Opening up your pantry to see a bunch of creepy-crawlers infesting your food is every home owner’s worst nightmare. Witnessing a pest infestation in your home can make you feel disturbed and violated.
The problem goes deeper than you can imagine with the average moth laying close to 300 eggs near your food.
Finding moths in a pantry can be devastating to your mental health, but fortunately, they are an easy problem to solve. Read on to learn how to get rid of pantry moths.
1. Remove Infested Items
Pantry moth larvae infest many common household food items such as bags of rice or grain. If you notice them wriggling around in your stored food, consider the food trash and treat it as such.
Throw the infested food items out right away to avoid making the moth invasion worse. Next, remove all other items in your cupboards such as dishes or cutlery.
Moth eggs can also infest these items and hatch later on down the road. Wash all of these items with a sanitizer, dish soap, or a weak bleach-and-water solution. Let them dry out after cleaning them.
For any suspect items that you are not sure about being infested, utilize the freezer. If moth eggs are brought below 32°F they will die. After a night of being frozen your items will be ready for reincorporation into your pantry.
2. Sanitize Your Pantry
Sanitizing your pantry is just as important as removing infested food items and washing down your cutlery. Moth larvae can crawl far from their spawning sites on their nasty little legs.
They can also chew through common materials such as plastic, wood, and paint. Make sure to give your pantry a thorough inspection prior to cleaning it.
Pantry moth larvae can squeeze into tiny spaces such as the corners of your cupboard, under adhesive, or into the joints of your pantry door. Check these locations first after the obvious areas around your food stores.
Next, sweep any particulate food matter and detritus from your pantry and give the whole area a thorough vacuuming. After vacuuming, bust out that weak bleach and water solution you used before to clean your cutlery.
Use this and a combination of dish soap, or other sanitizers to wash, scrub, and sanitize your pantry. Replace any traction-grip or paint that may have begun to rot or corrode.
3. Store Your Food Properly
The best way to avoid pantry moths is to store your food the right way in the first place. Your best option is to use glass storage jars or storage containers.
Make sure that they are airtight and you will be good to go. That way if you buy food infested by pantry moth larvae in the future, they will not be able to escape the glass container and wreak havoc in your other stored goods.
Unlike plastic containers, moth larvae can’t chew through them. They also don’t leach harmful chemicals into your food over time like plastic containers and are far better for the environment.
4. Use Natural Deterrents
There are a variety of natural and chemical deterrents that are effective in preventing moths from wanting to move into your pantry. One of the most natural options is peppermint.
Moths and other bugs hate the smell of peppermint. Dousing the interior of your cub-board with peppermint spray is a surefire way to deter pests from taking root there.
Peppermint is all-natural and won’t contaminate your food with harmful chemicals. It also will make your pantry small fresh and awesome. You may need to reapply it every so often after your initial application.
Cedar is another effective moth remedy. For whatever reason, the little bugs hate the smell of this fragrant wood. You can put little cedar blocks in your cupboard to help prevent moths from colonizing this part of your home.
This is another all-natural pest deterrent that won’t poison your food supply. It is also a cheap fix when compared to expensive traps.
Vinegar, combinations of spices, and some varieties of herbs are some other holistic moth-deterrents. When all else fails, you can always turn to less natural methods but these should always be a last resort.
5. Use Traps for Moths in a Pantry
As one of your last options, you can use traps to thin the ranks of a moth infestation or prevent a future one from getting established. The most non-toxic trap option are glue traps.
Make sure to choose ones with a non-toxic adhesive to avoid getting your food supply contaminated by harmful chemicals. Place the traps around the perimeter of your cupboard, around food, or any other areas moths frequent.
Also, be sure to replace these traps often as they can cause an unhealthy buildup of moth and moth larvae carcasses. These dead moths can lead to disease and make your food storage area very unhealthy.
In addition to sticky glue traps, there are all sorts of powders, chemicals, and sprays that you can treat the surfaces of your pantry with. Make sure to only use non-toxic chemicals around your food when possible.
The shells of moth eggs are not very hardy so if you change the PH of your pantry surface a bit or use a tough solvent they will die. Just make sure that the cure is not worse for you than the infestation!
There are also a variety of bait traps that you can use to catch and kill moths and their larvae. Use these if you so desire as well as the classic mothball, but be aware that they may contain toxic chemicals if they are near your food.
Bugs Be Gone
Moths in a pantry are a terrible pest infestation that can contaminate any home. By using the tips in this article you will be able to nip this problem in the bud before it starts, and prevent future ones from happening.
If your moth infestation problems have gotten out of control, however, it is time to contact a professional pest control company. Get a free estimate today for pantry moth extermination and take control of your cupboard again.