Get Rid of Pantry Moths
Pantries are susceptible to unwanted guests, including pantry moths. If your pantry has been invaded by these pests, read this article to learn how to get rid of them.
Contents
10 Second Summary
1. Throw out any infested food.
2. Vacuum and clean the pantry with hot, soapy water.
3. Discard any vacuum bags and trash bags away from your house.
4. Try an organic treatment, such as scattering bay leaves on the shelves.
5. Consider a chemical treatment, such as a glue trap.
Steps
Inspection
- Look for adult moths or larvae. Adult moths are generally gray with hints of either red or white coloring, and they measure roughly 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) long. Larvae are about 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) long and look like worms with five pairs of legs.
- The easiest way to spot a pantry moth problem is to actually see an adult moth flying around your pantry. This usually happens at night rather than during the day.
- If you suspect that you may have a pantry moth infestation, check all the dry food in your pantry. Moths hide out in flour, cereal, rice, and other grains most often, but you should also check pet food, dried fruit, or any other dry food products. In short, check everything.
- Examine the corners and edges of the cupboards and pantry, as well.
- Check for cocoon webbing. Look in the corners and along the inside edges for clumps of stringy or grainy material.
- Webbing does not often appear in food, but if you spot something that you suspect to be webbing while examining your food, it's best to treat it as such.
- Inspect the lips of all your cans and jars. Pantry moths are plenty capable of spinning webs in these lips.
Cleaning
- Remove everything from the pantry. In order to clean the pantry thoroughly, it needs to be empty.
- Throw away infested food. Any food that shows clear signs of contamination should be discarded.
- If an open bag of grains or dry food does not appear to be infested, but you still have concerns, you can either discard the food or place it in the freezer for a week. The cold temperatures will kill any moth eggs that you cannot detect with the naked eye. Note, however, that you should not do this if you can spot larvae or adult pantry moths.
- Vacuum out the pantry. Use a vacuum cleaner with a hose and an angular nozzle attachment to clean the walls, baseboard, and corners of the pantry or cupboard.
- Clean under all shelving liners. Remove any old liners and vacuum beneath them. If the liners are in bad shape, you may need to replace them.
- Focus on areas with webbing, larvae, or adult moths, but vacuum the entire area. This includes all hardware, wire shelves, and pin holes in the cupboard.
- Scrub the pantry with soap and hot water. Use a dish towel or sponge to wash the walls, floors, doors, and shelves of the pantry or cupboard.
- Make sure that you get the door hinges and door jamb, as these spots are the most common hiding places for larvae.
- You should also scrub beneath any shelving liners or interior racks.
- Wiping cabinetry down with a rag or paper towel soaked in bleach before scrubbing cabinetry with hot soapy water increases the effectiveness of this method. Be careful to have good ventilation if you choose to do this.
- Wash old containers in hot, soapy water. If you have plastic food containers currently in your pantry, wash them in a dishwasher or use hot water and dish soap to scrub them out thoroughly.
- This is an essential step if the containers were exposed directly to the pantry moths, but even if there were no pantry moths inside the container, it is still a good idea to temporarily remove the contents of the container and wash it. Doing so will also allow you to more closely examine the contents for evidence of infestation.
- Dry everything thoroughly. Before putting everything back into the pantry, dry the inside of the pantry with clean dish towels or paper towels.
- Also dry any food containers completely before putting food back in them and returning the containers to the pantry or cupboard.
- Pantry moths thrive on moisture, so keeping things dry is an important part of getting rid of the pests.
- Take the trash outside. The vacuum bag and any trash bags containing infested food should be immediately removed from the kitchen and taken outside.
- If possible, place the bags on the curb or in an area that does not share a wall with your house.
Organic Treatments
- Scrub everything down with vinegar. A safe way to sanitize the space and deter the moths from returning is to wipe down all the surfaces of the pantry with white vinegar.
- If you do not want to wipe down the entire pantry or cabinet, you should at least scrub any area that was infested with moths or larvae.
- Scrub any infested food containers with white vinegar, as well.
- Certain essential oils, including peppermint, citronella, eucalyptus, and tea tree oils, can strengthen the effect. Add a few drops of oil to a spray bottle filled with vinegar and spritz the surfaces before scrubbing them.
- Place bay leaves in your pantry. Scatter bay leaves throughout the pantry and inside susceptible food containers.
- Place bay leaves in the corners of your pantry or cupboard. You can also tape them to the walls or the undersides of your shelves.
- Add a bay leaf directly to your canister of flour, rice, or other dry food. It should not affect the quality of the food, but if you would rather not chance it, you could tape the bay leaf to the inside of the lid and still achieve the desired effect.
- Note that there is no definitive scientific evidence to support this practice, but there is no definitive proof to discredit it, either. It may only be a "folk remedy," but it is one that many seem to agree on.
Chemical Treatments
- Set glue traps. Traps are available that have a pheromone scent that attracts pantry moths. Use double-stick tape to attach the non-adhesive side of a glue trap to the inside wall of the pantry or cabinet.
- Heavy infestations may require more than one glue trap.
- The glue inside the traps contains pheromones that attract moths and other insects. Male moths gravitate toward the glue, get stuck, and die. As a result, reproduction is greatly reduced.
- Remove the release paper on the trap to expose the sticky side. If you do not want to use double-stick tape, you can form the trap into a box or ring by wrapping it around and sticking the ends together. This box can then be hung by a hook.
- Glue traps can work for four to six weeks, but you may need to change them out if they get covered with dead moths before that time period expires.
- Apply crack and crevice spray. Before you place food back into your pantry, apply a "crack and crevice" insecticide around the inside perimeter of the space.
- These insecticides usually have an injector tip. Place this tip into all cracks or crevices in which pantry moths may hide. Spray the insecticide for roughly one second at each location and repeat as needed.
- If this insecticide leaves behind a white residue, simply remove it with a wet dish towel or sponge.
Tips
- These little things like to cling to the ceiling and walls. Swatting them leaves a mess. Using Windex on them does it every time. You can even zap them in the air.
- Do not purchase torn or opened packages of food. Packages in this condition are more likely to contain pantry moth eggs.
- Store food in airtight plastic containers. To prevent future pantry moth infestations, and to save more of your food should another infestation occur, store all grains and other dry goods in airtight plastic containers. If you use plastic bags, only use resealable plastic bags and double them up. Do not try to close the bags with clips or rubber bands.
- Freeze newly purchased dry goods for one week. In the event that you purchase goods with moth eggs already inside, freezing the food for one week should effectively kill the eggs. At this stage, they will be harmless and virtually impossible to spot with the naked eye.
Warnings
- Exercise caution when using insecticides and poisons in your pantry. Sloppy application could cause the poison to leak into your food, creating more problems than solutions and posing a serious health threat.
Things You'll Need
- Garbage bags
- Vacuum cleaner
- Dish towel, washcloth, or sponge
- Dish soap
- Hot water
- White vinegar
- Essential oils
- Bay leaves
- Glue traps
- Crack and crevice spray
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