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Wednesday, January 29, 2025

How To Get Rid Of Pantry Moths

How To Get Rid Of Pantry Moths

I never thought I would write a post about how to get rid of pantry moths. I had never heard of pantry moths, sometimes called meal, grain, or Indian moths, until a few years ago. At a friend’s house, she said, “I am so sick of these tiny moths in my kitchen!”

They didn’t look like typical moths, like the ones you see flying around outside light bulbs on your back patio. Well, of course, I had to look closely at the moths. I’m updating this post from a few years ago because I hope it helps a family or two. Many of us are cleaning and organizing with the new year, so we’re ready to face the new year with confidence. Keeping areas in the kitchen and other food storage spaces clean and organized is a great way to start.

How To Get Rid Of Pantry Moths

I’m unsure why I researched this issue, but I always like learning new things. The thing that’s different about these moths is that they are only about 1/2 an inch in length. I have only seen larger moths like the ones you see outside by the lightbulbs. I had my iPhone with me, and my friend and I decided to look up why these tiny moths could be hanging out there. Lo and behold, they are called pantry moths.

Pantry moths look like many other varieties but are smaller than most. If you think you have one of those pantry moth infestations, we’re here to help you eradicate the little pests. Carolyn recommends these: Dr. Killigan’s Premium Pantry Moth Traps 

How to Get Rid of Pantry Moths

Pantry moths aren’t something that anyone wants to see. Frankly, adult moths and their pantry moth larvae are ugly, and I surely don’t want them hanging around my house. I want to share some tips for getting rid of them. Again, pantry moths aren’t harmful to humans, but they can damage the human and pet foods in your pantry. Who wants that?

Invest in Airtight Containers

I store all my dry foods and other staple foodstuffs in mason jars or rigid commercial plastic containers like Rubbermaid Containers and Rubbermaid Lids.  They are airtight, and I store all sorts of things in them. I still buy some OXO containers, but these Rubbermaid ones are my favorite. 

You need to have airtight containers to keep these moths out of your potential food sources the moths love to eat. Hopefully, you can grab some of these containers to help keep insects like these pantry moths out of your food storage stash.

Inspect Your Pantry

It’s one thing to have pantry moths and then to buy containers to keep them from spreading, but you need to find the source of the infestation. Take the time to inspect your pantry and clean it out, mainly if you see moths or the webs they make. It’ll be worth it when you can get rid of the moths for good. You may not know this, but moths love pasta, flour, cereal, the food you give your pets, and baking mixes.

You’ll have to go through any food that is not sealed to see if they’re inside the package. It may amaze you what pantry moths can find and then climb into. While inspecting your pantry, look for larvae and the cocoons they make before becoming adult male or female moths. You’ll want to get rid of that portion of food if found. I didn’t realize it, but moths are called pupa in the cocoon stage.

You’ll want to kill the pantry moths whether in the adult pantry moth stage, still in the cocoon, at the young larvae stage, or while still an egg. The adult female pantry moth can lay up to 400 eggs in your dry food products so that an infestation can be devastating.

It may very well be that the dry food product you purchased contained moths in various stages. Always buy your dry food products from well-known and trusted brands and packages. If you have any questions, open up the package and inspect the product before using it. If you’ve opened some packages, pay special attention to those if they haven’t been placed in airtight containers with a firm seal.

Freeze Your Grains

Over the years, I’ve found that freezing my grains is a good idea. Moths can’t get into the freezer, so this is an excellent idea for storing any grain item. You do want to make sure you clean out your pantry and get rid of any infested products.

It’s best to store the newly purchased items in the freezer. You can store flour, baking products, or nuts in the freezer to help keep moths and other pests out. It will also lengthen the storage time before those items go rancid.

Monitor Your Pantry

You must monitor the situation once you remove the moths from your pantry. Check back reasonably often to see if any pantry moths are there. Prevention is key, but you must also ensure you’re doing your due diligence and that nothing is in your pantry, like ants or roaches.

How Do Pantry Moths Come Into My House?

Pantry moths will come into your house via a package of flour, rice, beans, crackers or cereal, chips, or most any food item from the supermarket. They have tiny, almost invisible eggs in food packages and hatch larvae that turn into moths after the cocoon stage.

You may see these tiny black/brown beetles that are little bugs in cornmeal, birdseed, flour, cereal, etc. You may see these cream-colored worm-like critters climbing on your walls. The first thing you need to do is look for the oldest packages of food or spices you have. Yep, they love all the unopened packages as well. Oh, and those partially closed spice containers are a dream come true for these critters.

Places To Look For Pantry Moths:

  1. Unopened packages, check the cereal boxes and the unopened bags and check the creases of the bags inside all boxes
  2. Cracks in your cupboards
  3. Spice containers
  4. Breadcrumbs, even if unopened
  5. Boxes with baggies-they love to hide
  6. Check dried flowers
  7. Check under lids; they can hide anywhere
  8. Cupboard hinges
  9. Vacuum all floor moldings, empty the bag, and take the dust bag to the trash. If your vacuum is a bagless variety, wash out the dust compartment with your cleaning solution several times.
  10. They hide in the cupboard pinholes, a perfect place to lay eggs.
  11. Use a pantry moth trap like this one: Pro-Pest Pantry Moth Traps.The female emits a pheromone substance similar to these traps when she is ready to mate. The male pantry moths will follow the scent to the traps. The male critters flock to the sticky mat, looking for the female pantry moths. This should hopefully stop the pantry moth life cycle.
  12. Some people think that putting their food in the freezer will kill the pantry moths in the larvae stage. In the cocoon, they can sometimes go into a dormant stage and wake up when back in the warmer temperatures and comfort of a cupboard. You’re much better off placing them in the freezer before you open them, thus keeping the moths out until you’re ready to put them in the air-tight containers or immediately use them. A week in the freezer usually does the trick.
  13. Pet treats, dog food, and bird seeds are delicacies for these pests.
  14. Children’s macaroni artwork is tasty; throw out the artwork after it’s been displayed for a few days.
  15. You may need to remove all cupboard liners and shelf paper. If not firmly put in place, they hide underneath the liners—vacuum everywhere, just in case.
  16. Nuts must be put in airtight mason jars or tight-sealing containers. Unless they are covered with seasonings, you may want to wash them first.
  17. Like chocolate chips, chocolate can be a favorite for them, just like it is for us. They also need to go into airtight containers.
  18. I never buy a damaged box of food at the store because some eggs may be hidden inside.
  19. Jello gelatin boxes can also hide the eggs. When I returned from the store, I put the whole box in an airtight container.
  20. They have been known to chew through baggies, so I love hard plastic airtight containers for my stored food.

How Do I Clean The Pantry Moth Hiding Places?

I helped my friend by totally taking EVERYTHING out of the cupboards. We inspected for webs, larvae, eggs, cocoons, and adult moths with wings. We both washed down the top and underneath the shelves in each cabinet. Yep, they hide in crevices and corners.

Things you will need:

  • Bleach/Clorox Spray or undiluted vinegar
  • Garbage bags
  • Vacuum
  • Paper towels to dispose of the webs, beetles, larvae, and moths
  • Hot, soapy water with rags you can throw out
  1. Wash all cupboards with hot, soapy water. I brought out the BIG guns (bleach mixture): Clorox Spray. You can also use undiluted vinegar. I picked up my cleaning solutions at the local supermarket. We sprayed, wiped, and sprayed all the cupboards, baseboards, countertops, and window seals again. We sprayed the hinges on the cupboards and the edges of the shelf liners. We pulled out and replaced any liner that looked frayed, buckled, or less than tightly affixed. Oh, how they love to hide. We wiped down everything we thought a moth family might use to hide. She has not seen ANY pantry moths for months since we did our deep clean. Hopefully, we will get the infestation under control and eradicated.

Can pantry moths be harmful to humans or pets?

There isn’t any record of pantry moths biting or harming humans or our pets. They can cause some baking goods to sour during a severe infestation, but they won’t contaminate the food or cause diseases, as we see with houseflies.

Won’t the pantry moths go away, particularly when it gets cold outside?

If you leave the moths to do their thing, the infestation will only worsen, no matter the temperature outside. So, inspect your food right after the purchase, look for signs of the moths as you open and use the dry food products, carefully discard any products with moths, and do the cleanup as discussed above.

Final Word

I hope you can use these tips to learn how to eliminate pantry moths in your kitchen and/or pantry. If you suspect you have pantry moths, these tips should help you eliminate them. I’d love to know if you have any suggestions for adding to this list. May God Bless this world, Linda.

Copyright images: Pantry Moth AdobeStock_313049054 by Tomasz, Pantry Moth AdobeStock_384685546 by Jorge, Pantry Moth AdobeStock_68670040 By Peter Jurik

The post How To Get Rid Of Pantry Moths appeared first on Food Storage Moms.



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