We’ll be discussing how to get rid of pantry moths for good, including necessary preventive strategies to keep these insects away.

Pantry moths are among the most common insect pest issues people have to deal with. You’re likely to find them in dog food, flour, or cereal among others. Leaving these pests unattended will only aggravate the problem.

Therefore finding an immediate and lasting solution to it is the way to go.

We’re providing helpful information on the most effective ways to get rid of any pantry moth problem. Each of these strategies has been tested with great results.

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You only need to choose any, or a combination of these to apply in getting rid of the problem fast!

What Are Pantry Moths?

This seems like an obvious question, right? However, there are lots of other people who might find it difficult to identify what these are. Chances are that you’ve seen or come across these moths without knowing their names.

However, that’s beside the point. The activities of pantry moths are the same.

You’ll find them in flour, dried beans, grains, baking chocolate, rice, cake mixes, herbs, teas, dog food, nuts, and so on. These pests will infest just about any stored food product.

To prevent that from happening, effective steps will need to be taken to get rid of them. These and more will be considered shortly.

You may find pantry moths in the bedroom if your food store is not far away. It’s also possible to find pantry moth larvae on the ceiling. At this stage, they are looking for dark crevices to develop into adult moths.

How Did I Get A Pantry Moth Infestation?

Pantry moth infestation can occur in a variety of ways.

However, the most common way people get pantry moth infestation is through the food processing chain.

In other words, when food products are being processed from a packaging facility, there’s a likelihood that such foods contain eggs laid by adult pantry moths.

When such products are shipped to end-users or consumers, it will only take a short time before the problem begins to manifest.

Pantry moths lay as much as 400 eggs at one time. This should give you some perspective about the level of infestation that will unfold if drastic action isn’t taken.

Are Pantry Moths Harmful?

When it comes to pantry moths, you don’t need to worry about the harm or threat of diseases because there’s none. This is despite being cooked or ingested. Although pantry moths mostly infest food products, they won’t hesitate to eat their way into fabrics and furniture.

So, while no disease is posed, you’ll still want to find an immediate solution to prevent damage to fabrics and furniture.

Getting rid of these pests can be quite challenging if you don’t know how to go about it. Thankfully, the information we’ll supply should suffice in finding a lasting solution.

Pantry Moths Extermination Methods

There’s no single way to get the job done. In other words, you can get rid of this problem through the application of a variety of strategies. This section focuses on these strategies or options.

You can also decide to apply one or more of these for the best results. It all depends on what your preferences are.

  • Finding The Source Of The Problem

Whenever you notice a pantry moth infestation, you should understand that such a problem was in the making long before you noticed. In other words, it is likely to have sprung up from contaminated food. Hence the need to inspect every food packaging to identify the source.

In the case of a full-blown infestation, pantry moths will have found their way from the place of origin (contaminated food package) into other food packages. Any of these containing pantry moths will have to be disposed of immediately.

  • Inspect Packages Before Purchase

This is one of the most effective ways to prevent inviting these pests into your home. Whenever you go shopping, it’s important to perform an inspection of each package to ensure you aren’t adding a pantry moth-infested item into your cart. This is best done with food items with transparent packaging.

By probing or shaking a little, you should be able to spot one or more moths upon close observation. Also, check for nibbled packaging. That too is an indication that helps identify if pantry moths have been busy or not. So, how about packaging that isn’t transparent?

Can you still inspect those? Unfortunately, you can’t. Nevertheless, there’s still a way out, which takes us to the next point.

  • Freezing Dry Goods Before Storage

At very low temperatures, pantry moths are unable to survive. This fact can be used effectively against them. Dry foods of all sorts should be frozen upon your return from shopping. This is meant to destroy both moths and eggs.

Consider freezing such products for about 4 days.

This includes those goods you’ve already inspected when shopping as well as others having packaging which isn’t transparent and can’t be inspected. Taking these precautionary measures, however, insignificant they seem to help prevent future pantry moth infestation.

  • Use Sealed Glass Or Metal Containers For Storing Edibles

It’s a fact that you can’t be 100% certain that edibles brought in from the grocery store have no pantry moths within.

Under such circumstances, you’ll need to ensure that products having these moths are sealed off. Sealing such pantry moth-infested products in metal or glass containers with tight covering helps prevent a full-blown infestation and spread.

  • Use Meal-Moth Pheromone Traps

Pantry moth traps have proven to be effective in attracting them.

The male moths are particularly attracted and get stuck (these pheromone traps come with glue). This trap is used to help determine if there’s a moth presence in your home or not.

Trapped male moths are unable to fertilize the female moths, thus, limiting or affecting their reproduction.

  • Get Rid Of Pantry Moth Infested Products

In your bid to tackle the problem effectively, one of the actions that shouldn’t be ignored has to do with getting rid of infested products. These will need to be properly disposed of as far as possible to avoid a return or spread to other areas of your home.

Trashing these food products shouldn’t be an option unless of course, you plan on emptying your trashcan immediately. Any delay will result in further spread within your home which further aggravates the problem.

  • Thorough Cleanup Of Your Pantry Area And Shelves

Your pantry area is the ground zero of moth activity.

Therefore, when taking appropriate steps to get rid of the problem, the pantry will need to be focused on. Some vacuuming will be required in addition to cleaning or scrubbing all surfaces.

To perform a thorough job, the entire pantry will need to be emptied of all its contents.

Inspect for cracks or holes on such shelves. This includes the corners. Using a flashlight will help you inspect properly. After a thorough cleanup, you may need to replace torn shelf liners for better coverage.

  • Get Rid Of Food Supplies Which Haven’t Been Used In A Long While

A lot of times, people buy more food items than they need. This includes those who shouldn’t be kept for so long past their shelve lives.

Remember, before making a purchase, certain food items have been on store shelves for quite a long time. Those items are more likely to contain pantry moths.

Bringing these in and leaving them for extended periods only serves to worsen the problem. Try as much as possible to find out how long such items have been on the store shelves.

Avoid those who have spent quite a long time on shelves.

Also, inspect your pantry and get rid of food supplies that have been unused for quite some time. Replace these with a new supply if possible.

It helps significantly to ensure you don’t have to deal with a future pantry moth infestation.

  • Introduce Some Bay Leaves Into Your Pantry

Bay leaves serve as natural repellents due to the pungent smell they have. It doesn’t matter if you use dry or fresh bay leaves. It has the same effect. These should be placed at strategic locations within your pantry.

In no time, its pungent smell which is disliked by pantry moths spreads across the pantry area, thus getting rid of them.

  • Consider Using Some Essential Oils

Essential oils are known to be effective against a wide variety of household pests. This includes pantry moths.

Get any of these (such as eucalyptus, tea tree, citronella, lavender, or peppermint oils) and apply a few drops around your pantry area, especially along with the corners, sides, and holes or cracks if any.

Be careful, however, not to apply directly to food products.

As a pantry moths exterminator, you can make use of sprays. Aunt norma’s pantry moth spray is a combination of repellents and essential oils and if used liberally would not only kill larvae and eggs but also prevent the adult moths from coming back to lay eggs, resulting in a repeated infestation.

  • Checking Regularly For Moth Activity

After a thorough cleanup and extermination of pantry moths, it is necessary to still put an eye on to observe if a desirable result will be obtained.

In some cases, the moth population may have just been diminished, though not completely.

In such situations, a resurgence won’t be so far off. In other cases, you might be lucky enough to get rid of the problem.

Nevertheless, regular inspection is essential to ensuring they never return. This includes changing your shopping habits. In other words, buying only recently restocked food items.

Some additional inspections will also help.

If you’ve read to this point, you should have a much better idea of tackling a pantry moth infestation. Most of these steps not only serve to get rid of the problem but also help prevent an infestation.

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