Flour Moths
Indian meal moths (also called pantry moths or flour moths) larvae hatch in stored dry goods… flour, grains, seeds, cereal, chocolate, cake mixes, rice, nuts, dried fruit, dog food, birdseed, even tea, herbs and spices.
Adult flour moth & Pupa (left)-Alameda County Community Developement Agency, Adult Moth (right)-USDA Grain Marketing & Production Research Center
Description
Adult flour moths are approx. 2cm, brownish grey with a powdery substance on the wings. The larvae are very tiny and look like very small maggots. They are usually yellow or white with brown heads and measure around 1.5cm. Mediterranean flour moths resemble the indian flour moth and are very similar in appearance and their diet is basically the same. Indications you have them are finding the contents of cereal boxes clinging to the sides of the box in a mass of fine webs… or you find small, brownish moths flitting around inside your cupboard… or tiny cocoons and larvae in your dry goods like flour, pasta or beans.
Flour moth larvae (left)-USDA Grain Marketing & Production Research Center, Adult and larva (right)-Clemson University
Habitat and Lifecycle
Flour moths occur worldwide and are a particular pest in grain and flour mills. They can infest your pantry in no time if care is not taken. Control is extremely difficult. Female flour moths can lay 150-600 eggs at a time. They can hatch within 3 days at temperatures higher than 20 C (80 F) Eggs are laid in flour products and larvae feed and spin small loose webs. After feeding larvae pupate in the grains and emerge into adults. The lifecycle can be continuous year round.
Adults and larva-University of Missouri
Diet and Damage
Indian meal moths infest flour, bran, grains, all types of meal, cereals, pet food, livestock feed and other foodstuffs containing flour and grains. Adults do not feed and live only long enough to mate and reproduce. If you see any of them flying around a pet store, don’t even think of buying pet foods there and inform the owner. Once you have introduced them in your home, getting rid of them is extremely difficult.
Control Indian meal moths (a.k.a. “pantry moths” or “flour moths”)
1) Cupboard Moth Trap™ – I have successfully used Cupboard Moth Traps like thes. They work wherever food is stored. You put the cardboard traps in cabinets and pantries with food; they’re non-toxic and free of pesticides. The pheromone lure lasts for about 3 months. When the trap is covered with dead moths you just replace the trap with a new one. For light infestation you can also refresh the pheromone lure. They work great!
2) Clean out all your pantries and wipe very well with hot soapy water.
3) Line all the cracks and crevices inside the pantry with a sticky substance such as tanglefoot.
4) With a q-tip remove and destroy every larvae, egg and pupae that you find.
5) Use containers with tight fitting lids.
6) In summer months, store your cereals, grains and flour in the fridge to prevent an overpopulation.
7)Take all containers with the foodstuffs and place in the freezer for at least five days and then dispose of the foodstuff or feed it to your chickens, they love any kind of bugs.
August 27th, 2011 at 1:54 am
Wanted to share my experience in case it helps others. I first saw meal moths in my kitchen about a month ago after bringing home some desserts from an Indian friend and keeping them in the cupboard too long (oops!) rather than the fridge. Fortunately I recognized what they were pretty quickly since another international friend had recently had the same issue.
I fit all dry goods I could in the freezer and froze them for 1 week. Meanwhile I put all I could fit in the fridge (since the fridge keeps any eggs from hatching) and after 1 week rotated the fridge dry goods with freezer dry goods. I threw out whatever didn’t fit in the fridge or freezer, but by freezing I greatly reduced the amount I had to throw away.
After taking care of allll dry goods (anything not sealed in glass), I washed down the kitchen, including cupboards, and sprinkled cupboards with bay leaves (which apparently they don’t like). It’s important to check all crevices that you can – the floor by baseboards, behind the stove/fridge, inside the toaster. We have little hinge covers in the cupboards and I removed those and found two adults hiding inside. Washed those to get rid of eggs/larvae. We have cats, so I also moved their dry food to sealed containers (OXO brand).
After freezing dry goods, I’m putting them back into cupboards in hermetically sealed glass jars – they’re not too expensive from The Container Store online (I googled for a coupon/free shipping). Currently, no food is allowed outside the fridge in our house unless it’s in a sealed glass container.
We also got one pheremone trap and put it above the fridge, since moths like to fly up and toward walls before laying eggs. One trap per room is a good limit, because if there are more traps, the moth can’t clearly smell where to fly to find it.
Next, every day we keep our eyes peeled to find all adult moths in the house and kill them. We killed 2-3 per day for the first week or so. I think this is because we have a small crack behind our cupboards where they can pupate (no food back there though, so temporary problem).
So now in just a few weeks, we rarely see a moth. When we do, it is tiny (good sign – tiny size means the larvae couldn’t find much food) and we kill it. I think we’re about over the infestation.
One thing remaining though – I feel like I now see them on the back porch near our outdoor light at night. Can pantry moths survive outdoors? Not sure, but going to systematically kill them and look for anywhere outside they could be breeding, in case they come back indoors.
The upside is that with all the pretty glass jars for dry foods (and even spices – can’t be too careful!) our kitchen looks really pretty, like pottery barn or something! The Container Store’s great prices on glass jars really helped give me peace of mind, so that our fridge is not packed full but the moths won’t get any food. Mwahaaha.
August 13th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
No matter what I do, or what traps I use, the moths return. Probably because the larvae are hanging in places you can’t even see. These hatch, breed, and it starts all over. They go right through plastic bags, even the freezer-weight ziploc variety. And they get under the tightest cover of a plastic storage container. Only one thing really prevents intrusion: the glass “canning” type jars with a flat rubber-lined top which is sealed with a screw-on ring. These have those metal two-part clasps. But they’re not cheap, and you’d need dozens in order to store every bit of dry food, so I only use them for nuts. Also…fly ribbons are good. These are long strips with super sticky glue that roll out. You hang them up, moths fly into them and get stuck. It doesn’t prevent anything, but you greatly cut down the population.
August 13th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
I am fighting this battle as well. When we first noticed these moths in the spring (fly out of the pantry when you open the door) we didn’t think too much about it- would just kill them as we see them. Then one day my husband called me at work (I was lucky to be at work!) to tell me a disgusting tale of larvae in the pantry, ‘dripping’ from metal baskets that we stored dry goods in. My husbands story was about thousands of these creepy things. I can’t believe that they got so out of control in a short period of time. He did the cleaning, I went out and got all these snap lid, hard plastic containers (invested close to $200). The pantry got a good disinfecting; all grains foods were tossed; all other containers/cans were thoroughly washed. We started almost from scratch, everything is in tightly sealed containers.
But, here I am, talking about this because the moths are back- I guess they were never 100% gone. We have used the Safer brand traps, and they do work, but only on trapping males, as many people have noted. The hard plastic containers were a total waste of $. They looked nice because the pantry is now so organized. But, now I’m investing in glass snap lid containers with rubber rings. I do put all flour in the freezer for at least a week. But, what difference does that make if it goes, afterwards, into a pantry where the moths live. These moths seem really attracted to (in our house) the flour and the nuts. I will be ordering the cupboard moth traps that are recommended on this website. From now on the flour products will live permanently in the spare freezer, or I might invest in another fridge to store them there. Not sure what to do about the nuts. Those salvaged are now in the glass snap lid containers. Has anyone seen a case where the larvae/moths got inside those containers? Good luck to everyone in this war.. Stay strong..
August 7th, 2011 at 2:31 am
I too have fought the battle with flour moths in my kitchen. After spending tons of money on the pheramon traps I decided to try those black and decker ultrasonic pest repeller. It was around $20 but it works. Now those darned moths are in my bird seed so I need another repeller to put near the bird cage. The only thing the repeller doesnt seem to work on is flys. So glad I am not constantly having to buy those pheramon traps anymore.
July 4th, 2011 at 8:27 am
I have these buggers but they are now much more managable. I first noticed worms dropping from my apartment ceiling. After being totally grossed out and walking around crouched over I got rid of all my open plastic/paper packaged food, washed, vacumed, but they kept coming back. Later we moved, and brought a few of the buggers with us. They wrap themselves in everything, from clothes to tiny curves in plastic, wood, whatever they can find to feel secure to make the cacoon. I’ve dumped more food then I care to imagine. I’ve got my dry goodstuff wrapped in ziplock bags and flour/ect in tupperware but may be rethinking this as I’ve read they eat through the plastic. I then bought the trap and between the two things we have a much more managable problem, but still a problem. I’m about to do the venigar wash down, maybe repaint the pantry, dump the food again, and pray that they are gone for good. Apparently they like spices too and as hard as this is to do, I think I’m gonna have to dump my spices. Oh, a do be sure to check your toaster–that was about the worst place to find these buggers, excepting of course the infested box of food you recently ate out of. And wash your clothes too. I stored off season clothes in the attic, took them out for the new season, and out came some moths… again.
July 3rd, 2011 at 2:19 pm
I now realize I’ve brought in loads of these disgusting moths in bags of nuts that I feed to squirrels. I can’t spray the nuts, and I can’t freeze all the bags. Since they come into your house INSIDE a package of food, does this mean that people are eating moth larvae? I see the moths stuck to the ceilings of every room. They can get into plastic bags, even the ones that seal. I’m losing this battle, and haven’t yet read about a solution. Even bug spray doesn’t kill them. What does an exterminator do to get rid of them, and wouldn’t the larvae still be able to hatch later on? Does anyone have any suggestions other than the traps, which fill up quickly?
June 27th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
I’ve seen alot of people say, “The more I look, the more there are.” I think that when you open cereal or any other dried good to check you open the “door” for the moths.So the moths fly off without you noticing them and later you do notice them.Then you think that they just magically appeared.
June 23rd, 2011 at 6:48 pm
I purchased pecans from a local grocery store 2 years ago for holiday baking! There were holes in the shell with moths and worms! Emailed the store and stopped by the counter. Since than we cleaned out everything several times but they keep coming back. I also do not have room to freeze or refridgerate everything. I toss out tons of food. The only thing that worked was the hormone traps, sticky triangle shape cardboard traps but it doesn’t eliminate the problem, it only attracks the males but can’t seem to get them all. I went to the store were it started and my girls and I saw the moths. Told the front desk, The owner of the store finally called, and yelled at me, called me a lier! Won’t be shopping in that store again. The good news is nothing lives in my house for free, can I charge rent?? I’d be incredibly rich! These things are everywhere.
May 29th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Where do meal moths breed outside? I’ve got hundreds of them around my porch areas and the back side of the house where it’s shady and often damp. Do they breed in wet leaves, tall grass, standing water?? Help!
May 29th, 2011 at 12:44 am
I have lived in the same apartment for almost 30 years, never had a moth problem until last August when the infestation started. The culprit was a box of rarely-used baking soda that I had in a thin plastic bag.
I did everything by the book & by the beginning of October the moths were gone.
Last week when the weather got warm and humid,the moths were back. HOW/WHY? I never replaced the food that got thrown out last year, spices are sealed, dog food is in triple-locked plastic containers, etc.
Have the moths been lying dormant/ waiting for warm weather? Maybe washing cabinets, vacuuming the crevices wasn’t enough. Is it possible they came through water pipes in my apt. building? Moth traps don’t show moths in my food cabinet this time.
Does anyone know of a non-toxic spray to use on crevices,baseboards? Is it worth bringing in exterminators? Can they do anything beyond what we do already?
I’m frustrated & repulsed; I’m afraid to go into my kitchen especially at night. I guess this is one way to lose weight! No thank you.
April 21st, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Okay, one time I opened a bag of rasin bag and poured out a big bowl full and ate whoofed it down. The next morning, I opened the box and it was teaming with maggot looking larvae….I am such a worm phobe anyway, that it almost made me physically ill. I threw everything away, that was grain based, cookies, chips, mac/chs etc. I scrubbed out the cabinets with bleach and hot water and sprayed lysol and let the cabinets air out. I found these nasty little S.O.B.’s in a web like cocoon in the toaters, in the door hinges, behind my wall phone, in the drawers, etc. I called Orkin and I don’t remember what they did, but they got rid of them. I really sympathize with you people!
February 19th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Yes, Sara those are the same nasty creatures! OMG! There is absolutely no place that these despicable creatures don’t lay their eggs & spin their cacoons! I have found them on my jackets & winter gloves, cotton blouses…you name it! I found them in my eye shadow, recently! Tonight, I was cleaning out a Utensil drawer & they were on [never used] popsicle sticks, a plastic clip used to keep bags closed, & on a wooden tray! I can’t afford an exterminator, but I, really, don’t think they could get them all anyway! Every time , I think I’ve gotten them all & don’t see them for awhile….here they come again! I am, absolutely, SICK from seeing these nasty things!
February 14th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
These moths can get in sealed up coffee containers, too. I started keeping my coffee in the refridgerator after I open it. We have cleaned out our cabinet with all the dried goods in it and still see these things! I was wondering if they like spices? That’s the only cabinet we’ve not thrown everything out of.
January 29th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
We’ve cleaned out our cupboards and seal our pet food so moths can’t breed in them but today I was cleaning out our coat room and I found larva that look a lot like flour moths but they were on jackets instead of in the food. And they’re still coming out of the cabinet, are those flour moths or something else?
January 6th, 2011 at 5:39 am
It’s a never ending battle! I am wondering if there is no way at all to get rid of all of them. They get on the clothes, even under the rim of unopened food jars, besides the cat food, oatmeal, etc.! I’m not seeing very many moths right now; but when you least expect it & think everything is clean…………..THEY’RE BAAAAAAAAACK!!! I smack them between my hands when I can catch them!
January 5th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
So get this: I had them at my old apartment. Started out 1 or 2 every now and again. Then after some time, I found tons! I found the food sources, threw food out in cycles, until everything was either tossed or sealed in airtight containers. I had pest control come and cleaned everything. I still would see one or two now and again. Well, I moved a month and half ago. And to my horror, I saw a meal moth on my bedroom ceiling 3 weeks ago! Since then I have seen about 5-6 moths now and again and 1 worm drowned in my dog’s water bowl! They moved with me! Has anyone ever heard of this??!! Everything is sealed. They are not infested. I don’t know how they possibly could have survived the war I waged on them as well as moving! I’ve been buggy for a while and I’m started to GO buggy. They were not invited to move. Please, any advice?! Hopefully, the worst it gets is 1-2 every month…
December 30th, 2010 at 7:37 am
I’ve been having pantry months for 6-8 months but didn’t pay much attention until I noticed they initially settled in a large container of dog food, and now recently they have been in my pantry. The oatmeal was my first clue, and a box of crackers was the second. I learned now not to overbuy dog food that I can’t store in a protective container. Also found some in an open bag of Greenies. So far I have seen only the ones flying, not anything crawling. I’ve started to clean out the pantry of suspected food items and already I am noticing an improvement. I’ve thrown out whole wheat and rye flour, even though I didn’t notice anything obvious. Canned bread crumbs were suspect and were a bag of lentils and pinto beans. I still have to get rid of pasta and boxed mixes.
I’ve put out two traps (Safer, that I got at Lowe’s), nothing so far. I plan to clean the pantry with a vinegar solution – I saw this recommended. I also came across a recommendation for Hot Shot Kitchen Bug Killer, which is for use around food and where food is prepared. I’ve picked that up at Lowe’s but havening used it yet. Will also try peppermint oil spray after, and will use on a regular basis in other places, not just the pantry.
I’ve noticed that the fliers are attracted to standing water, so I have seen them in the toilet that is at the other end of the house from the pantry. Most anytime I have left a glass of water or juice or water in the sink overnight in the kitchen, I have found moths in them the next morning.
I feel deeply for those dealing with larvae openly crawling around. I look forward to hearing about successes and other suggestions. By the way I live in central TX.
November 14th, 2010 at 12:27 am
HELP ME=i have them on my sealing their every where . I was going to have some oatmeal and something was moving.Then they started to crawl out of the bowl.so yes check your cabnit,check your pantery CHECK EVERY WHERE!!!!!
September 28th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Thanks Margaret & Jim for your input. I did find them on the little packets of oatmeal, last summer, but thought I had gotten rid of them! they laid their larvae all over clothes & it’s, just, the moths that are on my ceilings. Anyway, upon pouring hard kitty food in my cats dish I discover them in the cat food. Poor kitty! I threw it all away….3 bags! These nasty thing are nauseating to me! Last year was the first year I ever saw these critters….& not a lot. this year was hot all summer & loads of them! tired of spending money on food & throwing it out. We had storms this summer which knocked the power out & had to throw out lots of food, too!
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:47 am
An unusually hot summer for New England seems to have triggered an infestation in our home here in Boston. I first discovered them when opening a cupboard and saw three adults fly out. They had slow reflexes and were easy to kill with a paper towel and left a telltale powdery gray material on the paper towel. Examining the cabinets I found the larval worms mostly on the underside of shelves, and a few had managed to make it to the ceiling of the kitchen.
I emptied the cabinet (laminate) and threw out all flour, rice, corn meal, pasta, and lentils. Followed up with scrubbing the cabinets and shelves with hot soapy water. Wiped down all the bottles and canned goods. Bought new flour, rice, and lentils and now store it in the freezer for five days before transferring to the refrigerator. Plastic zip bags and some plastic storage containers will not have sufficient seals to keep them out/in. Remember, they came home with you in a product, possibly flour, oatmeal, or rice.
During the cabinet clean out we probably killed nearly 100 adults and as many larval worms. The next week was one of successive inspection of corners, cabinets, and ceilings killing any larval worms or adults. The numbers began to dwindle. We went first one 24 hour period without finding them, then a small resurgence, and then eventually three days without seeing them. Three weeks after the initial clean up we went almost a week without seeing them. Then yesterday I found two larval worms on the ceiling, and two adults. Looking inside the cupboard that formerly held our rice, flour, and lentils I found a worm and an adult. I think there might have been a reservoir of eggs in the shelf peg holes. Again major clean out and this time use of bleach in the holes. Looks like there is another, but smaller so far, cycle to break. I can’t figure out what they could be feeding on now as their typical food is now all in the freezer or refrigerator.
Having long cold winters we don’t often find insects in our home. We usually put ants, spiders, moths and even flies outdoors if they find their way into our house. With the flour moth it’s war. Question: can these flour moths get into wool? Thanks everyone. – Jim
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:42 am
Mine came into house in bird seed, at least that is where I found them (moths) crawling into and out of the package. CaPTURED LIVE MOTHS AND LARVAE and took them to county extension office – they are called Mediterranean flour moths. I had thought they were clothes moths since they first errupted in entry hall near the coats and scarves. Turns out that is also where I had stored bird seed! Out with the bird seed but it was too late. they had already found the kitchen which was at the other end of the house, laid eggs everywhere in pantry foods, under cans, in nooks and crannies of cabinets, even boring holes into packages to get in. Hope they enjoyed the chocolate chips – we didn’t!! Larvae march across the ceiling of kitchen all day and all night, sometimes falling down onto food or dishes, or whatever happens to be there. I don’t leave any food unsupervised in kitchen, and eat elsewhere. Pantry moth traps with pheramone lure caught at lease 200 moths in the first week, and flypaper strip captured moths that blindly flew into it by mistake since it is in front of window. N ow no new moths are going to the moth traps, so I have to assume the first traps got most of the males and it is the busy little females still flying around and perching on cabinet doors. Next flypaper strip will be hung near the ceiling light fixture since larvae seem to migrate toward it at night. Larvae worms even have gotten into my medication bottles crawling between the tracks of the screw caps. They like fish oil capsules and vitamin E especially – probably because these are made from foods.
PLAN to get rid of they (hopefully) is throw out everything in pantry, inspect bottoms of all can goods and then bag then up in sealed bags until moths are gone from pantry, scrub out every cabinet and even doors and hinges with bleach-water cleaning solution (recommendation of extension service), then use the clothes steamer wand to treat cracks and crevasses of each cabinet to kill any nests I can’t reach. Then finally have a professional come and treat the house and kitchen with something that is probably toxic . Only then when there are no more of them showing up will I again shop for groceries for the pantry. Extension service says to freeze anything not canned for 1 week (to kill any eggs in the grocery items) when I first bring home the groceries. While at the grocery store this week, I noticed the big bags of bird seed were sored on open wire racks directly above the big bags of rolled oats used to fill open bins of bulk foods….. hmmmm… I think I know why so much food is contaminated even when it comes home!
September 14th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Well, I tried the olive oil in a dish trick for almost 3 days, noe, & not one moth in it. They are laying there eggs/cacooned larva on everything, even, my curtains.
September 10th, 2010 at 5:07 am
I thought they were gone. Several weeks ago didn’t notice anymore moths. OMG! They are everywhere…not just my kitchen, but every room. I have a bad habit of hanging my jackets on the chairs in the kitchen. Went to put on my leather jacket & the cacoons were all over it & inside the sleeves. They lay their eggs everywhere. I’m beside myself. What actually works…anything???? I’ll try the olive oil, but I don’t know. EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!! I am 67 years old & NEVER had this problem ’til last year.
September 4th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
found them nesting under my toaster! just below the crumb tray. DISGUSTING! threw it all out. hope they disappear.
August 23rd, 2010 at 3:34 pm
i FIND IT very amazing or interesting that my infestation took place in two opened bags of brown rice and yet the white rice was left alone. Could it be that the bugs did not sense any nutrition in the white rice??? hummm. I’d like some comments.
joedupont@juno.com
July 20th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
I tried the glue traps with phermones, and they catch a lot of moths. However, since they catch only male moths (since the traps use females’ phermones), any remaining ones still reproduce with the females. In most species, males want to reproduce with many females. I bought my traps at Home Depot. I am going to try peppermint oil tonight. Another Website mentioned leaving a plate of olive oil to catch them. I may also try that (not near the peppermint, of course).
June 8th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
I battle these guys every may/june is when they come back until about November. I seal everything, wipe off all cans of foood before it comes into my pantry, store nothing that is not in containers, freeze my dog food, bisquit, flour, rice everything before I seal it in a air tight container and it still doesn’t matter. They are somewhere I don’t know, have never found a source or infested food item, so don’t know? I will say yes you can get the lures at lots of places even Bimart, they are just flour/pantry moth traps but the one problem with that and I had an entomologist tell me this is that they can smell that pheromone miles away and in the warm weather you can lure them in from the outside so I wonder if maybe that is why I see them around May/june and they are gone around November. I have used these traps for the last couple of years but am thinking of getting rid of them completely and see what happens. I did put one outside once just to see and I did catch them outside so just and FYI to people. Good luck cause I know what it is like to struggle with these gross little things.
June 8th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Thanks for the info, Tracy! Will try this!
June 8th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I got my sticky traps from my neighbor who works for terminex. If you call them in your town just tell them you need sticky (pheromone) sorry spelling —traps for these flour moths or whatever they are called and they should be able to sell you some. it works. we put I think 3 or 4 of them out and it did the trick. don’t give up too early though cause it did take a week or so if I remember right.
June 8th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
OMG!!! I’m glad I found this Forum. Only, one person said where she bought these traps. What are the names on them? Anyone????? I had this problem, last year, & got rid of cake mixes, mac & cheese, cereal, oatmeal [they love that], etc. Yes, I found some under labels on unopened cans & under lids, etc. I thought I had gotten rid of them! Well, they came back a couple months ago & yes, they are in every room in the house. I found a couple cocoons with the worms in them on my Spring jacket that I have been wearing. Oh, they are, so, disgusting!!! I have a cat, so, am going to check his dry food. Hope they have not invaded that…..poor kitty! Thanks for all the tips. I will be checking here, again!
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:10 am
They will go into the peg holes of your cupboards and will nest in starofoam
and papertowels! I have been moth free for 3 days! Use pharamoane traps! They will help u now and let u know in future if they are back!
April 23rd, 2010 at 9:40 am
We bought some small triangular traps from Lowe’s that are working great. Also all the food going into airtight containers helps too. We still have some stragglers flying around but the numbers are dwindling drastically. Thanks for the advice!
March 25th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
We have been invaded! I am worried that they will start eating clothing, too? does anyone know if they do? They are flying all over the kitchen and making us nuts.. but then, some are appearing upstairs in the bedrooms and bathroom, so I am afriad they might be nesting in non-food areas… is that typical, too?
I have thrown out everything and this weekend will do the major scrub.. going to try the peppermint oil treatment, too, to see if that works after cleaning, but am concerned about those who have escaped to other parts of the house where there is no food.. Any suggestions?
March 4th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Kristin,
I tried everything too, but mark my words, these traps work! Been free of them for years now. Good luck!
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Last year around August I found these things in a plastic container of bird food my cousin sent with a cockateil he was giving to me to take care of. After that I found in every box of cereal, bag of rice, and in my pots and pans making nests. Every time I went to went to make rice for dinner for my family the worms would float to the top and I personally haven’t been able to eat rice since. These bugs are disgusting. This is the second in 12 months I will have to throw away 100′s of dollars of food, that my family can’t reallt afford to get rid of. I’m going to clean the cupboards, cabinets, etc but I’m also gonna try the lures mentioned in the top part of this page. I’ll let you know if it works. I really just don’t know what else to do.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:56 pm
i had to laff at that aliens comment, me and my partner hav been battling this for about 9months now it has been relentless. we put everything in these containers where the lids slide down thinking they wouldnt be able to get thru, guess what? u have to have sealed lids that screw on air tight completely! so we had this container that we were leaving walnuts still in bag and some raisins still i bag and then in container, we pulled it out from the back of the pantry doing a regular clean that we do now cause we have been fighting these things for so long and my partner goes: oh no! it looks like alien! then i came online looking for some sorta solution cuase this is so outta control and i see that alien comment we laffed so hard!
January 7th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Is it unusual for Flour Moths to infest peanuts in shells? If so, how long would it take for the for larvae to hatch and become actual flying moths? It appears the peanuts in question were originally from China, classified as “Virginia Peanuts Raw in Shell”
January 6th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I have these guys. Cleaned out one cabinet, not realizing they were in my pantry too. Now, I have cleaned out the pantry, gotten rid of everything not in a can or jar, scrubbed the pantry. But, the worms are also in the corners of everything. By the ceiling, by the light fixtures, under the shelves, like someone else said, the more I look, the more I find. Pest control is coming today, hope they can get them.
October 31st, 2009 at 1:39 am
If you are on the internet looking for a solution for this, then you have a bad case! That’s why I am here too:) I’d seen moths, at first thought they were clothes moths, then started thinking to check my dry goods for them. I’d never had that much trouble–just find the source, eliminate it, and then get rid of all the open things. But not this time!! I hadn’t been able to find anything that seemed infested, then one night saw 2 moths on my paper towels below the cabinet with the flour. Well…worth a look, and moths were on the door and edge of the cabinet. The more I cleaned out, the more there were. Still not finding where they are coming from. So it was: Everything out!! Nothing seems to have anything in it, so I pick up the package of nuts and a WORM is crawling away from it. Then I see more worms (larva, but it IS a worm!) on the package. I wipe off every single item, since I’ve finally seen the little webby things (is that where eggs are?) so I wipe it all off, then see some little 1/2 inch flattish fuzzy things (cocoon?)where the inside cabinet panels meet. Wipe those. NOTHING goes back in, and a lot of stuff is in the trash. That was three days ago, fewer moths, but they are still there. If nothing else, my kitchen will be very clean. Sorry that so many other people are “sharing” this problem. I will call an exterminator soon if this doesn’t end quickly. Can’t leave everything out of the cabinets forever. And I don’t have that much room to put it all in the fridge! Good luck!
October 9th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I have these pests also, I opened the cat food container and they flew right at me. I put all the food in a plastic garbage bag & the next day I saw the little worms. Just today 10-11-09 one flew into my wine. I’m going to try the fly paper. something has to work. I hate them. I just hope they don’t carry any type of disease. Do they? even if u clean ur cavinets with hot soapy water they still are there. my daughter tried that. thanks, Barb Selgas
July 24th, 2009 at 1:10 am
I have indian meal moths in a bathroom that has been torn down to its studs to remodel. We have sprayed it numerous times with pest spray and they are still in there? Don’t know what to do, I don’t want them in my new bathroom when it is done. I also have been catching some mediterranean flour moths in sticky traps. I have to say all my food is frozen first, then stored in tight containers. I don’t even put stuff in my beautiful pantry except like canned food, paper towels, capri suns etc. These things are driving me nuts. I had them a year ago, went 9 months with no signs of moths and now both are back. My dog food gets put in the freezer, along with flour, pasta EVERYTHING!!!! I don’t know what else to do or check. I never see any cocoons, or webs or anything. Just catch the moths in the traps and occassionaly see one flying. Does anybody have any suggestions, I have little kids and don’t want to use a pest company but we are sooooo tired of this. I feel like a prisoner in my own home. Please any advice would be so appreicated.
Could they be in my ducting or vents? I vacuum and spray being my washer/dryer, refer, stove etc. also.
thanks
July 1st, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I’ve been working on ridding the pantry of these creatures for about a year. I cleaned out everything last year, threw out grain, flour cereal, etc and guess what? You’ve got it, they’re back. Those little moth traps are good, but the moths just keep coming. This weekend, I’ll try to conquer them again.
One thing you can say, if you have these little moths, you’re never alone. Well, I’d actually rather be alone
April 9th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Help – we’ve had them for awhile and thought they were clothes moths but then we found them in a box of cereal. We cleaned out the pantry. That is where the cereal was. I mean threw things away, vaccumed, scrubbed, and even painted the pantry. Wiped all cans down, everything. Now the moths are back and they are all over the house. Not just in the kitchen. Bedrooms, bathrooms, hallway, everywhere. We are going to wage war this weekend but I have a couple questions. Do they nest in plants or anywhere there isn’t food? We can’t find any nests besides what we already cleaned out of the pantry so I don’t know where to find them. Also, we have two dogs. I am afraid to leave their food out for them now. Any idea’s. They don’t eat at set times. They just eat at any hour of the day. Can they get into boxes like Kraft Mac N Cheez or does it have to be sealed in a plastice bag in order for us to keep it. I am going to throw away food but not sure what all I need to get rid of. I am going to clean everyroom from top to bottom, and I am shopping tonight for plastic containers for cereal, various noodles, bread box etc…I am going to vaccum carpets and furniture. What am I missing??? Is there anything else I need to do? Do they nest in bedsheets or curtains? I plan on scrubbing all the kitchen cabinets but I am kinda concerned about the other rooms in the house. What else do I need to look for. Would it be better to just call in a bug guy and have them take care of it? How expensive? Thanks in advance for any help. All bugged out!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Last week I scrubbed out my pantry and washed every bottle & tin. I took out the shelves and washed behind and alongside them. Guess What? today I opened the pantry door and there were three flour moths! Is there any essential oil that can keep them away? I only put packaged foods like sugar in the pantry. Everything else gets frozen for 3 days (at least) and then put into airtight containers. That works very well as any eggs will be killed. My theory is that every grain product has the eggs in the package already & as I live in a warm climate they hatch out if not frozen & killed. I keep my spare grains & lentils in a spare fridge – after they have been frozen.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Ours came in from sesame seeds purchased in bulk. We’ve had them for over a year. When we catch one we feed it to our goldfish. Everything needs to be in a sealed container/jar. When you come home from the grocery everything needs to be repackaged into tupperware or glass jars with rubber rings. If a box is just on a counter or in a cupboard they will get in. You’ll need to wash out all your cabinets and buy some flypaper to hang up.
We are still working on getting rid of them.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:18 am
Wow has anyone seen Aliens. I just found a colony living in a large canister of oatmeal. Thank God I didn’t open it. I stopped at the last second for no apparent reason. It had this nest looking thing in the top of it. It reminded me exactly of that movie. It seems the adults come out in the dark. I was wondering where the moths were coming from. Every time I turned out the lights to watch a movie I’d suddenly see 3 or 4 moths flying around. So I’d definitely say that I think they’re nocturnal cause I’d never see them during the day.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
yes they are hard to get rid of they more than likely came in from pet food you can get ri of them clean out you cupbords get a strong pest aside sorry its cheaper than paing some one to do it you can bomb too. look on walls to all over youe house too some look likr little maggots crawling up the walls really sweattie you can do it some stores are very nasty corner stores you would be suprised if they don’t look clean dont go and stop going to the stores you are going too god knows how long pet food ar any thing has been there . don’t shop at dirty stacked up garbagge store good luck email me if you need mor help hang in there i know what your going through.
October 14th, 2008 at 5:36 am
We just moved into a new apt in May, and have had wormy pasta and couscous and hordes of moths since. I think we are bringing them home in grains from the organic grocery store nearby. I am throwing out every speck of food in the pantry and getting out the hot, soapy water. Thank you.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Savina
Cabinet types have no bearing on these guys. You bought something that had lavae in it. Possibly pet food as that is the most common product that they love. Look for other dry goods if that isn’t the culprit. ie oatmeal, cereal grains etc.
regards Cahri
June 23rd, 2006 at 2:56 pm
i have so many in my pantry alot are double ended im having pest control come to my house in four days.WHAT CAN I DO?