I lost my stockpile!

[auntie2many]

I am so bummed right now that I am speechless. The ants took over my stockpile cupboard and are swarming the pasta boxes. I do not know if the rice or beans are safe. I was too upset to even look any further. Sigh!!! I used coupons, deep discount sales and even had to pay regular price for some of those items. I do not have the dollars to stockpile in that quantity again. I cannot even put a dollar amount to the loss, but it is huge.

Thanks for letting me vent when I feel like crying.

A2M

[hotprincesscm]

Awww I'm sorry! That is awful! Those ants invade and invade fast! Just take it day by day...and use your coupons when you can...slowly you should be able to establish another stockpile. And make sure you put ant traps down this time around...I can't even begin to imagine how frustrated and sad you must feel!

[lisaflex]

that just plain ole sucks......

what about stockpiling in rubbermaid containers from now on? just a thought

[frugalwarrior2]

The gnats got me last year. i have been cleaning for a month. I can't tell you how many thousands hatched out of my potatoes and onions.
I am using jars,vaccumn sealing and such. No more fresh veg. in there.
I feel for you. I bought all the pasta over too. Be smarter than me,get in there fast.
I got mouse traps even though I don't have mice and fly sticky tape. I guess ant traps under the shelves wouldn't hurt.
wow,you got me thinking,only cans on the bottom.

[pollypurebred39]

Oh No A2M! That's just awful. I know you're too devastated to clean out the pantry right now but you must, you must work quickly to save what you can. Grab the garbage can, pull it over to the pantry and throw out everything that's compromised. Tie the bag up and take it outside right away. Everything that's still good pack away is glass jars. The pantry then needs to be scrubbed down with bleach water. Normally I'm not a fan of bleach but certain things necessitate it. Ants do not like bleach number 1 and number 2, insects carry germs. Ant traps are something I would also consider, but be careful if you have pets.

I had it happen to me once and I was beyond upset, had pantry moths once too. There are some natural things you can use. Let me know if you are interested.

[Palooka]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Auntie. I hope you can slowly build it back up.

[NikoSan999]

I'm so sorry
Maybe at least Ziplocks as you go along again. Squeeze the air out. I remember a few years ago I had weevils. Ugh! Sounds like we've all been there. It dosen't matter what shelf or how high, they'll crawl to high heaven if they want it. Maybe some of that sticky tape on the lower legs close to the floor if they are on a shelving unit. That could take care of several critters.

[pollypurebred39]

A2M I was so bothered by your ant problem I went searching for some answers. I hope this has some ideas that you can use right away. This is just awful A2M, all that stock and those rotten ants.

13 Common Items for Getting Rid of Ants | Reader's Digest Version

[mauimagic]

How totally devastating - they ae soooo invasive. We have to pur everything in our preschool in plastic containers and bins. The ants seem to be able to eat through most everything. Just read Polly's message and she is so right - get in there and get it cleaned out. So sorry this happened to you.

[wanderlusting]

Oh no I'm so sorry

[frugalwarrior2]

Consider this a good forewarning. Thats what I did. What if we had a good economic crash and no more food was available. It's like a competition. Glass jars. When I got weevils,they were contained.

Consider it a way to fine tune. If you look at pantries from long ago-glass and metal tins.kwim.
When you do get it under control go thru w/ the eyes of an ant,mouse.
Also another warning-light/heat. They will premeturely age your food,and hatch little creatures too.

[Luckybustert]

So sorry this happened to you! It must be so frustrating, but you can recover from this - you've developed the skills you need already and are just having a temporary setback.

[Dancing Lotus]

Im so sorry, I'm be freaking out. All that hard work and money gone. Don't panic, get it there right away to save what you can. I think I should take a look in my pantry and wrap up all that pasta. HUGS

[Rhayne]

I'm so sorry to hear that the ants got to your stuff. We too have ants and those pesky little flour bugs or whatever they're called. We had to throw out a bunch of boxes after moving into this apartment. Our solution was rubbermaid containers. Nothing fancy, no special containers just for pasta. We just use regular containers and haven't had a problem yet. I too like to stock up on pasta when ever it goes on a good sale. My only advice is go and get some containers and start stocking again. It will take time but don't lose hope. Before you know it, you'll have it built up again! Also, I'm not sure where your from but here in New Jersey pasta, rice and beans go on sale all the time.

[Judi Dial]

So sorry! You must feel awful...

You'll recover and have a better pantry/stockpile for it, more prepared for disasters in the future!

Judi