsHe won't ruin the flavour but it deters moth.

I. finally had success from the probably the world's worst episode of pantry moths..... especially the cornice between the wall and the ceiling in every room of the house and they did not want to be wipe down without physical labour to rub them firmly. Cocoons cling.

Bay leaves are the only thing that deter them but I had to wash them away with a tea bay leaves in every possible place even needing reasonable scrubbing power. I needed this for the wash down of the joint between the ceiling cornice and the wall that they chose in every room of the house to clean to every centimetre apart, concentrating on this spot but also surrounding areas with a bay leaf tea and a disposable cloth even gently abrasive not to damage your paint though.

I had youse dozens of the pantry moth traps you can buy for around about $12. They were filled in 5 minutes..

I found similar sticky paper suitable for rat traps and put the pheromone strip from those, traps, so there would be greatest surface to stick to. I had already spent a few hundred dollars and so I got to recycling the pheromone strip onto other sticky surfaces, but they escaped the contact adhesive plastic as much as they stuck. When I ran out of the strong sticky paper intended to catch rats on.

It was persistence and that physical labour to destroy any cocoons that were visible up high that conquered it. I put bay leaves in everything I could imagine and to this day I still top up those areas with bay leaves. I put bay leaves in my food canisters. I surface spray underneath the cornice and I surface spray inside my drawers

if I see something fluttering by I spray it straight away. no forgiveness, and no invitation to stay..

Although my freezer is very small where I possibly can, I try and put my freshly purchased dry products in a container and freeze them so that introduced moth, pupae or larvae , will not survive. when purchasing a product I looked at the shelves and the packages and sometimes to the shelves up and see if something flies out..

It truly was a nightmare with them everywhere

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/7813#Comment_7813

Many thanks for sharing your experiences @WallsendWoman. Great to have you join the Workshop community. We're looking forward to reading more of your posts soon. Please feel free to join in the discussion anytime you need a hand or have something to share. And please let me know if you ever have any feedback about how we can improve Workshop for you and make it easier to use.

Welcome,

Jason

wooshka

We had this problem years ago and simply freeze everything for a few days that could have the eggs in them,(same as another post) since then we have had no infestations.

The eggs are in everything you buy pretty much , freezing kills them

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/7841#Comment_7841

Many thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your knowledge and experience with the community @wooshka. It's been great to see you make your first few posts on Workshop since joining us a while back. Let me extend a belated welcome and encourage you to let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site.

Thanks again,

Jason

Bron1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/66095#Comment_66095

Re pantry moths : along with all the other ideas mostly cleaning cupboards out and using sealed containers.there is a product on the market call moth traps . Most supermarkets sell it . It’s ongoing but I have found it very effective.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/95823#Comment_95823

Many thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your experience @Bron1.

Looking forward to reading more of your posts soon. Please feel free to post anytime you have something to share or need a hand with a project around the house and garden. We have loads of clever and creative members sharing advice and inspiration on the site every day.

Welcome,

Jason

LizzieBee

I agree with WallsendWoman Bay leaves are the secret to controlling the little beasties. After a bad infestation I think it is wise to clean everything down as suggested, chuck any offending food and get ready to start again. I have a Bay tree (also known as Laurel tree) and I just scatter the Green Bay leaves straight from the tree onto the pantry shelves, as they dry I just add a few more green ones, so generally there is a mix of green and dry leaves on the pantry shelves. I also scatter them on top of my rice and then shut the lid tightly. I like Wallsendwoman’s idea of washing with bay leaf tea. I assume that is the water left over after boiling Bay leaves. Sounds like a good residue to leave on the shelves. Cockroaches don’t like Bay leaves either. A Bay Leaf tree is easy to grow in a pot or garden. I have one in the garden and one in a pot close to the kitchen. My tree is about 30feet high and is over 20 years old.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11003#Comment_11003

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @LizzieBee. It's great to have you join us and many thanks for contributing to the conversation.

I trust our members will find your experience with bay leaves helpful. I'll try it myself as we often have the same issue at my house.

We look forward to hearing more about the projects around your house and garden and would encourage you to let us know if you ever need assistance or would like to share one with us. I'm sure you will find a great deal of inspiration within the community as our creative members are contributing there projects here all the time.

Mitchell

mich1972

Hi Kay. You can purchase Pantry Moth Baits that have a pheromone that attracts the moth to the bait. They are excellent.

I also use Bay Leaves from our garden. I just break off a small branch and place it in our pantry.

I also put Bay leaves in our Rice container 😊

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/4504#Comment_4504

I always use my Bay Leaves 🌿🌿

Blackbox

Hi Kaylah_rose

Had the same happen to me. I left bay leaves all over in the pantry, on the shelves and everywhere else. I also left pantry moth traps on every shelf.

Got rid of them eventually

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/11026#Comment_11026

Many thanks for joining in the discussion @Blackbox. It's great to have you as part of the Bunnings Workshop community. Please don't hesitate to post anytime you have something to share with the community or need a hand with a project around the house and garden. We look forward to reading more about your projects and plans.

Welcome,

Jason

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