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Message |
    
Mtam
Citizen
Username: Mtam
Post Number: 58
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 8:25 pm: | 
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We cannot get rid of the moths! We have cleaned out our cupboards, thrown out any open jars and boxes of items like flour and lentils and nuts, put our nuts and dried fruit in the freezer for four days, as recommended by one website--and they still keep coming back. Do we need an exterminator? Has anyone else waged this battle? |
joy
Citizen
Username: Joy
Post Number: 396
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 8:33 pm: |
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Do a search on the topic - plenty of posts - but to sum up:
Throw everything out that's not in cans or jars.
Clean all surfaces - some people use weak pesticides - I didn't. I used Fantastic and then a damp rag.
Get moth traps from the pet store in town. put them where ever you have grain products stored.
Freeze dried fruits and grain products for a couple of days.
Remember pet food and bird food can be the cause as well - keep them in air tight containers.
the moth traps are the most important part we're moth free and freeze everything - but I still buy them - coz I'm been too grossed out more times than like to admit. |
kriss
Citizen
Username: Kriss
Post Number: 261
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 8:48 pm: |
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It is a battle. We went the exterminator route after battling the little buggers for about a year, and losing.
Inspect everything meticulously. We found moth larvae in unopened pasta boxes, in the grooves of the inside of jar lids, and behind the paper labels on cans. Throw away everything you are not 100% sure is not infested.
After the purge, we put any new boxes of food we bought into plastic zip-locs before putting away in the cupboard.
We had Jerry Buckingham come and spray, and he put down some traps as well.
No moths since then.
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6yearrez
Citizen
Username: 6yearrez
Post Number: 148
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 9:29 pm: |
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Totally agree on the moth traps. They work great and they are dirt cheap. Google on Agro-Biotech Corp. Just checked mine and couldn't find the exact website. If you eliminate the moths, that will take care of the worms (larvae) you may also be seeing. Joy, didn't know they had them in town...will have to look. |
Camnol
Citizen
Username: Camnol
Post Number: 256
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 10:29 pm: |
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Use toothpicks and clean out the holes that the shelf supports go in. That is where my moths were laying their eggs. Once I did that my infestation was over. |
Lizziecat
Citizen
Username: Lizziecat
Post Number: 1085
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 11:41 pm: |
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Moth traps are essential. I got some from the Vermont Country Store online. |
CageyD
Citizen
Username: Cageyd
Post Number: 630
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, March 4, 2006 - 11:44 pm: |
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Mtam,
we had a bad infestation about 8 months ago. I threw out 3 contractor bags of food - all pasta, grains, sugars, cereals.
I used a mild bleach solution in all my cabinets that held dried foods.
Then I moved all my food to my dishes cabinets and vice versa.
lastly, I used the moth traps that can be purchased at pet stores.
We had great luck with this approach.
I will tell you - if you have pets - i think the culpret in these infestations are products sold at pet stores. The owners at Maplewood Pet store told me 1) they can't keep the moth traps in stock - they are so popular
2) they have those same moths all over their store in the bird feed, dog food, cat food.
We went months without a moth - after taking the above mentioned actions. THen a neighbor offered to get me a bag of dog food on her trip to the local pet store. I accepted her offer - I ususally buy my pet food at Costco. Within days of recieving the pet food purchased at the pet store, we had moths in the house again.
So far, using the traps, we have (I think) managed to keep the problem at bay - though every now and again we have flying friend about.
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bill671
Citizen
Username: Bill671
Post Number: 357
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 5, 2006 - 1:03 am: |
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Check your spices - they were our Achilles Heel!!! |
6yearrez
Citizen
Username: 6yearrez
Post Number: 150
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 5, 2006 - 11:18 am: |
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they were actually in our red pepper flakes. It's true, nothing was safe. Mostly the corn meal, oatmeal, pasta, and breadcrumbs. We had some pretty psyched moths. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 6846
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 5, 2006 - 11:50 am: |
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We were so infested that we found them in tablecloths kept in the pantry with dry goods.
We actually had to gut our kitchen and den to the studs and rebuild to get rid of them once and for all.
Just kidding.... we were renovating. When we packed up for the project, we threw out everything with grains in a cardboard box. Even things with plastic bags inside like unopened boxes of creal. Table cloths and placements that could not be washed in very hot water also went. |
Mtam
Citizen
Username: Mtam
Post Number: 59
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, March 5, 2006 - 5:59 pm: |
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thanks everyone--we have done a pretty thorough job of cleaning out everything, so we absolutely must go with the moth traps now. it's unbelievable, and we don't have pets, either. so monday morning we're heading right to the pet store. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 12743
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, March 5, 2006 - 11:56 pm: |
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When you buy something made out of ANY grain, not just wheat, put it in the freezer for three days. Then you can store it anywhere. Freezing kills the eggs.
Use this advice in addition to the other advice.
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Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 593
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Monday, March 6, 2006 - 12:40 am: |
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I went through this and seeing a worm crawling across my kitchen ceiling made me realize these moths weren't just flying around, but were making families in my house - I was completely skeeved out! 
We spent/wasted a small fortune on throwing out EVERYTHING and buying tons of the moth traps and also a crack spraying pesticide to kill eggs/larvae that were hiding. Left food out for a week, washed out the cupboards again and then put food back. I put a moth catcher on every food shelf and caught MANY more moths!
Meanwhile, any food that wasn't sealed tight I immediately put into a ziploc baggie. Check each baggie before using any non-sealed food and look for telltale larvae or webbing. The moths come home in food from the store. They eat chocolate, nuts, grains, anything. (my source turned out to be bulk cashews that were stored in the fold-down bag I bought them in. They were forgotten in the back of a cupboard and it was full of webs etc.)
I use Tupperware for cereal storage and everything else - snacks, crackers, pasta, nuts - is either in tupperware after being opened or is left in ziploc baggies. This has been going on for about 4 years now. And I've never seen another moth or worm! I'll never stop sealing my food again. (Tip, you can reuse the ziplocs a lot of times as you use up and buy new things so it's not a total waste of money/environment)
I learned everything I know about pantry pests from www.bugspray.com, and also ordered my supplies from them. Very fast shipping and detailed instructions.
Do it right the 1st time and hopefully it'll be your last time! Good luck! |
Shanabana
Citizen
Username: Shanabana
Post Number: 239
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Monday, March 6, 2006 - 10:31 am: |
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Also, they can feed behind loose wallpaper--wheat paste!--as I learned when we removed some in our kitchen. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 304
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 6, 2006 - 1:01 pm: |
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They got into my unopened tissue boxes. I used a fumigator from the grocery store that you add a measured amount of water to. (Be careful of the "spray bomb" type, they can be explosive if used near open flames.) After two treatments of the fumigator, the problem was solved.
Freezing and safeguarding what you have is a good beginning. |
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