Pantry pests include many crawling insects. There are several different beetles and weevils. These are easy to control. Flying pantry pests are harder to eliminate because they are able to cover vast areas of the home. These include Tropical Ware House Moths, Indian Meal Moths, and Mediterranean Flour Moths.

 

Related articles:          CLOTHS MOTHS          GYPSY MOTHS                LAWN MOTHS          MILLER MOTHS            MOTH FLY          PANTRY MOTHS          WEBBING MOTHS

Other pantry pests:        ANTS        BLACK LARDER BEETLES        CABINET BEETLES        CIGARETTE BEETLES        COCKROACHES        CONFUSED FLOUR BEETLES         DRUGSTORE BEETLES        FRUIT FLY        GRAIN BORERS        HIDE BEETLES        LARGE ROACHES        RED FLOUR BEETLES        RICE WEEVILS        SAWTOOTH GRAIN BEETLES

All information:       PEST ARTICLES

 

INDIAN MEAL MOTH PROBLEMS

In most cases, meal moths were brought to your home with some type of stored food product. Examples would include flour, dog food, biscuits, pasta, cereal, dried beans, bread, spices, cookies, and other standard pantry items. Another common household item which can lead to an infestation is bird seed.

 

INFESTED BIRD SEED

The packaging standard for bird seed is much less than human food and therefore will contain a greater amount of contaminants such as insect eggs. Many times these eggs will hatch after brought home. Developing larva will quickly find food in your home and before you know any are around, you have a pantry pest infestation.

There are several other species finding their way into homes which are able to feed on spices, natural fiber such as cotton or linen and flower arrangements. Keep an open mind when dealing with such insects. Although most infestations originate in the kitchen or pantry, they may focus elsewhere in the home.

 

WHERE DO INDIAN MEAL MOTHS LIVE

Due to the wide range of pantry moths we now commonly find in any home, it is important to realize that populations can easily survive outside the pantry. Be sure to include all areas of the home when trying to identify the main nesting site.

If you are seeing small moths hovering around your pantry, dogfood area, pet food storage bin or birdseed bin you probably have one of these pests. They do not fly well and will like to land in the area. They are easy to kill but you will notice they keep on emerging. However, they do create quite a mess when smashed and can be hard to clean off walls and ceilings.

 

INDIAN MEAL MOTH HAND HELD ZAPPER

Use one of our HAND HELD ZAPPERS for quick and clean kills. It literally “zaps” them dead on contact and it’s easy to use. For less of a mess, the BUG VACUUM/ZAPPER is even better! Of course, killing the adults is fun, but it won’t solve the problem.

Hand Held Zapper: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/hand-held-zapper

Bug Vacuum Zapper: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/bug-vacuumzapper

 

INDIAN MEAL MOTH LIFE CYCLE

You will need to break the life cycle of your meal moths to eliminate this pest. This means getting several of their life stages. Crawling stages do not fly, but can be seen on countertops and cabinet shelves. These creatures are small. In general, they are not much bigger than a grain of rice and are easily missed.

The cycle is egg, larva, pupa and adult. When the egg hatches, the larva will feed and then spin a cocoon where it will undergo metamorphosis. After it is fully developed, it will hatch and emerge as the adult. The adult has nothing but reproduction on its mind and will lay eggs quickly following fertilization.

Adults will look for other places to lay their eggs. Expect these locations to be close to where the original infestation began. Although the duration of time will vary for different species to complete their respective live cycles, controlling any of these moths is the same.

 

HOW TO GET RID OF INDIAN MEAL MOTH INFESTATIONS

To stop the cycle of either moth or crawling insect problems, you will need to do step one. This first step is to try and identify the infested product which started the problem. Throw it or anything you suspect as being infested away. If you are unsure about an item, place it in a clear plastic bag where you will be able to inspect it every day or two to watch for any pests that may be emerging.

Now if you find insects accumulating in the bag within a month, you know the foodstuff is contaminated and needs to be discarded. To insure any item is pest free, store it in one these bags for at least a month. Some of these species take even longer to emerge, so don’t be surprised if something is found to be infested as long as three months after you bring it home!

The second step must be done with either moth or crawling insect infestations. It involves the application of insecticide directed to all the tight spaces, seams and voids where larva hide. Crack and crevice is the name we use to refer to this type of pesticide application. It is when the chemical being applied is done so to specific cracks where the target pest is most likely to be nesting. This type of application should be done with a tube injector which will enable you to get the product where it needs to be.

With panty pests, the larva will feed for several days and then seek a place to spin their cocoon and pupate. Although this can happen where they are feeding, many times they will migrate to other areas. It is very common to find them in the cracks between shelves, molding and door frames. These areas need to be treated.

Now if larva which have fed move to treated areas, they will die. This helps to break the cycle. The treatment will also kill larva that hatch. Since no chemical can kill eggs or pupa, it is very likely that some will still exist following steps one and two.

But by using a residual chemical, when these eggs and pupa hatch, they will die. And the best product for this treatment is called PHANTOM AEROSOL. It comes with a special injector tube for easy application. Plus it’s odorless and goes on “dry” making it ideal for use in sensitive areas.

Phantom Aerosol: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz

 

Phantom will last a long time following a treatment. It is important to understand that simply cleaning these areas will not provide control. Bleach, ammonia and other cleaning solutions may kill larva which are exposed, but since these compounds quickly breakdown, there is nothing left to deal with eggs hatching or migrating larva which will assuredly be hatching for several weeks.

The author has dealt with many homeowners who failed to do the crack and crevice treatment and were never able to get control of the situation. It was never ending. Every few months there would be a surge in the adult population which leads to more eggs, etc. These homeowners would throw everything out again, clean the shelves with all kinds of cleaning compounds again and put their cabinets back thinking everything was killed and gone but in fact, nothing really changed. The few eggs and cocoons which were hidden are always going to be enough to let these persistent pests repopulate.

To stop this from happening, use the residual Phantom Aerosol and you will save yourself all this extra work.

 

BEST INDIAN MEAL MOTH SPRAY

Now for homes or establishments that are large, using an aerosol can is both time consuming and costly. So still use the Phantom for crack and crevices. But for baseboards, carpets and other flat areas where larvae or eggs might be hiding, apply DEFENSE EC. This odorless concentrate is mixed with water and applied to the areas where the target pest is nesting as well as where it might end up going for egg laying.

D-fense SC: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/d-fense-sc.html

 

Apply it with one of our SPRAYERS. This method of application is far more effective for large areas and will prove to be easier for getting every area properly treated. This is especially true if you are treating a warehouse, stockroom or a house with large rooms.Using the Phantom for the cabinets and hard to treat areas and using the Permethrin for the big areas where you don’t have any but want to make sure you don’t get them is the best approach.

Pump Sprayer: http://www.bugspraycart.com/good/pump-sprayers

 

INDIAN MEAL MOTH TRAPS

Lastly, you’ll need to set out some PANTRY MOTH TRAPS. These small glue traps use the female moths sex pheromone which will attract any emerging males that have missed the treatments. These newly hatched males have one thing on their mind – the smell of local female moths wanting to mate – and this trap uses that very scent as lure.

Meal Moth Traps: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/pheromone-and-food/meal-moth-2-pk

 

Male moths cannot resist this smell and will readily seek out and enter the trap. Once inside, they will get stuck on the glue and die. Since adult male moths have nothing on their mind except reproduction, these traps will prove to be quite effective. Expect to catch a lot of moths. Expect to replace the traps every 60 days or faster if they fill up.

Now if your problem is seemingly never ending, you may need to install the MEAL MOTH SUPPRESSOR TRAPS. This latest design of meal moth trap uses both male and female pheromones. The trap itself is larger and designed with colorations that females find to be especially attractive.

Suppressing Moth Traps: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/pheromone-and-food/meal-moth-suppression-kit-5-pk

 

In badly infested structures, these traps will be needed if you wish to break the moth cycle once and for all. Where problems are more moderate to mild, the use of our standard Pantry Moth Traps should suffice.

Regardless of the severity of the problem, the use of traps is very important when dealing with Pantry Moths. Only by catching and killing adult moths can you be sure that you are actively stopping the act of reproduction which leads to repopulation.

 

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET RID OF INDIAN MEAL MOTHS?

Once the program of treating and setting out traps has been initiated, don’t expect to get instant results. Since nothing can kill the pupal stage of this pest, it will take some time for the population to die out and run its natural course. A structure that has been properly treated with Phantom and/or Permethrin will eventually break the cycle of this pest. Moth Traps installed will intercept adults before they are able to mate and lay new eggs and most definitely need to be installed too. Theoretically, this means the only part left of the population will be the pupae. And since these hard shelled cocoon’s will not hatch and emerge till they are ready, it could be another few months before all are exposed and die off. During this time, don’t be surprised if you keep see some flying around. This is normal and to be expected. But if you treated right and keep an adequate amount of traps installed, these adults will have no place to go where they can “do their thing”. Eventually the population will run out of pupa and will be gone for good.

 

CONTACT US

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