I wonder has anyone had an infestation of moths? They are especially bad in the kitchen, so we cleaned out the shelves, tossed out the flour products as well as many other things, and still they persist. DH thought napthalene would do the trick, guileless him. So does anyone have experience driving them out the window? Thanks in advance.
I have a lot of kitchen cleaning to do! Thanks for the advice. It looks like the biggest thing to do is get rid of the moth eggs, which involves throwing out opened packages, storing in the fridge/freezer sealed foods, cleaning out shelves, drawers, and lifting up shelves to clean eggs from the cracks and crevices. When shopping store flour/cereal etc in plastic sealed containers, as well as nuts, dried fruit etc. Then there is also moth traps that are available at hardware stores, like Lowes. After that, it might take a few days of the moths to die off (or fly away). We rang Vector Control at Santa Clara County and they are happy to identify the specimen. But from what yo tell me, its a moth that is not likely to change its diet to my clothes. Once again, thanks!
P.,
I use cedar blocks. You can get then where ever moth balls are in a store. I keep one in each closet in the house, and a few in the food areas of the kitchen. It probably doesn't take that many but they come in a package of about six.
Good luck!!
W. M
i use catchmaster moth traps: they lure and trap the males so it inturrupts the moths breeding cycles and manages the problem very well!
we just keep one out, now, up high on a kitchen shelf and change it when we notice it's full (takes months these days but when we had our infestation they'd get full pretty quick) -
anyhow, good luck!
S.
we had the same problem! it was so gross.. turns out i had bought a bad of cheap dog biscuits, put on a high shelf and forgot about them, and this was the source of the moth infestation. you have to not only squish every moth you see, but also find the source(s) where the eggs are being laid, it sounds like you have already cleaned out the kitchen but if they are still around it means they are still eating something and probably still laying eggs. hubby ended up putting every type of food that had an open lid (they favored flour, cereal, trail mix, dried fruit, etc) into plastic lidded containers to limit food access to the moths, and put moth traps in the areas where they seemed to be concentrated and finally they went away. good luck!
Hi- I don't have any advice but I have the same problem and was going to post the same question today. Would you mind sharing if you get any advice so I can see too! Thank you! Yes, the kitchen is a huge problem here too!
I've been there...they can be such a pest! The problem with these moths is that they get into everything in your pantry, even if it may look sealed (they can eat through a lot of the cardboards and weak plastic bags). I once had an infestation and had to pull all my flour, rice, cereal and dry fruits out. Then, when I bought new ones, I made sure I would double bag them in zip lock bags or place them in strong Tupperware-like containers (I felt like telling them "chew that!!"). It takes a while for the moths to completely go away. I think it took about 2 weeks. I don't know how to drive them out the window...just how to break their life cycle. I wonder if cedar chips would work (safer than naphthaline)... Since then, I absolutely ALWAYS inspect any rice I buy because I think that that is usually the source...one rice bag with even a few of them and there you go again!
I store all of my whole grain flours in the freezer. Other grain products I store in glass jars (moths can eat through plastic bags). I haven't had a problem in years.
Hi,
This happened to me too! Putting everything in plastic containers is key, but if a single egg is left behind to hatch you are right back where you startd. Traps are good, but you have to make sure to get the right kind for the moth you have. See more at http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidesan...
http://www.ehow.com/how_18818_rid-home-pantry.html.
Good luck!
K.
P.S. If your kitchen is near any bedrooms, be sure to put cedar and lavender in the drawers and closets. The last thing you want is to drive them out of your kitchen and into your wardrobe.
If you still have them flying around you didn't get them all. They like to spin little webbings in the corners of boxes,around the lids of canisters, and in cracks. so dont just look into the food itself for them- look for the slightest inkling of webs. Also, if the shelf can be removed, take it out and clean the lip and around the back edges of the shelf. It is best to throw away ALL open products if you are in doubt. (you can canister it, but you will be ingesting any left over bugs that suffocate.)
These bugs come into our homes in food from the grocery store, so watch dates on packages.The older the food, (or the longer it sits in your shelves)the more likely there is a chance they are replicating.
Dont over look spices. If I remember correcly they really liked red peppers! I believe my mom's infestation started with pet bird food/seed.
I beleive grain moths are different than the moths that eat clothing- I don't think they interchange their diets.
Have you ever tried moth balls? They smell, but they just might be your answer.
Is it those tiny brown ones? I remember some tiny little brown moths we had when I was young...there were so many of them. They used to get into the cereal. We finally found out they had come from the birdseed we got for our birds. Someone told us to freeze the birdseed when we first bought it, and this would prevent the eggs from hatching. This worked.
Really gross, I know!
If you don't have birdseed, try to think of something else that may be new to your house, or someplace that the moths may have laid eggs.
We lived with those moths for months. I think they came in with the dog treats and multiplied. We cleaned out the cupboard twice and finally after we put everything in plastic containers, they stopped. I vaguely remember seeing a moth trap in a magazine but never tried it.
Good luck.
We had some in our closet, and we got some cedar planks as well as some lavender sachets, and those seemed to do the trick.
Oh my God yes I have had them a couple times. They are pantry moths and you have to throw everthing away including cereal, rice potatos, anything in a box or bag that is open. Go to Lowes and get the pantry moth traps and put them in the cabinets and outside of them in the kitchen. Do not buy a bunch of groceries until you are not seeing them anymore. Good luck. They also get into nuts. They lay eggs that are like little worms then shed that skin and start to fly.
Hi P.-
Have you tried using cedar blocks around your house? Put cedar in your closets, in your pantry, in your drawers, etc. It is non toxic and has worked for me for years.
I hope this helps
-E. M
