Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/22/theres-only-one-way-to-deal-with-pantry-moths.html
…
2 Likes
Disappointed that the solution didn’t involve lizards.
28 Likes
All true, but in my experience, a mason jar that isn’t sealed with a vacuum will still let the little fuckers in. But, the mason jar attachment for a vacuum sealer, has saved a lot of food from destruction. Of course, we do live in a hundred year old house so we’ll never really be free of them. They’ve been here longer than the rest of us.
10 Likes
I’d hire a kitchen lizard.
12 Likes
11 Likes
No, there’s another way. Pantry moth pheromone traps. They work for preventing and clearing small infestations.
In our experience, moths can be introduced in food from the store, and mysteriously seem to be able to get inside even sealed jars.
14 Likes
These buggers like chewing on cat fur as well. I will find the odd cocoon behind nightstands and the like if I don’t vacuum behind them often enough.
I found that buffalo beetles are worse. Besides having the adults & larva infesting all boxed and bagged food products, the larva would chew into any and all wood products to pupate.
5 Likes
We used pheromone traps for the clothes variety. It was the only thing that even made a dent in the population. That and going into a ruthless hunting mode whenever you see one.
5 Likes
If you have an infestation in a sealed Mason jar, the material came in already infested. Mason jars are capable of holding the sealed contents sterile for years, even decades.
We use the pheromone traps here. They work pretty well. We’re a large family, so we buy a lot of bulk goods, so there’s pretty much always something that’s infested.
6 Likes
Yeah, I’ve been repeatedly amazed when they’ve managed to gain entry into jars and plastic wrappers with no apparent holes in them, to the point where the wrappers still appear to hold air pressure.
5 Likes
I’ve had success using (food grade) diatomaceous earth dusting in the cabinets and shelves.
5 Likes
“It’s the only way to be sure!”
8 Likes
No shoving rubber-banded packages of couscous in the back of the shelf.
I don’t really see why this article decided to attack me personally, but sure.
16 Likes
This has come up on BB before. Everything they say to do here I have done. It works. While I typically follow a live-and-let-live policy with any critter that isn’t a threat, I also recommend killing them when you see them flying around your kitchen. Look underneath cabinets, they like to hang out on the undersides of stuff.
This.
They CAN get into sealed plastic containers (depending on the container)-- I opened a quart-sized container of rice and a moth flew out recently-- the whole thing went into the freezer for a couple days, and when I opened it I found a couple shriveled up and blackened larvae on top.
That’s a new one by me. I have witnessed them eating the paste behind the wallpaper, fresh garlic left out in a bowl, even once a wreath of dried chilis (in these cases the moths that hatch are really small and emaciated, probably stunted from nutrient deficiencies.)
In an apartment I was sharing decades ago with a bunch of grad students I found an old carton of Quaker oats in the pantry. “Does this belong to anyone? No?” Opened it up and it was like a little biosphere, moths flying out and a writhing mass of larvae at the bottom. As bad as that infestation was we were moth free in a few months just by doing what they say here.
6 Likes
nope, I think you missed one
1 Like
7 Likes
Weren’t they already in the jar or plastic bag in egg or larva form waiting to hatch like flour weevils?
This one is not for hire.
6 Likes
Double, or triple, bagging will help prevent them from infesting your food in the first place. Tie a knot in each bag separately. Works very well. Purdue University even patented triple bagging with a specially treated bag. (Purdue Crop Storage System)
2 Likes
