Just discovered we have an infestation of these things.
Never really seen them to this extent in the past and never realized how many we had until it was too late!
I opened a bag of rolled oats i bought about s month ago and it was full of the things flying out. I think this is how we bought them here.
It pays to keep a trap to monitor for them.
My mate tells me he has had them too. Seems it's a bit of a problem at the moment. I know it's a massive headache in the grain industry and they are somewhat resistant to fly spray.
Had to throw out the majority of my breakfast cereal and even stuff I thought was well sealed in plastic containers and somehow they have found a way inside.
Pantry moths can arrive in all sorts of foodstuffs. We even had some in a jar of chilli flakes once.
The only way I know to get rid of them is to throw out everything that is infested, clear everything else out of the pantry and thoroughly clean the interior, with special attention to nooks and crannies. Buy some pantry moth traps (garden centres and hardware stores will have them) and put one on each shelf.
Before you return the foodstuff to the pantry check every container carefully and if there is the slightest hint of clumping, webs, caterpillars or moths throw them away.
Apparently they lay their eggs in the nail and screw holes as well as the cracks between wall and shelf, which is why they are so hard to eradicate.
(24-02-2023, 09:36 AM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: [ -> ]Apparently they lay their eggs in the nail and screw holes as well as the cracks between wall and shelf, which is why they are so hard to eradicate.
Interesting, I know that when they hatch, they must be extremely small. It blew me away how they could still find gaps in the containers.
I saw the moths a while back and just thought they were common moths from outside like we always see in summer.
Wasn't until I saw the caterpillars in my breakfast cereal that I discovered the problem and put the 2 together.
Anyway I've gotten rid of all the food supply for them so there is nothing they can eat. The traps are clearing up the majority of them as they hatch. I'm still finding their cocoons everywhere.
I believe that they can pierce their way through plastic bags. Containers should be safe if they are truly air tight - most aren't though and those tiny gaps will let them through.
Best way to deal with them is simply put the contaminated foodstuffs into the freezer, then do the clean out as above. Leave the food in the freezer a week then decide what you want to keep. The moths are harmless. It's only our cultural distaste of them that makes us shudder at the thought of them.
Future prevention can be achieved if you freeze goods on arrival from the supermarket. Even keep grain-based goods in the freezer permanently if your problem is ongoing.
We had them a few years ago, and everything not contaminated went in the fridge and freezer, tossed the rest. The last few years have been good, and back again this year. Got my trap in the pantry, and my electric tennis racket is swinging wildly. We get a lot of our stuff from Bin Inn, but found last time it came from sealed supermarket products.
(24-02-2023, 12:53 PM)SueDonim Wrote: [ -> ]I believe that they can pierce their way through plastic bags. Containers should be safe if they are truly air tight - most aren't though and those tiny gaps will let them through.
Best way to deal with them is simply put the contaminated foodstuffs into the freezer, then do the clean out as above. Leave the food in the freezer a week then decide what you want to keep. The moths are harmless. It's only our cultural distaste of them that makes us shudder at the thought of them.
Future prevention can be achieved if you freeze goods on arrival from the supermarket. Even keep grain-based goods in the freezer permanently if your problem is ongoing.
Yeah they are harmless, but they ruin your food.
It's said that most of us have eaten the caterpillars at some time in our lives, I first discovered them in my bowl of cereal after all.
The freezer method sounds like a good idea, but it should also pay to check afterwards how much of th food is spoilt. When I opened up the bag of oats it was almost dust! They must have been in there for some time in the store before I bought it home.
I have a friend that seals anything like this in mylar foil bags and that way it keeps everything out until she is ready to use it.
All the stuff in plastic is OK with the exception of items that had already been opened. Everything in paper bags was chewed through.
I think they could make their way through some types of plastic if it was thin enough. I also noticed that many brands of pasta and rice have holes already punched in the bags, which im not sure what the exact reason is for but probably to allow it to breathe or something.
Well you learn something new everyday, I have never heard of these moths and never had any problems with moths , is this a country or townie thing or both?
I went through a bakelite collecting phase recreating the kitchen I grew up in with its green lidded cream bristolite containers. Strangely enough I never had pantry moths in those, maybe because they are out on open shelving with plenty of light, and seal quite well despite being well over 60 years old. Or maybe something in the ancient plastics puts the pests off.
Trouble with those light weight containers though is my increasing clumsiness as I lose strength in my grip means I am inclined to spill the contents, so I am slowly swapping over to huge old glass jars that require a two handed grab, so safer despite their weight.
I will miss the green and whites though, but am comforted by the price they'll fetch when I finally get round to listing them!
(25-02-2023, 10:40 AM)Oldfellah Wrote: [ -> ]Well you learn something new everyday, I have never heard of these moths and never had any problems with moths , is this a country or townie thing or both?
I always thought these were weevils, not moths. I only discovered they were a moth this time round. Weevils are a totally different thing, but I've never come across those. It's always been the moth larvae I've seen in the past all this time.
Me too. My parents called them weevils and so did I until I learned the difference.