If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know we dealt with these evil, stupid pantry moths for a while. Even once you nip them in the bud, you still continue to look over your shoulder for their fluttering wings.
I’ve been quite surprised and almost alarmed that this has become one of the most popular posts on NOH. I don’t know if that’s because these moths are becoming more prevalent (I can’t remember ever having them or hearing about them growing up) or if I’m just more aware of them now. But to put it in the words of the Waterboy’s mama, “These bugs are the Devil!”
I decided to put together a free comprehensive guide for those who are battling pantry moths but getting nowhere. I know it can be frustrating and feel like you’re not progress, but you’re not alone. Find out what you need to know about the life cycle of these little buggers, how to sweep your home of all traces of them (plus what you’re looking for exactly when you search for them) and how to keep them from coming back! Just enter your best email address below, confirm your address in the email you get immediately after and start reading. You’ll also start receiving the NOH News weekly newsletter with recaps of what has been happening on No Ordinary Homestead, tips, contests, blog highlights, personal insights from me that you won’t find elsewhere and more!
Sign up now to receive this complete guide to ridding yourself of pantry moths instantly for FREE!
What you’ll learn:
- The life cycle of these little buggers
- What you’re looking for exactly when you search for them
- How to sweep your home of all traces of them
- How to keep them from coming back!
You’ll also start receiving the NOH News weekly newsletter with natural living tips, life hacks, contests and more. All for free.
If you’ve had pantry moths in your home, what did you do to get rid of them? Or are you still battling them months/years later??
I’ve been putting off writing this post…because to be honest I’m totally repulsed by these things. In fact I am utterly disgusted by what I’m about to share with you. But they are an incredibly common problem in the kitchens and pantries of the world. And since we almost all buy staple products that have been sitting on a warehouse shelf for at least some stage in their lives, we’re all at risk.
Let me forewarn you the following pictures are icky, gross and not appetizing in the least. They may even cause you to get the creepie crawlies or the heebie jeebies. I apologize in advance.
A few months ago, I noticed a fine, silky webbing in what I thought was an airtight container of oats. Then I saw it in some cereal, a container or rice and so on.
“What the heck is that??” I thought. And then I pulled out a package a wheat germ, ready to bake some muffins and found this guy on the bottom of the package:
GROSS! These little larvae actually make me want to hurl. But at the same time they also make me really mad that they think they can invade my pantry and eat our food. I mean seriously.
Meet the pantry moth, properly know as the Indian Meal moth (Plodia interpunctella). They are usually most active in summer months, and that’s when they got really bad for us…but they will hang with you for a long while and having you praying every day that you don’t see any more traces of them. And they will hunt down those little kernels of wheat germ that drop to the bottom of the box or spilled flour on a shelf and begin a thriving colony in your home.
I now have a vendetta against these creatures in all stages of life. You may first notice the little brownish moths that flit around your kitchen. They will lay somewhere between 60 and 300 eggs which will hatch 2-14 days later. The mommy moth, wanting to take good care of her kids, will usually lay these close to a food source. Then, once they hatch, they don’t have very far to travel before they start to feast. The larvae/worms look a bit like small caterpillars are a whitish-yellowish color with little black heads and about 2/3-inch (1 cm) long. They will burrow into anything and everything they can find, continuing to eat for 2 – 41 weeks, depending on the temperatures. They take longer to complete their life cycle in cooler weather. And once they are finally full and have left behind their tell-tale webs, they will find crawl off somewhere looking for a cozy place to nest and spin a cocoon. This will often be crevices in your kitchen you don’t normally see or maybe even where the ceiling meets the wall. They seemed to find that a particularly nice nesting place in our house.
So not only will you find these delightful creatures in your pantry, but sometimes you will actually be lucky enough to see them crawling across your ceiling. We went into the kitchen one morning and I swear there were no less than 5 of these things crawling around up there. We promptly killed them and hoped not to find anymore. But there were more…there always are.
I seem to find moths in cycles, after a couple of them seemed to have hatched at once. They’re very easy to catch in your hand and then I just smoosh them in a paper towel or on my dirty work jeans. And I have to say I’m really not a fan of bugs, but somehow killing those moths is a pleasure.
The only really good way to get rid of these evil creatures is to go on a massive cleaning mission. You need to take everything out of your pantry, cabinets, etc and wipe it down. Make there there are absolutely no food crumbs anywhere. They don’t need much to feed and they will find even the smallest collection of crumbs to live off of until you still some flour or a bag of rice and forget to clean it up. If you have your cabinets lined with paper, remove it and put down new stuff. I’m pretty sure these moths would LOVE to nest under the paper.
Indian meal moths will eat a lot of things, from dried fruit to nuts, grains, rice, cereal, OATS, powdered milk, chocolate, candy, seeds, pet food, crackers, pasta…they will seriously devour just about any sort of staple in your pantry, leaving silky webs in everything. You can sift out the webbing but in the case of nuts, they will probably eat a hole through every nut in the bag which really tends to make them a lot less appetizing.
And apparently, they love to nest under things you don’t use very often…
I have a collection of baskets on top of our very high kitchen cabinets that I don’t too regularly. The took a liking to one basket in particular which had some sort of fruit in it at one point (it’s been a few years so I can’t remember anymore). So I was moving some of the baskets around, searching for something, I go to lift this one down and notice that there is a pantry moth jamboree taking place.
Disgusting! So this basket promptly went into the trash and I did as good a job dusting up on top of there as I could. I didn’t find any more of the bugs on the other baskets but I can assure you I inspect each one of them closely now before I use them.
Apparently these things tends to overwinter and we might get a rash of pantry moths hatching in April. I just can’t wait. Until then, I have quarantined all packages of oats and wheat germ to the freezer (they seem to be especially tasty and I have to wonder if I brought them in with the oat packaging from Lidl). I also keep a very close watch on all of my “airtight” containers that don’t really seem to be as airtight as originally thought.
How to Get Rid of Pantry Moths
- To prevent pantry moth problems, carefully inspect every package you buy for signs of tiny little holes. I honestly never saw anything when I bought the foods and if you’re looking at something that has flaps or is a bag inside a box (like cereal), you likely won’t see any evidence of them until you get the box home.
- For foods that you rarely use but are especially susceptible to pantry moths (like seeds or spices), try to buy smaller quantities that you can use up quickly. I know it’s not always economical but it can save you a lot of headaches. Or make sure that the items are stored in the fridge or freezer, airtight containers to prevent infestation.
- If you think something could be infected or see evidence of infection, do one of the following:
- place it in your freezer 0°F for four to seven days
- microwave it for five minutes
- bake it in a shallow pan or tray in the oven at 140°F for one hour or 120°F for two hours. Stir food periodically to prevent possible scorching.
- Dried fruits can be placed in cheese cloth bags and dipped into boiling water for six to ten seconds to kill external pests.
- Sift the food to remove insect silks and any larvae that may be pigging out at the buffet. Silks and bugs will not harm you if eaten, just make you gag if you realize you’ve eaten one.
- If you are certain insects have been killed, contaminated food like seeds or nuts can be used outdoors during winter months for bird feed.
- If you’ve had an infestation, the only sure way to prevent them from continuing to grow is to start cleaning like mad. Take everything out of your cabinets and vacuum up every trace of food, no matter how small. Pull out appliances from your wall and clean behind and under them with soap and water.
- Immediately destroy or bag any cocoons or worms you might find and heavily infested bags of food. Get them as far from your house as quickly as you can. Don’t just leave them sitting in your garbage can in the kitchen for a week or two. Bury them, squish them, drown them, take them out to the curb…just get these pests away from your home and their food sources.
- Be vigilant and constantly on the lookout for them. As I mentioned, we have been dealing with pantry moths (well more than larvae than the moths) for several months now and I have really had enough. The numbers are certainly fewer now but I have not torn apart my kitchen yet to clean up anything and everything I can find, but I do think I have eliminated all of the major problem areas. So we’ll see what happens!
- Be especially careful wen purchasing grains, flour, seeds, pasta, spices and dry pet food. They seem to find birdseed especially tempting.
- If you continue to find moths, you need to make a another pass through your food stores and clean everything again. There are likely some holed up in a collection of plastic bags or in a box of brownie mix or an airtight container you think they’d never get into (or escape) — but they do!
Have you ever had pantry moths in your home? I have to say this is the first time I’ve ever experienced something like this and I was pretty surprised. I’m not a neat freak but I always clean up spills and keep my flour and things like that in snap-top containers. But apparently I either wasn’t closing them well or they’re just not truly airtight because I found a lot of webbing inside those things.
Update August 22, 2011
I purchased pheromone traps a few moths ago and these have made a huge impact on catching moths — but it still doesn’t catch them all. I have bought many different kinds of traps at this stage because you need to change them every 6 months (they get full and the stickiness/scent decreases) but I find the ones that are open paper traps work far better than the little houses.
One of our big problem areas has been my spice cabinet so I finally had had enough last week and I tore the whole thing what I found was really gross.
I have a tendency to buy sesame seeds for one recipe and then swear to myself that if I buy the bigger, cheaper bag, I will find a great recipe to use the rest of them in. Or sprinkle them in my salad. But then I never figure out what to do with the rest of them. Now I know that I can just leave them out for pantry moths and turn it almost into a science experiment for Mackenzie. I was pretty amazed at the way these things just tunneled around in the jar, eating their way through the seeds.
It was really an entire pantry moth ecosystem inside this jar, from worms to moths to eggs galore. Oh joy.
So I hope and pray that this was what was causing my spice cabinet (which I have to admit is a regular-sized cabinet so kinda large) to be infested. I have caught and killed quite a few more moths since then. And found another package of spices that had a hole in it which they infiltrated. It went immediately into the trash.
I also discovered them inside a box of brownie mix that I was finally going to make, just to have it out of my kitchen. I tend to stay away from mixes and like to make my own, but we had a box that was sent in a care package from the US, so I though Mack would enjoy them. I did find it a bit strange that there was some chocolate powder on the top of the box, but didn’t give it too much thought — then opened the lid and saw all the webbing inside and the moths. Into the trash it went (outside, not inside!)
I’ve also still been finding and killing a bunch of worms on the ceiling and walls in the kitchen lately, but not too many moths. My fear at the moment is that they have built a nest behind my kitchen cabinets — and if that is the case, I’m just going to have to wait them out. I hope that now that I’m seeing mostly worms, I will be able to kill them all and stop the cycle.
My pantry (which is a closed off room separate from my kitchen), also experienced an infestation over the last couple of months. I was killing moths like crazy in there whenever I walked in. The pheromone traps caught tons of them, and a lot I squished by hand. I have not yet found any major areas of infestation (aside from all the nuts I threw away at Christmas) so I’m keeping my eyes peeled for worms and what not. I just hope and pray things are under control in that room now.
Are they everywhere?
On a side note, we recently had a friend here who used to work for a major national drug store chain in the US. I asked her if they had ever had any run-ins with pantry moths (she immediately called them by their proper name of Indian meal moths) but said that there had been occasions when large amounts of food had been tossed out because moths had been found. They are actually required to throw out the food which is infested — but I have to wonder how many chains just fail to notice that they are infested, how many things get shipped out in winter months when the bugs are mostly dormant and as Chris comments below, how many non-food products are infested with these things as well. They will definitely build nests in small cracks and crevices, and I’ve heard that they love stuff like bunched up bags as well. So just because it’s not food doesn’t mean there are no moths in it.
Updated July 26, 2012
A little over a week ago we moved from the farm to an apartment in Berlin. I have been looking around for these crazy bugs with every thing I packed, and with everything I unpack. I managed to find a few dead ones in several places that had nothing to do with food at all (like between two flaps of cardboard in some boxed up espresso cups I rarely use) and trashed a few things that looked questionable before we even left.
I am hoping and praying that the moths and their larvae stayed behind at the farm and will be eradicated as the house sits empty. All of the shelves have been thoroughly scrubbed down there as well. So far I haven’t seen any in the new place (knock on wood) so I will remain vigilant and pray that they don’t resurface in something new we bring home.
I hope that if you are on a quest to destroy these pests, that your journey is swift and successful. There is a ton of good advice within the comments, so be sure to read them all!
Sign up now to receive this complete guide to ridding yourself of pantry moths instantly for FREE!
What you’ll learn:
- The life cycle of these little buggers
- What you’re looking for exactly when you search for them
- How to sweep your home of all traces of them
- How to keep them from coming back!
You’ll also start receiving the NOH News weekly newsletter with natural living tips, life hacks, contests and more. All for free.
Ugh. I was infested with these last year at the exact same time (mid June) and I THOUGHT I got rid of them for good, as I hadn’t seen any trace of them for about 11 months. Then, out of nowhere, I spotted a cocoon…still thinking it was just left over from last year, but then, the larvae started appearing in old plates I hadn’t used in a while and a few days later – flying demons in my kitchen! Is it possible it’s the same infestation from last year and there were dormant eggs for almost an entire year? (I had THOROUGHLY cleaned and tossed everything and put out traps and sprays and took care of the problem in about 6 weeks last year, so I’m pretty sure I took care of the “source”…?)
I’ve noticed they’re back in my dog’s food again, even though I was sure to put it in a sealed container! The problem is, I don’t think the seal is tight enough, because it’s not a “twist on” lid and it kind of just gently sits on top and snaps down. I’m wondering if it’s just a brand new infestation with the new bag of dog food I bought, or can be the same original one from last year? If it’s the dog food, I’m switching to canned food because I cannot stand these things. I have always had a severe bug phobia, even for “harmless” moths. ugh. Thanks for this article!
HI, I’m Kaylee… and i’d like to say my situation with these guy’s is quite different from your main story and also the hand full of comments left by so many others suffering with this horrible gift that seems to NEVER go away :(! With that being said, we all relate to one thing though and it all comes down too these moth,larvae yucky little buggers.
I truly am repulsed by these nasty little creatures… Mind i do in fact absolutely adore animals, but bugs i’d rather them do their thing somewhere outside of my bubble and OUT of my home! And since finding this site and reading up i feel worse and humble at the same time, worse due to me understanding that this battle i guess has only just begin and humble to know that its not just my home and there is faith in loosing these unwanted guests.
Okay, so i have a pretty decent sized home but so far i am only dealing with these bugs in one room only as for right now and i hope it will not spread, i hope. My kitchen nor my garage, nor attic or basement has this issue. It’s actually taking place in my third bedroom where my cute and oh so fluffy chinchilla currently is living. My mother had noticed moths in her home just in the the room where she had him for a few months for me, but never had thought nothing of it. Now chillie has a permanent spot here in my home. This room is small-ish, it has a bookshelf with a couple of my sons stuffed animals, books, leggos ect on top and the 1st level from the top stored on the shelves. The rest of the shelves consist of all the many things i use to care for my chillie. Next their is a twin bed but removed the matress into our loft (i do not want anyone playing, or being in that room or the door open for any extra time but for me to get in their and check on chillie and to clean clean clean. The only other things in this room is a big light in the corner that has multiple long arms that have bulbs to really brighten up a room in it, a table that has a tote with some more of chillies oats, seeds, hay, fruit snacks, lava dust, etc, basically all the things that someone needs to care for their pet chinchilla. The only thing left is the closet… we do not use it, but i do believe their is boxes with just mucilaginous things from my mothers old home when she was here for a couople months untill she moved to her new home. I do not have any use for it at the moment so i never go in it, i also do not let chillie play or even be allowed to go inside their either, he is small and can burrow in things, he also will chew threw or chew apart anything in your home!! OK, so here comes this upsured part of my mystery.. I found out a couple months ago while buying some pet stuff at the store a gentlemen had approached me saying “you know them big bags of that hay you got their are no good miss”… me completely puzzled i then found out why my mother was getting moths when she has chillie at her old house. A few weeks later he ginkzed me, i went into do my evening check on chillie and their was 3 months hanging out on my walls! UGH, like any normal person i sucked them right up into my vacuum and gone gone gone they went.
A few days past no moths i go back into chillies room, their is a couple more, then next day more, then few days go by nothing then their would be a moth again. I always would go in an suck em up and gone. I started putting his hay into a container to fit all the bags i had for him, maybe 5 or 6 different kinds different sizes and then some of his nut and fruit salads had hay in the mix as well so i had got them and put in zip locks thinking this would be ok. Well, let me tell you i was horribly mistaken about 6 days ago i went into mr. chillie and their was WORMS,CATERPILLAR like things on my ceiling! I had never seen this in my life nor anyone in my family. I am so scared that these little nastys are going to infest my whole entire house and now after reading this OMG i have pet bowls for my cat and i have 2 dogs and chillies cage has numerous bowls and contraptions made for cages that hold hay and omg its a nightmare infestation awaiting to burst out in my home if they start coming from that room, any maybe they have i am not sure yet! So,the first night i sucked them up and then dispersed them into the toilet to drown. I have repeated this now since finding them about 6 days ago, i go in and theirs more on my ceiling, ive found 3, 5, 6 no more then that at one time and they r always hanging out on the ceiling. I have cleaned up his room and put more things into zip lock bags (witch i now know was pointless) threw out some of the older hay, emptied some of his good hay from the bag into those cereal containers that are plastic. I cleaned his cage out, but he still has to eat so everything i keep on refreshing them up with new food and hay and his bedding… I am completely mortified and sickened by these little bugs. Since i have done this at least at the time i had no idea what the hang these things were, with my busy scheduled and the need to get these things outta here i haven’t had time to sit down and google what may be going on until now. Please please please does anyone have any advice for me, should i gut the cage completly and give chillie to my mother at her home, Is my whole house going to get these things. I went in today and 1 bug was in their, when i cleaned yesterday and day before really good i have not seen any other trace of these things, no cocoons or any moths. Oh and now i no what is on me when i go in their i can feel stuff on my arm or whatever that feels like a spider web sometimes and its their silk ewwwwww! oh my,i am just gonna puke thinking i have to go back in their and my little chillie i just dont no what to do… Should i check the closet in their for trace of them or the top of book shelve?
Anyone with any sort of help or their story experiences that could maybe help me please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or even respond on here id greatly be appreciative. To everyone that has had this issue, is dealing with it, or has recently overcome i completely feel for each and everyone of you and if you’ve overcome that is amazing and you give me faith and hope that i can too. Help a girl out plz!! Thank you. Katt
I am so sorry lol. i thought that it would have posted my own comment put my comments are seeming to appear in your reply section i am super sorry and have not a clue why this stupid computer does these wack-o commands that i did not even tell it to do?? im on a mini laptop and this thing has a mind of its own. my apologies to you, I hope you can overcome this war too! These things are horrendous. Im looking for help myself as well or id leave you something to help your situation. ive only just begun with these buggers. Good luck to you though.
Katt
I have them in the family room from bird seed which is long gone, I swear they are in the carpet. This is about 30 days since it was brought in. I tossed so much food and sealed everything I can. They are starting to fly around and not going in my new traps. I keep squishing and flushing and cleaning.
Hi
I have been dealing with these demons for years. I had a neighbor that has pets and refused to treat their apartment. I moved to a new home and was excited to be rid of them but they moved with us. I have been using airtight containers. I have thrown things out every day even though I’m not finding worms or other stages of life: just seeing moths: the crazy part is I was primarily seeing them in the basment where there is zero food! I read somewhere online that the phenomenon traps can be attracting them from miles away. I tossed the traps and saw a reduction that week (although it could have been the change in weather). That same week I saw two separate moths outside my kitchen window trying to get in…. So those phenomenal traps that I thought were great can really be doing more harm. We are now fogging the new home. Has anyone had success using an exterminator? If so what product did they use. I’m so desperate at this point. This has driven me to misery. It’s my daily project to try to find where they’re coming from.
DE sounds a great idea. I already eat a sprinkling on muy cereal and it is good for you. Will shake a bit through my rice and flour bins right now
Hi Tiffany! Thanks for the tip on the sesame seeds-never even thought about those, and I’d actually bought a tiny jar awhile back. Out it will go! :-/ Just wanted to share a couple of things I hadn’t seen referenced: first, the pheromone traps are great but they only attract the males… Still good, cuz eventually no babies, but you’re right-in the meantime you still have to squish the females. Also, I’ve found that only Tupperware and the ‘better’ (red lids?) Rubbermaid containers will keep those moths out ( or trap them in there to suffocate heh heh.) Even then, everybody has to make absolutely sure that the container is fully closed. Those little buggers can squeeze thru TINY cracks. It’s a pain, but the combo of thorough cleaning, traps and using good quality containers ALWAYS will break the cycle. (Oh and thanks for the post…love your blog!)
Absolutely! The better the plastic ware, the better it will keep them in (and out). I like the Snapware stuff with the strong rubber seals as well. Anything without a seal will be infiltrated quickly! 🙂
Thanks so much for your comment and all the best with your battle!
Could you email me a pic of the type of plastic ware you suggest. I see some that are leak proof but I am concerned about the clamps that close the lids that the moths may try to hide there and lay eggs there. ewww. Thanks for your help
Hi Simone,
It’s a big tough to see in this image, but Snapware makes the type of containers I’m referring to. They need to have rubber gaskets inside to really prevent creatures from getting in or out!
Something very important to go with the use of plastic containers is the use of the essential oil and paying attention to the color of the container. As you know it is very difficult to live with all food in the fridge. How does that work with peanut butter?
I prefer using peppermint oil to Lavender because the Lavender becomes overwhelming. Each container of mine will have a drop of peppermint on the lid.
The reason you are having a problem with re-infestation with your baskets is because of the color of them. The moths love any hue or shade of yellow in the spectrum. The color of your baskets is the same color as their favorite bird seed.
When I came back from a cross country trip, there were literally hundreds of them on my living room ceiling. I found out about the color included florescent yellow because of a florescent yellow toy nerf gun was sitting on a shelf. On the shelf around it were 20-30 dead moths. Because I was gone around 6 months I was able to see distinct patterns to their behavior. When I came back I also found my container containing rawhide dog chews, that was full to the brim when I left only had a pile of what looked like dust and 20-30 dead moths. See the connection.
My neighbor who had been taking care of my bird while I was gone had dumped the old bird seed in the trashcan in my pantry. Before I was done cleaning I had found moths in every room in my house. Because of my bird, I can only use natural methods. The key is being methodical and systematics. No single method works by itself.
Just in the time I have been writing this comment I noticed I accidentally left out a plastic toolbox with a florescent bottom. It was there no more than a few weeks, and already there were 3 cocoons and a dead moth inside it. I can not emphasize enough how important the color yellow is in getting rid of them.
To give you an idea of how good the combination container/peppermint oil works, I have a storage bin that is not water tight that I keep all of my chips in. I put drops of peppermint inside and out and have never seen a sign of moth activity in or around that container.
All of my boxes of hamburger helper etc go into individual air tight, cereal containers. Early on I purchased some that were supposed to have locking rubber seals but when I put water in them and checked they were not air tight, so DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT IT SAYS ON THE PACKAGE. I forgot to put some peppermint on a container with a box of macaroni and cheese on it and the moths attempted to enter. Using containers in this manner makes them easy to check. All of my baggies including trash bags go in bags or containers with peppermint on them. Periodically putting drops of peppermint on shelves and through out the house will keep them away from your dishes as well. Dinner guests will never know you have a problem. Remember the traps attract them so move traps away from the food source.
I have 3 dogs and a cat as well. My cat needs food available at all time and is too expensive to feed to the moths. Until I started smearing peppermint on the bottom of the food bowels I had to examine their food for moths every day. I just checked my cats food and there is no moth activity anywhere in the vicinity of where my cat eats. I have not seen a single moth or larva in my dog food or cat food in two years.
The only problem I have left to completely get rid of them is on my bird cage itself. The construction of it has hollow metal bars for the main frame. There are little holes that allow the moth to get in and lay eggs or build cocoons that I can not get to. My plan is to use some type of liquid steel or metal putty to fill in the holes. I need to do a lot of research on what compound I could use to make sure it is not toxic to my bird.
I have found that I believe the action of the vacuum does kill them when they get sucked up. When emptying my vacuum cleaner I have never had a single moth fly out even when I emptied it directly after vacuuming them up.
Anyone that has a bird must freeze the birdseed for at least 48 hours. It can then be kept in a verified airtight container, (not many are), then put a stick of Big Red gum in with the seed and you will not have a problem with bringing in new moths to your home
We, too, were blessed with a pantry moth problem that we have FINALLY overcome. The pictures you post on your site are exact replicates of the nest and worms/moths we found in our garage. All of them stemmed from bird food that we bought and stored in our garage. What a holy nightmare. We called several exterminators and they all wanted to sign us up and promised to get rid of them for 4 applications at $175 each time. The cost spurred us to continue making calls and we finally got an exterminator that told us like it was “just get rid of the food source and they will go away, over time”. And, that advice was right, we got rid of the source by scrubbing the walls, floor and ceiling in the closet in the garage. We took down baseboards (cause yes they get in the cracks), we emptied bug sprays, paint cans, buckets and every other thing in there and opened all of them, scrubbed them and stored them outside. We scrubbed with bleach, soap and hot water and then vinegar, soap and hot water. Yes, we scrubbed twice. We left the closet empty. Then we got the moth traps and put one in the room and several outside of the room in the garage and the attic above the garage (we spotted them there). Then, we started “inspections” and as they hatched we killed them manually with fly swatter and our hands. We inspected every few hours for almost a two months. We killed hundreds of moths. It is now 3 months later and we are pretty close to moth free. We still inspect morning and night. Our inspections consist of walking the parameter of the garage and searching in the empty closet. Just yesterday we found one. It was truly a nightmare, but we think we finally have them beat. Our temperatures are now in the 90s daily here in Ohio so we know they are not hibernating. We will never, ever put bird food inside the garage again. So, get rid of the source and then, scrub, look for nests and remove them by soaking in hot water and soap and bleach or vinegar. Then wait for the nest that are in the places you can’t see (or get to) to hatch and attack. We are living evidence that you can beat this and exterminators won’t work. The only real solution is to get rid of their food source and attack them. If you are reading this, you are probably where we were. We are sharing this to help others and to give you hope when you are feeling helpless. God bless you, be diligent and good luck.
Hello,
I have been reading with great interest. I have never ever heard of such disgusting creatures. Last August, 2016, I got up one morning to I kid you NOT, at least 50 of those maggot worms all over my kitchen ceiling. I have never had bugs in my life and I was mortified. I immediately went to the computer to see what these disgusting things were! Well, I found out quickly and ran to my kitchen cabinets to find the source. Would you believe I could find nothing? No signs of cocoons, nothing. Until…. I made myself cheese crackers. I opened a new box of Saltines and laid them all out, put my cheese on, put the top cracker on and went to my desk to work. Just as I was about to take a bite- A WORM was coming out of my cracker!!! OMG! Those creatures were in a brand new unopened box of Saltine crackers!!! Immediately, I went through everything in the cabinet and tossed it in the trash. I tried to take the old contact paper off the shelves, but it wouldnt budge… I basically drowned it in vinegar and water. Then I vacuumed each shelf and corners inside the cabinets. I pulled cannisters away from the wall and looked inside. My cannisters are not used. Inside one cannister was nothing but webbing and dozens of those creatures. By then I thought I was going to have heart failure. I scrubbed everything and threw away everything. Ever since then, any food item goes inside the fridge. Even though there is no food out, every now and then one of those flying moths will sail by. Sometimes they just sit on the wall. I kill them- leaving black spots behind. I am out of my mind trying to figure out what they are after. I have not seen larvae since August, but for adults to still be flying around occasionally, they have to be somewhere. I do have dry dog food in an airtight container – brand new one (just in case), and I no longer free feed the dogs. If they don’t eat it in 30 minutes, it goes back into the container. This is where the story gets stranger. I began to find the silky spider web stuff on my clothes in my bedroom closet!!! No holes in my clothes, but left behind silky web. So, out came my clothes.. Straight to dry cleaners. I got the Safer brand pantry moth traps and put two in my kitchen cabinets (only where the canned food sits and yes, I wiped down each can with vinegar. Here we are in May, and I still get a few moths flying around. I put the pantry moth traps in the kitchen cabinets and one in my bedroom closet. For days, nothing. then tonight and look in the kitchen cabinets and there are about 7 dead moths in the traps. That means they must be inside the cabinets still, right? What on earth do I do? I am so sick and tired of these creatures. I would appreciate your help!
I would love to hear how you have come along since your post. Finding 7 or so in the traps does not mean they are back in your cabinets. Remember the trap is attracting them from wherever in the whole house they might be. Move the traps out of your cabinets and start putting peppermint drops from the GNC in your cabinets. I have not seen a single moth back in my cabinet. I also have not had a single moth under my sink. I suppose that might be a place that people might put the trap.
My method is to detour them from places I don’t want them and attract them to an easy place to keep clean and sanitary.
I use two vacuum cleaners with long poles and only vacuum them up as the flyswatter leaves marks and more work for me to do. The second vacuum is so that I can thoroughly wash it inside and out including the filters and let it dry when the other is in use.
I use peppermint oil on every plastic container that contains food and have not had any food penetration since. Screw lids on items you purchase from the store are not good enough to keep them out. All of my spices are in containers as well. My canned goods mostly are stored on their side so they do not have any good places to make cocoons.
I hang my traps from the bottom of the bird cage over the area my bird drops food. On the floor is always sprinkled DE so that if they think they are getting a meal before I get a chance to vacuum dropped food they are wrong.
I have been fighting these little buggers for over a year now they seem to be in my attic I’ve had an exterminator come up and spray the attic put out traps but this is the second summer they’re back again and I can’t find the source in the attic is anyone able to help me about what to do thanks
Oh my goodness please let me know if you have found the source in your attic. We have the exact problem and they are coming out of our bathroom fans. I’ve been battling for 2 years, 4 exterminators later and nothing
Same here! Mine are also in mat attic and I can’t find the source. Any updates?
Hope I needed to read this, mine were in bird seed too:( unfortunately my garage is attached:(
You have a closet and baseboards in your garage? That’s what I call a nice car home!
I first noticed them in my cupboard where i store my crackers chips and chocolate. Im 68 years old and never knew they existed. Cleaned scrubed all cubboards in the kitchen. Got some air tight containers for everything or store in fridge. Can’t believe how well they can hide. Seen one yesterday tucked inside a window frame. Otherwise i believe the adults are mostly gone. I live in Minnesota so its getting cooler here. I’ve read so much about them and how the larva can hibernate until spring. I havent found any nests at all and have really searched my house. But they must be somewhere just waiting till it warms up. Hopefully this winter i can locate and destroy. Peppermint oil seems to work well.
Am so dejected….i dont feel like eating anymore… every grocery purchase feels like i have got them back . Sleepless
Nights just thinking about them being present somewhere in some food item- even after multiple clean ups – the fear of having them back just doesnt go away
Hi!! Wow, we’re not the only ones!! Issue started last year May 2015.. Unfinished basement, we used as storage, and had koi fish food down there.
(FYI, I had kept traps down there from June 2012, when I brought some perfume boxes home from my work storage unit and a moth had flown out…didn’t know much difference in types of moths, so just bought whatever I had seen at hardware store, periodically checked them, nothing in these old traps until May 2015!!)….. Back to last year by the time we got a handle and figured out what we kept seeing flying in basement were IMM it was August 2015 ..we took out a lot of clutter and bought new traps and took out fish food and a ton of stored stuff that we had down there. Fish food we took out and put in storage shed..waited no larvae developed!!!! Last year we did NOT find the actual source and only saw dead larvae after a thorough cleaning around the window sill, dead larvae around an old ant bait trap. Never a nest, mainly dead one in traps and the flying ones we killed. Mid October 2015.. We stopped seeing them, and we’re told by an online pest shop they hibernate in cold (we’re in Michigan) and not to be surprised if we see them again in the spring…well mid May 2016.. They’re back… Not any where near the amount last year and we no longer see any flying…one in the trap very few days or stuck on the fly traps I hung up..thinking they’d attract females??… Again, NOTHING EVER upstairs in the kitchen (last year I had kept traps upstairs for a while and never caught or seen any upstairs and was told to remove them as they’ll attract them from downstairs.)… We have this year emptied the basement down to virtually empty, had an exterminator out who searched and cannot find any food source.. He has sprayed twice at 30 day intervals.. finding dead ones now on floor more then get caught in traps) He recommended removing/ changing insulation around perimeter of basement its from 1992…. Could be a source of nesting behind it).. We’ll be getting foam kind to seal any cracks)
Can anyone tell of successful elimination when food source / nests never located? Could we be dealing with reminants from last year this far into this season??? Again we are seeing them abating but just want to be done.. It has consumed my husband and I with non stop cleaning and searching…we thought they could be coming from outside but the Windows we have down there are glass block with no vents.. And unless they are doing komakazee moves to come in??? Please someone just give us hope!! Thanks and sorry for being so long with this message!!!
I’m so grossed out. And to the poster who mentioned the container not being air tight bc it wasn’t a “twist on” lid- I had my rice in a container with a twist on lid and the nasty little worms are hanging out with my rice in there. Barf.
We have been dealing with this since June 2015. We’ve completely emptied all places in the house that have food (we keep some in our large laundry room) and cleaned 3 times. We’ve washed with soap and water, Washed with Pine sol, vacuumed the shelves and even painted the entire pantry walls and shelves. Once in June 2015 and again in August 2015. Then in the winter we thought we had them beat. They have been back since it got warm (March 2016 here in California). Cleaned it all a 3rd time. Now we are just doing the traps. I know to totally eradicate them, I’ll have to take everything out, freeze it, bake it or throw it away. I’m nearly to that point. I also need to try vinegar. We’ve never had as large an infestation like in the photos. Only seen a few each clean up. But some nights they fly in front of the TV, and are impossible to see after the one glimpse. I’ve even killed two on the outside of my screen door wanting IN! They must be smelling the pheromone trap from there. I tried Aunt Norma’s spray and traps, and also used essential oils (Peppermint), but do not see a big difference. I think it is because I was not vigilant on those. We still get about 6 males a week in our traps. I feel embarrassed having people over to eat. I don’t want them to know, since they may think we are careless and not clean.
Hey Marty….. moths are a common problem even for really *clean* people. But I get your concern. Last yr they were so bad in my kitchen that they rained down from the kitchen. Living plague!!! We’ve cleaned up of course…. but that meant throwing out the entire pantry n cleaning out the light cover (they like to nest there). Needless to say it made eating and cleaning difficult for us. Hopefully with thorough cleaning and spray/traps well beat them. I guess just be selective about who u have over for dinner and just be clear you are dealing with the problem as best you can. Good luck!!!!
The peppermint does not kill them it just keeps them away from a specific area. Use peppermint drops onto of your air tight food containers. Use peppermint on the bottom of food and water bowels that you need to leave out for your pets.
The only thing I know of that actually kills them is the traps and sucking them up with the vacuum, also the fly swatter but that leaves a mark. I have a mark on my ceiling that I have tried to vacuum a hundred times. The long poles of the vacuum will get them every time.
bay leaves work pretty good
How do you use the Bay Leaves? Do they kill the creepy critters or just send them to another room? Please provide details. thank you.
The bay leaves are a deterrent. Moths hate them. I put them in any food that I know they like. Even under the toaster. Replace after several months.
Hi All – I just tapped into this web site (sheer desperation) after battling my pantry moths for almost 2 years. Several times we thought we had them beat, just to find them re-infesting when the weather warmed up.
I have a particularly hard situation because I don’t live in the condo where they are located full time. I’m here in the winter and thought we had this under control last spring only to hear from my neighbor inspecting my place they were back.
I have cleaned everything at least 4 times – books, cupboards, appliances, furnace ducts, etc. and I cannot find a source. I found one initially when I first realized I had an infestation, but now I have no idea where they are coming from and this is a condo with 8 units in it. I’ve sprayed; I’m getting ready to do a serious bombing next time I leave for a week – I feel like I’ve tried everything and I’m just about ready to call a truce and try to trap them and just live with them. I keep everything in the fridge and freezer when I’m not here and most everything there when I am here.
Is there any particular area where you see them most often? A cupboard or shelf perhaps? Is there another food source they may have located? They can keep hatching for months so it can take a while to stop the cycle. And those buggers tend to hide in the strangest of places.
Wishing you all the best with your battle!!
I noticed I find them settled the most above my stove. I’m assuming because all the baking and cooking I do better supports the heat and warmth that they need to “blossom” 🙄.
I always keep my house at 70-73°F sometimes even 68-73°F.
I threw EVERYTHING away. I’m even tempted to throw away things like my toaster and mini oven on the counter. Maybe even my blender!
I love to shop, lol. But still they creep me out! Especially because I had no clue they even existed until today!
Oh I can understand that. We moved after our big problem and I had them in multiple rooms too. I sometimes wonder if the people who moved in after us ended up with them too…but the house was empty for a year so perhaps they died out…hopefully!
Horrible horrible creatures! Hope they stop popping up for you. And don’t read Emily H’s story about them being in the guitar. ICK!!
Did you manage to get rid of them finally? I have been living with them for nearly a year and I swear they are driving me insane.
Omg I thought I was the only person with this problems! So glad I found this blog and all your great tips!
I live in London, UK and we’ve been suffering with a moth infestation for months now. At first we thought I was coming from the kitchen cupboard so we completely cleaned and stopped everything bare. We threw all the food out, all our containers and scrubbed, scubbed, scrubbed! After doing this we noticed we had stopped seeing them in the kitchen but would still find them in the living room.
Well tonight we located the source of the problem. A mahoooosiveeee nest in my partners guitar! A guitar for gods sake!!!! How did they get in a guitar? For the love of god!!!! I’ve just spent the last 2 hours elbow high in moth crap, cleaning those buggers out as my partners arms won’t fit all the way in the guitar. And the smell? Is sooooooo disgusting, it smells like ammonia. It probably the grossest thing I’ve ever done!
Hopefully we’ve solved the problem now. If I see anymore I will seriously consider moving. Antarctica doesnt have moths, right?
Wow. That has to be the most interesting spot I’ve heard so far. That is so gross and I’m really hoping that is the end of your saga! Ick!! You poor thing! You are not alone and I think you might be right…Antartica might be the one place these buggers aren’t! 🙂
My parents have had trouble with moths at their house. That’s how I stumbled upon your blog / website. It started with a bag of bird seed that they bought, and two months later the problems started. They’re going to have to clean out the pantry and throw a lot of stuff out, but there’s one huge, overwhelming problem with them and I hate saying this about them but…
They are TOO CHEAP to throw food out.
No matter what it is, they’ll always try and figure out a way to salvage it even if it will potentially make them sick in the process, because back when they were younger that’s what their parents did during the depression. The idea that you buy something, don’t use it, and then have to throw it away is reprehensible to them. “Oh, but I paid $1.99 for it”. And I kid you not, they will take a chance getting sick, rather than throwing out milk that’s borderline. “Oh, the expiration date doesn’t mean anything, that’s just means the stores can’t sell it anymore”. I tell them “Yeah, because after that date it starts to GO BAD”. And if they do get sick, they’ll “oh no, that’s not the reason”. They keep buying things like rice and flour, more than they’ll use and just hang on to it, as if nuclear winter is coming, and it compounds the problem.
Many things can be put into the freezer for storage or temporarily to kill the moths, larvae, etc.
Perhaps they will give that a try in addition to using containers that completely be sealed. The latter will keep any eggs that develop from spreading in storage settings.
Just thought I’d give you a follow up. I took matters into my own hands, and cleaned out their food pantry. Fortunately I found what I believed was the source of the infestation. It was an old box of brown sugar that was opened, tucked up on to the top shelf which was forgotten about. There was also an old prepackaged pie crust that looked to be a breading ground for them. My guess was that both of those items were on that shelf for YEARS. I then proceeded to put the remaining items into zip locked bags as a precaution, as well as containers. I also bought some moth traps, and hung them in the pantry, and as usual they thought the IDEA of buying a trap for $8 to help get rid of the problem, was just over the line.
It’s been a couple of months, and so far so good. They’re still buying way too much food though. I’m from a large family (the youngest of five, all boys), and they’re still buying all that food mostly out of habit now.
Food that gets forgotten is a big culprit – often got me into trouble too!
Great job on finding those nests and keeping my fingers crossed for you!!
I used to be a bit like your parents. Until I started composting. Now I throw the “bad” stuff into the compost. Haven’t done that yet with moth infested food. I think I will, though. First I’ll bake or freeze or pour boiling water on the product, then compost. No guilt. LoL.
My story:
I have been battling these moths since August of 2015. I was away from home for two weeks and when I returned my kitchen was completely infested. My husband said he had not noticed them.
I threw out every bit of food in the pantry. This included spices, cereals, flour, noodles, all canned goods, napkins, coffee filters, and cook books. I tossed a toaster and several other small appliances. There was literally nothing left in any of the cabinets. I put every dish, glass, knife, fork, spoon, etc. through the dishwasher. I washed out all of the cabinets and then sprayed them with Norma’s pantry moth spray. At no time was I ever able to find out the original source for the moths. I put out several of the pantry moth traps. I purchased many different size large glass hinged jars. Everything I purchased from then on was put into the jars including the spices. The sugar bowl and anything else loose is kept in the refrigerator. Finally around Thanksgiving I was not seeing any sign of any moths. I thought I had won the battle.
On Christmas morning I saw a moth in the bathroom which is located on the same floor as the kitchen. Then I saw them in the kitchen and pantry again. Then there were moths both in the kitchen and in the bathroom and in the basement. I threw all food out again even though I could not see evidence of moth activity in the jars. I washed all the jars, glasses, dishes, everything all over again. I took everything out of the bathroom, scrubbed everything down, purchased a new shower curtain, washed all the towels, scrubbed out the cabinets, and threw out dozens of toiletries.
Throughout most of January and February I continued to monitor the kitchen and bathroom and basement with the moth traps. The traps would catch a moth here and there.
In around April, I started to see moths again everywhere. At this point I called an exterminator who said he could take care of the problem. So I removed everything again from the kitchen and the bathroom, washed everything again. After the exterminator sprayed I saw a few dead moths but that was all. In about two weeks the moths were back again.
At this point I purchased D-FENSE SC DELTAMETHRIN with a pump sprayer. I sprayed the entire house. I also purchased diatomaceous earth but found out that this clogged my vacuum cleaner. I continued to spray the house about once a week.
At this point I read again many articles and finally picked up on cleaning out all the little holes in the cabinets. I did this and found several of the moths in one stage or another. I cleaned them all out with vinegar and then I used scotch tape to cover the holes. I also found a substance that looked like Vaseline except it was the color of ear wax in the hinges of the cabinets. I cleaned all of this out and sprayed the cabinets again.
In early August at my daughter’s urging I asked my neighbor if she was having any problem with moths. You see my house is a twin home. My neighbor said “Oh yes” they are flying all over the place, but not to worry she would take care of it. My heart sank. I live in a nice neighborhood where most everyone takes care of their property, cutting the grass, shoveling, etc. Unfortunately my adjoining neighbor does not do this. She throws old furniture into her back yard, rarely cuts the grass, holes in the screens and no steps up to the front door. No one outside the immediate family has been in this home in the last 15 years. She has three grown children and three dogs and one cat. They are not a very clean family. A couple days later I saw her son and told him I would be glad to give him the sprays that I had purchased to help take care of the moth problem. He said he did not know what I was talking about. Their house had no moth problems.
Keeping the faith, I continued to spray and clean and clean and clean. I purchased a hand held vacuum and cleaned all the little corners I could not get to before. I again I thought I had the moths under control but then I saw them coming out of my bathroom exhaust fan. I purchased Phantom II and sprayed up there. Unfortunately the fan does not exhaust outside but into a hollow area above my family room.
At this point I read about the Trichogramma Wasps. It took a lot of nerve for me to purchase these. But I was very happy that I did. I purchased them in the middle of August which was about one year after the original infestation. I purchased the wasps for about 7 weeks. I put a strip of the wasps into the vent in the bathroom, then put in a pantry moth trap to cover the opening of the vent and then put plastic over the vent to keep them enclosed. After the first week, I took off the plastic and there were a ton of moths on the trap. I again put a new set of 5000 wasps into the air vent and covered it. A week later when I opened the air vent there were very few moths on the trap. I also put the wasp strips in various places in the kitchen and down the basement.
By the middle of October and I had not seen any moths since early September. Hurray!!!!!
Then this past Friday, I came home from a short 3 day trip and saw moths flying throughout my house. There are now dozens and dozens of moths in my upstairs bathroom and bedrooms.
I really do not know what to do. I know I have already spent over $2,000. I don’t know if I can handle this anymore. In April I was cleaning out my China cabinet as I had seen moth activity around it. I was standing on a stool and the cabinet tipped forward and I fell backwards and suffered a concussion. I am 71 years old and still have to work a full time job to make ends meet. My husband is 82 years old and has many health issues and cannot help with anything. I hate my house. I am so tired. I am so sad.
Hi Eileen,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I am so sorry to hear about your ongoing struggle against these moths, and that have even affected your health! Sadly, it may be that your neighbors are the original source…but with a connected home and open crawl spaces, these bugs are unfortunately very resourceful.
I really hope you are able to eradicate the moths in some way, and my thoughts and prayers will be with you. Thank you for sharing your success about the wasps and other techniques as well.
All the best!
Tiffany
I’ve found cocoon’s under the kitchen sink. Look up at the top where the sink fits at the top of the cupboard. With a flash lite go completely around the sink, especially at the back side that is difficult to see. You need to take everything out from the bottom so u can get a real good view. I bet most people don’t think of looking there but I’ve found a cocoon party going. Another place I’ve found cocoon’s and a moth hanging out is in the tubes of the foil, wax paper, and sramwrap, ECT. I hope this helps people on there moth hunt.
Thanks for the tip…. however much i try – cant get into the back of the sink
I did find webs in the foil tubes… shud i throw them out – cleaned inside of them
My home is in FULL HUGE infestation.months I have cleaned recleaned,u know.the things are even in my fridge and freezer!!! I’m disabled widow, and I can’t clean like I used to, but my house is clean. Every wk I pull tray out from toaster n wash.i shake toaster upside down in sink.then after seeing bugs all over counters after JUST cleaning the previous ones away, I moved the toaster I JUST cleaned,and 4 or 5 diff bugs were there not 10 mins after I cleaned.I DID throw my toaster out,and I threw my coffee maker out too. I found bugs in my coffee can yesterday! COFFEE??? Really??? In last few days of throwing a months income out in food,containers U ALL know, I realized I have been eating these things unknowingly and how stupid of me! The raisins, completely infested, my stk seasoning loaded with many diff bugs,I want to puke.tonite,the worst,I feel soooo bad.i looked at my “CleoCatra’s dry food feeder. Ya know flash lite at belt,Sherlock Holmes spyglass, and OMG!!!!!!! The yellowish worms similar in color to dry food, was probably millions of them. I feel sooo bad,knew she wasn’t feeling good. I have stink bugs too,I cannot live in this house anymore.hotel.my food,paper work in my car. I’m a bloody itchy mess from carpet beetles. I’m ready for Physc ward. Exterminator coming in am tom. I tried for months. I have heard great success w/ exterm’s. when bugs gone, I’m selling this OLD house, and buying a BRAND new one. This is even worse when disabled single widow. Terrified to be here. O n they LOVE my bourbon I try to drink for nerves. 3/4 of a bottle I dumped out after few sips.
I swear my oats werent even opened yet with the air tight seal from the store and there were some webs in there.. you think they come with eggs right from the manufacturer?
I’m certain they come from manufacturers. If one gets into our home and ends up an infestation, I doubt that the manufacturer can keep 100% on top of them.
Hi we have the problem for about two months. Never seen them before, I going to try a steamer to clean after we clean . Has this been tried, results. Please let me know Bryan
We have been battling these pesky little critters for around 5 months now, when we first realized what they were we used bay leaves (did not help) then we started to use a wind tunnel vacuum cleaner sucking them up that helped also no black marks from them being squashed against walls,also at the same time we started using pantry moth traps catching them like 30 to a trap now we are down to 3 per trap and wiping everything down with straight vinegar we were lucky,though in a weird way our pipes broke upstairs resulting in kitchen being gutted and replaced with everything new,and repainted same as two rooms upstairs,we stopped with dog food our son finally took his dog with him we believe that’s where they came from originally.
Where is a recipe for a natural spray to kill the moths
Anti Bug cleaner— 1/2 cup vinegar 1/2 cup water 5 drops peppermint oil 10 drops lavender oil 1/4 cup dawn. need a spray bottle fill with more water to make 8 oz. Peppermint deters them. Dawn & vinegar kills the eggs. I also use this to clean with.
Had them for about a year. Flying bug spray and vinegar seems to have helped as havn’t seen any for 3 months. But ALL food except fruit is kept in the fridge!
I need a natural spray to kill the moths
Hi Tiffany,
I moved into a new apartment just over a month ago and I started noticing the little pantry moth larvae crawling over the ceiling. I hesitated to put my food items in the pantry hear because of them which was a eventually a great idea. I quickly searched up what these little worms were and tried to follow the steps as best I could to flush them out. We threw essentially all my new room mates food, which unsurprisingly was infected with pantry moth eggs and larvae. I then washed everything down (fortunately this pantry is small and free standing) with soapy water and cleaning spray before drying and returning the few items spared by the bugs.
In the meantime I put my own food items in a different, separate cupboard and have had no trace of the bugs in any item since. It’s currently summer here in New Zealand so I would have expected any residual eggs to have hatched and be making an appearance but this isn’t the case. I know eggs usually hatch within 7 days but if I’m not finding any bugs anywhere should I assume I’ve managed to quell the problem? Or do you think it’s just a temporary respite?
Hi Damien,
I hope you have been successful but do watch out for flare-ups. I have sometimes gone several months before finding a nest that was fully self-contained.
Something that helps me is all food items go either sealed containers or the fridge. On the top of the sealed container goes a drop of peppermint oil. I especially put peppermint oil on the pet food container. I also rub it on the bottom of their food bowels/water bowels and have not seen any moth activity in the pet food since. It does take a long time to get rid of them and I got them back when my neighbor took care of my bird and did not dispose of the old bird seed outside. Ugh. Being methodical and persistence is best. peppermint everywhere you clean. get rid of anything yellow as well. I now vacuum up every time I see one. They build up while I sleep. I am now down to around 20 or so every morning and evening. Before I went on an extended vacation I was not even seeing them every day. Tin foil, trash bags and other supplies go in either bins with peppermint in them or zip lock baggies with peppermint. Even the extra traps go inside a Tupperware container with peppermint drops on the outside. I hang a trap under the bird cage with tape and that is the only place that attracts them. I have found that they seam to show up in the same places over and over. Looking for a good peppermint spray I can get
I am having the same issue. I just paid my housekeeper to totally clean out the entire pantry. That is the only room in our house where I find these moths. Does that mean that is where the source must be?? I cannot find any source! I have thrown out a ton of food and she cleaned out the entire pantry with bleach. I am hoping this is the end of it but I am concerned that I have not found the source. We will see!
I have a two yr old rescue cat that is affected by a allergy. The allergy is pretty severe and causes eosinophilic granulomas to form on her mouth and extremities (painful ulcers) so I have been diligent about feeding her a grain free diet. The issue with grain free cat food though, is that it isn’t a big seller.. So it sits around on store shelves for a much longer period than regular cat food does: giving these little moths plentiful opportunity to infest. 🙁 I am having good success with cleaning vinegar, though. Apparently they HATE the stuff. It’s only around 85 cents a half gallon at WAL-MART, it stinks enough to make you gag, but wiping all the inside pantry cabinets with the stuff and spraying it on all of the cabinet hinges and on tops of doors, under appliances and scrubbing all of my hard surfaces with it seems to make a big difference. The smell goes away in a day. A major pain in the butt to have to empty everything from the pantry, scrub everything down, rewash all dishes, toss things out. … But it’s cheap and seems to be working
Also, vacuum like crazy. I was told that if you have pets, they can live off of the pet dander, too; so bathing/brushing your fuzzy friends and frequent, daily swipes with the vacuum help a lot.
This is more of a question than a comment. I recently moved into an apartment that had been vacant for about 2 months. It was completely empty. It had new carpet, freshly painted walls etc and had been sprayed by an exterminator (though not specifically for meal moths). Before moving in I found a few adults. I cleaned out all cupboards and sprayed with an essential oil blend. I have ALL food in the fridge or freezer. I’ve been here about a month and am still finding adults flying around. At first I thought they were stragglers that had just hatched out and without a food source they would die out. I’m still finding adults and can’t find any nests or cocoons. Any advice for me on how to get rid of them or at least find they source?
These could actually be clothes moths instead of pantry moths! Try using one pantry moth pheromone trap and one clothes moth pheromone trap and see which one catches your moths. Then you’ll know what type of moth you have at least.
I am in this exact same situation. Moved into an apartment that was vacant and found 4 Indian mealmoths on the wall of my bedroomthe day I moved in. I had no idea what they were at the time but I now feel like a moth expert. I have traps out all over now but still see so many flying around in every room, kitchen, bedroom, living room. It’s so devastating. I dread walking in the door. Never found larvae or anything and there is no food anywhere but in the refrigerator. Mgmt company sent exterminator twice but that did nothing. I’ve vacuumed scrubbed cleaned with soap, vinegar, put peppermint oil on shelves. No pets in the apartment. It’s been such a nightmare!
Note for pantry moth slayers: they like to nest in kleenex/tissue boxes. They get under the cardboard flaps and nest between the soft sheets. So, when getting rid of them, try storing your paper-based items away from the pantry/kitchen. (I don’t know why we even had our kleenex boxes in there, they’d previously been stored in our bathroom). But, yeah… tissues, paper towels or paper napkins, etc.
Every night for the last week or so, I go into my bathroom and there are a few of these moths on the walls. Can’t figure out where they are coming from? Any ideas? I have had the problems with food and pet food before, but they are not anywhere else in the house and this bathroom is nowhere near the kitchen.
Hi Joan,
I see moths in my bathroom which look very similar to pantry moths, but I do not think they are the same. I live in Florida vs Germany where I originally had the moths, and these are also not elsewhere in the house. I only get one or two from time to time — are you finding lots?
Hello! These are probably clothes moths and might indicate that you have a clothes moth infestation somewhere else in your house. I noticed these moths in my bathroom at first, before realizing they had actually been breeding in the wool rug and cloth couch in my living room. You’d want to use clothes moth pheromone traps instead of pantry moth ones. If you find a very bad breeding ground somewhere in your house I’d look into googling parasitic Trichogramma wasps to kill the moths at the root of their source. The Trichogramma eggs are sold on Amazon for the USA. 😉
We found the bird see we were storing in the basement had the moths….we got rid of the seed, haven’t seen any cocoon or webs, and set out the traps…now we will just wait and see…so far it looks like it’s under control…fingers crossed!!
Hello,
I recently have seen about 3 moths in my all natural cat litter. It bothered me so I looked up the moth which matched the moth in the litter. I started to read about it and I completely freaked out! I went to kitchen and grabbed the whole wheat flour and before I opened it “something flew off.” So right now I’m thinking I have pantry moths. I think my next step it to change litter and clean good? Should I remove my hanging cloths from the closet the litter is in, they are pushed way over but….?? Really my boyfriend isn’t convinced! Really. What if I open the pantry stuff and find no evidence? What should I do, or look next?? Thanks!
If it puts ur mind at ease…you’ll know it when u have an infestation. My advice, if u are worried, is to simply get some pheromone traps and set around
Great resource!! Moth free!!! YAY!! Thanks you so much!
I’ve been dealing with this for about a year, maybe more, I honestly can’t remember any more. It’s been driving me absolutely insane. I’ve done everything imaginable, cleaning, vacuuming, professional exterminators. The list goes on. Nothing helps. However something horrifying seem to have happened. I believe the scent from.the pheremone traps may be on me now because there were a few times when I have been away from my home outside and random moths would just swarm towards me. I tried explaining this to the exterminators but they just think I’m crazy. I honestly don’t know what to do anymore to solve this problem.
You are not that crazy.
I put out pheromone traps in my apartment after a mild infestation (basically when moving I took some jars with nuts with me – not a good idea).
What happens is that when I open my windows at night, the pheromones lure moths from outside to my appartment. I saw this happen from start to finish – I was taking a smoke from the window and a moth flew by, stopped in air and then flew to my appartment. There it flew around for maybe a few seconds and then went straight for my kitchen where the traps are. Then, like if it was a hummingbird, it started centering on the trap, landed on it and died. I don’t think I have an infestation anymore, but still find moths there from time to time, usually when I have my windows open…
Supposedly, those traps are potent enough to lure moths from hundreds of meters away, and you shouldn’t really use them for wallpapers in your home but put them in crevices where they like to hide or in a cupboard (which to be honest doesn’t make much sense as it only lures males anyway).
You make a very good point, it could be that these paper moth traps actually attract moths in from the outside and they should only be used inside cupboards. I have noticed the more I clean with all of the recommended procedures and set traps, the more moths come. Perhaps one should do a super clean over a 2 week period and keep windows and doors closed and then only use traps in cupboards if absolutely still evident and see if they go away. Another idea is to slowly move the traps away from your pantry and then outside. It seems b6 all these comments on the site that most people can’t get rid of moths no matter what they do.
Have you got rid of them yet? This is driving me to distraction,it really is.
Tiffany, welcome back to Florida! I live in Destin, & my question is regarding the easiest way to get rid of those terrible cocoons that stay in the cracks of your ceiling long after the moths are gone! any tips? that don,t involve re-painting preferably. thanks for a good article
Hello Tiffany and everyone else,
I don’t have pantry moths, but I do have clothes moths which are basically the same but require different pheromone traps and attack wool rugs and clothes, ect. My cloth couch became very infested this summer.
Something I’ve tried that has worked very well and I haven’t seen mentioned here, is the use of parasitic Trichogramma wasps. In the states you can order these eggs on Amazon. The parasitic wasps will seek out over 200 different types of moth eggs, including pantry and clothes moths. They lay their eggs inside of the moth eggs, killing the moth baby. They will continue to do this until there are no more moth eggs left for them to breed in, then the wasp population dies off. This targets the very root of the problem and should help everyone out!
The wasps are basically microscopic and don’t harm humans or pets. For the people who have been suffering from moth infestations for months or years, I think this is a very smart move. I found out about these parasitic wasps after reading an article saying that the museum of natural history has started using them to help preserve their exibits from moth infestation.
Thank you Matthew. We may have to go this route. We have an infestation, especially in our master bedroom. The pantry moth pheremone traps are full so I know they aren’t clothes moths. But I think I will buy a clothes moth trap just to be sure.
OMG do you know if these wasp eggs are available in Australia??
I’ve chucked food out. Washed walls & cupboards & shelves with vinegar. Set moth traps. Everything. The moths keep returning.
I’d love to not sit on my couch with a can of bug spray in my hand every night! These wasps sound like the way to go.
Try a insect zapper from burnings. Kills any moths as they hatch. Truly saved my.sanity. I did all the cleaning chucking out moth traps etc but this $80 investment saved me going insane with pantry moths coming back
Thank you for a really great post: we found infestation of pantry moths a couple months after moving into our new house and had no idea what to do or where to go. Your blog gave us a starting point. What a relief. Thank you!
For everyone living in cold weather; pantry moths will die in the cold. So when I had an infestation in January 2 years ago from wild bird seed, I put all my uncanned food in the garage or freezer or fridge for the winter. With nothing to eat, my problem was soon gone thank goodness. A lot of work, but worth it. I’ve heard some people say the moths will eat cardboard, but mine didn’t.
Hi everyone,
I’m in a 2 bedroom apartment in Melbourne Australia. We started having the odd moth a few months ago and didn’t think much of it. One day it was 44°C/111°F and my housemate came home to find about a hundred of them on the ceiling. He quickly threw out most of the dry goods and bought tubs for the new stuff.
Over the course of about a week we went from one end of the apartment to the other cleaning, bleaching, bug-spraying everything. We found a lot of moths and larvae in both food and his books/filed documents on the bookshelf – is this normal? We found a lot of eggs in the tiny holes that you can put shelf pegs in.
We got rid of what we thought to be all the nests/sources but we’re still getting 0-3 a day, mostly near the bookshelf. I can’t think of anywhere else they could be coming from? Any suggestions?
Look in the books
Hi there Tiffany, my brother found out last year that his house had unknowingly been infested with moths. Thankfully, he was able to contact an exterminator and they cleared out nearly all of them; paper traps took care of the rest of them pretty much. Between his experience and your thorough and well-written blog post, I feel like I’ll hopefully be able to avoid the situation he did. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I put out my bug killer from the past and it worked beautifully. It has a U-V light and a small fan. Below that is a pan in which you place soapy water. Killed a number the first night.
I’m very grateful that I found this site so helpful in dealing with these evil bugs:(
January 2018, My brother noticed a moth flying by while visiting at my house he said did you see that moth. I told him yes every once and a awhile I see one no big deal right? WRONG I started seeing more:( I started searching the internet reading everything I could about these flying demons!
It’s has be an on going battle for me:( still is but at least I’m hopeful now.
After reading your article I’m now educated on these horrible bugs and how to eliminate them from my home. Your well written article has taught me how to identify them and helped me search out the original source of when they came from:( It was a 50lb bag of bird seed I had out in my attached garage that was hidden behind a piece of particle board! I also, know that every time I let my dogs in and out they followed us in:( evil bugs
Well at this point I have scrubbed 90 percent of my house down, sprayed and fogged my garage twice, put up moth traps in every room, threw out all food in my pantry, used water, vinegar, and bleach to wash all shelves! When cleaning, be sure to look over EVERYTHING I found cocoons attachment to the bottom of plastic gas cans! In bottoms co cardboard containers, these bugs are enough to drive a person crazy! My daughters always used call me Mrs Clean well let me tell you getting these bugs in the bird seed out there sure doesn’t make a person feel clean, hate them!!
I just keep my eyes out checking for these flying demons praying I can get rid of them.
Thank you for your article it’s a life saver if a person has moths 🙁
I am at my wits’ end. We have had them since October. I thought they had gone. Summer in Madrid and BAM, they are back and are taking no prisoners. I have traps, everything in hermetically sealed glass containers. Diatomaceous Earth scattered everywhere.Nothing works. I think I’d have to rip out my kitchen and start over. The eggs must be totally hidden from sight. This is driving me round the bend.
Anyone else have this problem for months and months on end?
Yes. I’ve had an infestation in my car for over 12 months. I’ve used DE. wiped it down with vinegar and essential oils, pheromone traps…. I’m at my wits end
We have had a moth infestation for some months now. The larvae began to hatch and we found them crawling on our ceiling. We searched our pantry all over, moved the closets, and finally found the nests… The little wholes in ikea furniture, they made individual nests in there, so in our big pantry closet we have hundreds. We are now vacuuming them individually and will place moth traps as well. Let’s hope for the best.
I’m so sorry for all of us who have to go through this. I’ve never been so afraid in my life. May God help us all.
I noticed the odd moth since September after I brought in some outdoor flowers thinking this is where they came from, but when I started to see larvae on the ceiling and above cupboard area. I realized I had more than moths.
Over the past couple weeks I have removed everything in all my cupboards and anything that wouldn’t freeze was put outside in garbage bags. I have all my food in tots and always keep my flours in the freezer with only what I need in sealed jars. Everyday I have noticed less, but yesterday I had a couple moths and one larvae in one cupboard.
I just sprayed some diatomaceous earth in the cracks today in my cupboards and put some cornmeal and boric acid throughout each cupboard and on top. Some soapy water that I put in a few days ago which I heard the female would lay eggs in and I have seen 4-5 in them. Awhile back I did have a bag of flour with webbing in it and I threw in the garbage, maybe my mistake. I think they are behind the kitchen cupboards so I did seal up some of the cracks. I’m getting less everyday. After reading above and hearing they are in clothes closets and I have killed a couple in there, have had moths flying in bathroom, so will need to clean out and put bait in there, some in storage room so will do the same there. Only found the one webbing so far, but I’m continually cleaning out cupboards. Today I bought more diatomaceous earth and will put a some of this on each shelf of every cupboard. I plan to wait at least a month before I put anything back in the cupboards and everything will be in tots if l don’t see anymore in that time.
A question I do have is: How long before I can put my stuff back into the cupboards? Some articles say the eggs can lay dormant from 4-42 weeks. I bought some traps but they don’t seem to have caught any so far but leave them up for the 3 months then change out.
Will they be dead from the treatment or will I need to spray more and how long will the cornmeal/boric acid last?
I have learned so much from your posts. I’ve been on my own for over 60 years and never had a bug in my kitchen. Our food products are coming from so many foreign countries and have lots of specialty items from other countries as well, I will be diligent about checking all packages even while in a store now. I buy mostly Organic and was more concerned about what I was eating than the packages they came in. All my grains and flours I keep in the freezer so not sure when I brought the source into my home.
I’ve been battling these #$&*%^ pests for 9 months. Started with birdseed in my pantry and all of a sudden they were everywhere. I tried multiple cleanings, washing down all pantry items, using peppermint oil, moving all my freestanding pantry shelves away from the wall and washing them down (found many eggs behind the wood shelf units). Still, the moths persisted. Finally, what worked for me was food-grade (food safe) diatomaceous earth, which is a white powder that desiccates the larva/pupa/egg (not sure which it kills, but I don’t really care). My pantry has been spotless since then (about 6 months ago)… BUT the darned things moved to other places in my house and I can’t figure out why! I don’t store food in my closet, I don’t store food in the medicine closet. Yet, every 10 days or so I go in search of them around the house and kill at least 8-15 pupas hanging from the ceiling in other rooms (bathroom, closet, bedroom). I don’t find many live moths, and I don’t find many larva. Only the white fibrous pupa, hanging from the ceilings or in the edge between wall and ceiling. I think I’m going mad, but at least they are not in my food storage areas, and I’m only finding 8-15 every couple weeks (better than the 1000’s I’ve killed in the early days of the infestation.
Please give diatomaceous earth a try if you are having trouble. I highly recommend it. Be sure to buy food-grade so it’s safe for pets, humans, etc. And, be ready for a mess with the powder sort of coating everything when you spray it from the dispenser that comes with the bag. Worth the time to clean, but be sure to leave the powder in place so it can do its work. Good luck. I hope to one day conquer these beasts, where the eggs can live for 300 days after laid. I’m hoping the end is in sight for me.
OMG! Reading all this, I’m so scared. I do not have these moths in my pantries (yet), but am battling an invasion in my CAR from dog food that I left in my trunk area. Noticed moths flying around,read up on this issue. Thought I was fine after I wiped down what I thought everything with vinegar water. I had my car detailed. I keep no food in my car, but reading this explains why I found 2 moths in my bathroom and this morning 1 moth in my bedroom. I could face a potential invasion now in my house over said moths! When we saw the 2 moths in my bathroom, we went ahead and put EVERYTHING in the pantry in plastic containers, but from what I’m reading not just any plastic containers will do. I read about the peppermint oil, so I will go ahead and start using it…do 3 moths in my house mean that I could be facing an invasion there as well? What is everyone’s take for an ozone treatment in my car?
I have these in my car as well. I have been parking it outside of my garage. And we have found some cocoons in the garage and our breezeway. We have bombed both areas. And have the pheromone traps in my car that continues to catch them. But the cocoons are everywhere. I do not know what to do anymore. How did you get them out of your car??
I am working on killing these monsters! Be careful! You swat at them and they attack! I have killed in neighborhood of 100. But I live in an old house that was converted.
If you have any areas where plaster or paint is peeling, they will lay eggs in the cracks!
They are the most tenacious insects and they will not give up!
We’ve been battling these buggers for close on to 8 months now. They originally showed up in a store brand bag of elbow pasta and we didn’t realize it until we started seeing moths all over the house! I cleaned the pantry up, threw everything out that was contaminated, and put the moth traps out. The kitchen is clean now, but we still find them in places where there is absolutely no food: bedrooms, closets, bathrooms, laundry room. I’ve been on the lookout consistently and conducting vacuuming and cleaning operations. The problem has been knocked down substantially but we find 2 or 3 every couple of days. I suspect some are being lured in from outside by the traps. Next step…hot shot bug bombs!
Has anyone actually 100% gotten rid of them? We tore out our entire kitchen to remodel, and we still have them. We literally replaced everything, down to the floors and walls. I have scrubbed my ENTIRE house obsessively…every drawer, every closet, had the vents cleaned professionally, you name it. I have never found a single worm and cannot identify the source. I suspect my attic. HELP! I don’t want to move!
It‘s 3 years later and I wanted to ask did you ger rid of your moth problem?
I moved in an apartment 6 month ago and i see daily flying moths, Not Worms or eggs just the moths. I don‘t keep any Food in the kitchen just in the freezer and they aren‘t dissapearing. I am planning on remodeling the entire kitchen but i am afraid they are going to Return
I am disguisted and it‘s affecting everything in me Life.
I can not eat without being disgguisted for 6 month now.
I discovered these pantry months today. I poured some fruit and nuts and other types of nuts into a bowl. I sat outside munching away on this little snack, as i got to the last little handful, I looked in the bowl and saw this tiny little creeping worm like thing. I spat out what i had in my mouth and ran to the loo, poked 2 fingers down my throat to try and make myself sick! but without success. I can’t stop feeling sick at the thought of how many I might have eaten. I went through all the packets of nuts etc that I’d put into a bowl, it turned out the critters had come from the fruit and nut packet, which I promptly threw out. Then I looked on line to try and find out if I was going to die! well, to see what these disgusting things were. I’d never heard of Pantry moth before. I now check everything before i eat anything! I’ve become paranoid about food. One good thing, I’m sure it will help me lose weight, as I’m quite reluctant to keep checking food, so rather would go without, and eat something out of the fridge or freezer!!
I am on my third bout of pantry moths. I got them for the first time in 2006, and then again in the spring of 2020.
I got rid of them both times, but I literally cleaning every single crack and crevice in my kitchen. Are used vinegar and water 50-50 in a spritzer. And then I went back over everything with essential oil of peppermint in a spritzer. Bugs seem to hate peppermint, and it was very strong smelling. I also threw away anything that they might be able to get into, and just kept my canned goods. All new food went into the fridge freezer or Rubbermaid containers.
Last time, we had just stocked up on two months of food for the pandemic. March 2020. And we had to toss most of it. Those disgusting little jerks are insidious!