They pretty much leave our clothes alone.
When I saw my first moth in the kitchen cupboard a few months ago, I really didn’t think much of it. “It’ll die, and that’ll be the last of it,” I told myself.
But no. The moths, they got romantical with each other. And then we had baby moths. Otherwise known as maggots.
And, being the loving, caring parents these moths are, they wanted their babies to come into this world well-provided-for. So they ate their way through any plastic-bag-wrapped food in our pantry and laid their little baby-moth-maggot eggs there. In the corn meal. And the pecans. And the marshmallows.
The moths, they overtook us.
So we cleansed ourselves of the moths. We purged any and all food currently being used as a maggot nursery. (Which left our cupboards pretty bare.) We (and read: “I“) wiped down every surface. There were no moth-maggot-eggs remaining.
I moved all our moth-preferred-non-perishables into an open-air-type setting (a bookshelf set up as a “pantry”. Because the moths, (contrary to typical moth behavior,) they do not like the light.
But still, all these many moons later, I occasionally open a cupboard door to find a moth fluttering about playfully. And I walk into the kitchen to see a moth nervously skitter away from me. (Can a flying-thing “skitter”?)
What can I do to completely eradicate these unwelcome house guests?
The common, predictable answer would be to go get moth balls. However, if one was to read the instructions on said “moth balls,” you would see recommendations to “wash thoroughly every item of clothing that comes in contact with moth balls before wearing.” Which, understandably, makes me incredibly nervous to put my food in contact with said “moth balls.”
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Be sure to come back tomorrow for the Unhealthy Snacks edition of Recipe Swap!
OMGOSH! We have these, too… I am no help. I have no idea how to get rid of them. We have thrown all the food out, vaccum\ed everything, wiped it all down… and yet still, STILL they persist.
I’m watching your blog. Someone will know!
ewwwwwwww! My question of the day is also getting rid of pests. I am no help at all. Actually, if I came to your home the pests in my home would probably follow me and then you’d have even more to deal with! ugh.
Well you can get blocks of cedar wood and put them in the cupboard. We in the north tend to keep our wool in cedar chests to help keep moths out of them, so I would assume that the same would work in your cupboards. It would be a natural remedy. You just need to make sure that the cedar is a fragrant kind and rough it up occasionally with a little sand paper.
This also happened to my mother in law once. She stared keeping her rice, flour, cornmeal, in the freezer for a week or so to kill any eggs before putting it in her cupboards.
Putting all dried goods in plastic containers with tight sealing lids also helps.
I live in Texas and this is a major problem. I have found some things help. First, check your food when it comes in. I have had it come in from cereal, especially granola from some bulk stores. One big store in Austin has given me such headaches I do not shop there any more! Put all such food in an airtight container so that if they come in you are not spreading them. I keep my whole grains in the freezer. Whole grains attract them more than ever.
Go through your pantry and throw out anything that has them or anything that looks like a “web” stuff in them, dry beans, grains, seeds (sprouting) cereals etc. Toss them in a trash can outside. Now, wash down all shelves, walls, corners, with a cleaner.
Get some DE (diatrematious earth) there is a food grade that is used for animals and safe and natural. Just do not breath in the dust. I put it on my floor and the corner of the shelves. Can be purchased in feed stores, gardening stores I think and such, just make sure to get the food grade.
Hope this helps. Going through all these steps in a pain, but the only way I know to get rid of them.
These buggers are per-sis-tent!
I’ve read about wiping out cupboards and shelves with bleach water and letting it air dry (pay particular attention to corners and crevices).
I’ve also read somewhere about freezing all new containers grains (flour, rice, etc) for 24 hours to kill off any unhatched eggs before putting them away in the pantry.
Other suggestions have been Tupperware or glass airtight containers for storage. Someone on one msg board (or blog?) said they are attracted to some plastics and will eat right thru them and advised against Tupperware.
You will have to go through EVERYTHING that has grains in it. Four, rice, cereal, oatmeal, Mrs. Grass noodle soups, etc. One infested item in your pantry can spread to everything very quickly.
I had these buggers in our 1st apartment. All I can say is good luck.
Get some cedar wood. The moths will leave you along. You can get some nearly anywhere that sells closet supplies. Yes, it is usually used in the closet, but my grandmother used it everywhere and swore by it.
I didn’t read comments, so hope I don’t repeat anything– but we had same problem a few years ago. We did the same… emptying all cupboards. ANY grain items that aren’t visibly ‘infested’ were put into the freezer for a few days. I read that if there were any eggs or anything (in the folds of the packaging or whatever), that it would take care of them. After emptying cupboards and wiping them down, I kept ALL grains and dried fruit either in fridge or freezer for a good month. Just to give my pantry time to be completely RID of the moths! They will go away if there is no available food source for them. In the meantime I put many BAYLEAFS in the pantry, a few on each shelf. These are supposed to drive moths away. I bought tupperware cereal boxes. (They’re so cool!) P.S. there were little ‘spider-web-like cocoons at the bottom of random pantry items (like my boxes of teas, jars of honey, in the edges of the peanut butter lids, etc… so make sure to look at *every* pantry item carefully, even if it’s not a grain item, and clean in HOT water or throw away.) After about a month, they were gone & I was able to replace all items. I kept the bayleaves out a few more months after that too, just because I was paranoid of them coming back! Cereal still goes into tupperware cereal boxes. Opened grain items (rice, pasta) gets doubled in gallon-size ziplocks. That’s about all I can think of. There are also sticky moth tape trap things at Lowes– they attract the male moths with pheramones, and they fly in there and get stuck. I found them quite sad because they got stuck but stayed alive (& suffering) for quite some time, so I threw them away. Hope that helps!!! -Megan
eww…freeze the unhatched eggs that are in the grains? does that mean you will ingest dead moths? i’m just confused
I second on the bay leaves, they really help repell the moths.
There are a few more natural, food-safe alternatives to these pests. Both require (as it seems you’ve done) that you clean everything down completely & get rid of all of your current pantry stash. So sorry about that, but it’s better in the long run. I recommend using a highly-concentrated solution of vinegar & water to clean, as it’s both effective & food-safe.
THEN… find (probably in your natural foods store, or online), tea tree oil or lavender oil. You will not need much (a 2 oz bottle should be good), but you will need it to be 100% oil of lavender or tea tree oil, not a combo thing.
Combine the oil with a full spray-bottle of warm water. Shake vigorously to make sure it’s mixed together (per those pesky water/oil properties!). Generously spray the insides of your cupboards. Let it air dry. You can also saturate a small piece of cloth or cotton ball to hide in the backs of cupboards.
This solution is also quite effective when treating mattresses to clean out mites, if you’ve come in contact with lice, etc. You’ll want to shake it each time you use the spray bottle, and don’t let it get in eyes (as it will hurt – owie!).
best of luck with it…
I second and third all the suggestions about glass storage with tight-fitting lids, freezing for a day or two, the vinegar water (I used straight up vinegar…), and using lavender/tea tree/ or rosemary EO, and the bayleaves. Yes. 😀 My grandma keeps a bayleaf in every grain container.
I had these in my old house.
They only eat whole grains and stuff that resembles nutrition, so they wouldn’t be in anything like white flour.
When you buy anything whole grain: oats, rice, wheat flour, etc put it in the freezer for 24 hours. Then store it in the fridge. Whole grains should be there anyway to keep them fresh. The natural oils go rancid FAST. Most of us are just used to the way rancid whole wheat tastes. Most of the whole wheat flour at the grocery store, for example, is rancid.
That’s what worked for me. 🙂
I have never seen these in my life until I came to live in Spain. During the summer last year I was doing inventory of my pantry goods before grocery shopping and found a bunch of moths inside a ziploc bag containing walnuts. It was pretty gross and Immediatley threw it away and went through everything to make sure there were no more. About a month and a half or so later I started spotting these white little worms on my ceiling in the kitchen and killed them as I saw them. I started noticing they were always close to two particular areas where food was stored.
It was very disturbing because I am maniacal about cleanliness particularly in the kitchen. I don’t want any bugs in my house especially roaches so I clean constantly. I started emptying out those cabinets and going through flour and cake mixes, anything that I could think of. I no longer found moths, but found those horrible nasty little worms. they were in the rice, the flour, the brownie mix, the cake mix, the cornmeal. Everything they infested had the nasty web like thingy. I found them in tea bags and contrary to previous comment that they only like healthy food mine loved everything. It was major undertaking going through every single item, and rescuing what they hadn’t gotten to yet. I froze everything that looked clean and threw everything else away. Hundreds of dollars in the trash because of these horrible creatures. Needless to say everything was examined before consumption. I became obsessed. Everytime I entered the kitchen I looked closely at the ceiling. After I thought I had got gotten rid of them, a second wave came through. This time I threw away even stuff that didn’t look infested. I wiped the inside of the cabinets down with bleach and sprayed the whole kitchen specially the ceiling at corners and such with insecticide. I didn’t see any more….Until! I saw the damn moths flying in and out the pantry again. I have killed about 5 or 6 so far. They start to reappear after winter right around March and April. Sure enough those suckers are back. I believe they come from outdoors because ever since I experienced this I freeze everything that could freeze without damage for at least 7 days or more. So I’m waging an all out war again and hope that I come out the victor because I just cannot let the bugs win!
I have to say that since the last time I saw some activity by the little devils and I killed them as I saw them, then emptyed out the cabinet and froze everything in it I haven’t seen anymore or any of their nasty offspring. Everything is still in the freezer. The cabinent I washed down with bleach and sprayed to death with insecticide(Sorry natural mommy, but unlike you I really use all modern conveniences) If it’s any consolation the spray is lavender scented. I’m going to put a screen on the kitchen window in case as I suspect they come from outside. After I place everything back in the cabinet I will let you know if I see any more.
I missed this post back when you posted it, for some reason. I’m chiming in that I keep everything in my freezer. But I don’t have moths. Perhaps that’s the reason? 🙂
I am not really much of a homemaker, spending about 55 hours a week at work. However, I am currently waging a battle against these evil little moths. However, unlike others I have also found them in my sealed plastic jar of white flour. Both my mom and sister (a trained chef) have suggested keeping items such as flour, rice, etc. in the freezer (but first I need to use up the food I have and defrost that disaster). Thanks to everyone’s suggestions. I plan to clean my pantry cabinet out with vinegar and using both the bay leaf and lavender ideas to ward off any future visits. I will provide you all with an update if I do not misplace this website.
Well,
this is my two cents…cook grains like rice and barley immediately! Don’t store them. These grains freeze wonderfully when cooked. Just portion them into ziplocks and freeze. It makes cooking healthy meals a snap. I tend to make one batch cooked in vegetable broth, one batch plain, and the other batch as yellow rice.
Other grains get the freezer treatment before I store them in glass storage jars. Flour grains are immediately ground and stored in the freezer.
I’m a natural-type mom as well, and one who also minored in entomology as an undergrad. And I’m neat and clean as well, so don’t go reading any slovenliness into my comment. But here is my take, and I’m sure it will gross some of you out, but I stand by it. Much of the world eats insects, with no problem. And many of you ingest them all the time, unawares. The universe is set up this way, and that’s alright. These are not health-hazardous issues; as moms, the problem for us is really psychological, one of “grossness,” as well concern that we shouldn’t look like rotten housekeepers. As a woman who has NEVER suffered from or understood the near-universal aversion of women to insects (in fact, they are fascinating creations), my solution to the infestations you describe is JUST TO EAT THE FOOD ANYWAY. Yes, eat it anyway, without even giving a second thought. I use brown rice, and I’ll put it in some water, let whatever rises to the top do so for several minutes, then pour off the water, add the recommended amount of cooking water, and then cook and eat. Look at it this way: anything in there increases the protein count, and the boiling will kill off anything else you may be (irrationally, I believe) worrying about. So stop throwing out your grains and your money with them. Store in the freezer if you must, but otherwise, cut the irrationality, get over it, and use the stuff. You will be fine.
Wow! well I’m sure that we all have probably ingested the eggs that these nasty little moths lay without knowing it and although the thought repulses me neither me or any of my family members have gotten sick by this,but that is about all I can do. I cannot knowingly eat any food that has been contaminated by these. If any of you have ever seen those worms crawling in the stuff the infest you would think twice before eating the stuff. Maybe it won’t kill me but the thought alone it’s enough to keep from doing it. I’m sorry I just don’t share the last person love for bugs. I will continue to keep vigil and freeze everything.
Today if began with wage of war on the culprit that has given me a run for my money in terms of throwing away all the food stuffs in my cupboards. P.s. I did find a larva in the inside of one of my spice bottles. Yessir, they get into even the freezer bags that are still unopened and lay their eggs. I think that either moths came in during a time when my husband had not yet got the screen in the kitchen window or the more obvious reason could be that I purchased infested food. I am sick about this, what wIth the cost of food.
I have worked in the cupboards tonight by emptying out all boxes, and plactics. The worse infestation was in a can (which i thought had an air-tight lid) of raisens.
Wish me luck, people, because I am taking the advise all the sites I have visited on the web today and having found this page, i am using Vinegar for cleaning, freezing new grains and using Lavander oil. Also, I found a trap that attracts moths with pheromones.
The moths that eat your clothes and the ones that like food are 2 different types of moths. The food loving ones are Indianmeal moths and cedar won’t affect them at all. They do love junk food, especially chocolate, so keep an eye on Halloween treats. Good luck in the battle. I just found my office cabinets infested thanks to a box of Girl Scout cookies I had hidden away from the rest of the family. That’s what I get for not sharing. LOL
I am at this very instant cleaning out my cupboards due to these moths. I’ve been putting everything that is opened, like pasta, cookies, and beans in Ziploc bags. Am I wasting my time?
Every eight weeks, I order from a food co-op, so have large amounts of flour/rice/oats/dried fruit/nuts/seeds/beans in the house all at once. I carefully check all incoming food items for the tiny cobwebby signs along the plastic bag edges that signal a moth infestation. All seeds and nuts go straight in the freezer. As stated by others, this kills any eggs. Part of my flour goes into the freezer, and the remainder goes into glass jars with airtight lids. (Not natural cork lids; larvae can burrow through. Try Ikea for great glass jars, in many sizes – you’ll later appreciate the investment!) Plastic bags, and even tupperware, do not deter food moths or their larvae. I don’t understand why, but they still manage to get in. Glass is the only method I’ve found that totally keeps them out. All other foodstuffs go into glass jars. I’ve never had a moth infestation, but a close friend has, and after helping her with clean-up, we both vowed never to go through anything like that again! After completely cleaning her kitchen cupboards, (and vacuuming them; apparently the eggs get into the tiniest nooks and crannies), all food was thrown away; newly purchased items immediately went into glass jars or the freezer, and she has had no problem since.
I am relieved to hear you say this, because I just made a huge pot of chicken with rice soup and did not discover that there were some moth maggots in the rice till after I added it to the soup, after cooking it. Ewww.
But I wasn’t about to throw out all that soup, so I’m eating it anyway.
Indian meal moths (that have a pale band across the middle) are particularly likely to enter via packets of whole grains, wholefood peanuts etc. and they leave silk threads through food. But other, larger house moths also eat starchy food. Clothes moths (again more than one species) are the smaller, more ragged looking things.
It’s disconcerting and good to be rid of, but also bear in mind that proprietary insecticides are much more likely to be a health hazard than the meal moths. We consume ground up insects in our food every day. Meal moths can penetrate screw top jars, so choose rubber-seal jars for stored wholefood.
I am so happy to find this website today. Last summer we were infested with the meal worms and moths. I felt like every time I walked into the kitchen there was another worm on the ceiling. Prior to the infestation I stored most items in tupperware, airtight containers or ziplock baggies, but these little buggers still thrived. Last summer I cleaned the cupboards/pantry with vinegar and water and was vigilant about not letting crumbs spill in the cupboards and keeping an eye on everything and they seemed to have disappeared over the winter months. However, with spring coming to New England I fear that they will return. I just looked into my “Martha Stewart Homekeeping Handbook” and she recommends cedar shelf/drawer liners. Has anyone ever used these in the kitchen? I just started to explore where to buy some and found some on Amazon.com, but I am hesitant to buy them for the kitchen.
aggh. i’m dealing with the moths now and found all the advise very helpful – THANK YOU!
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