[Rayne]

I have moths in my pantry for some reason. I looked this up on the internet and it said to throw all of the food in there away. I checked the bags and they had small holes in them, some of them even had worms in them.

I threw all the food away, rice, noodles, beans, popcorn, etc.

Have you ever had this problem? How do you store your food. I hated to throw all of my food away, but had no choice. What a waste.

I have never had this problem before so I am not sure what caused it.

Any advice?

 

[lisaflex]

never had that problem, thank goodness

what about some sort of tupperware containers that close and seal tightly?

 

[Contrary Housewife]

I had that once. It was a gift from the previous tenant. :angry: Ended up tossing out a lot of things.

We went to a bin system for flour, rice, sugar, etc. Picked up some food grade plastic tubs at Sam's Club. Kept everything nice and tight, which was good because we got it again in some imported rice but that time it was contained.

But FIRST we sanitized the pantry. The bugs had gotten into the cracks between the shelves and the walls and laid eggs, so my house mates pulled all that out and put in a wire shelf system where they couldn't hide.

 

[ahmom]

The thing to do is don't stock pile much food. I think the bugs are already in the food they just need time to come out. Tupperware won't keep them out.
I had those bugs/cocoons everywhere. Under the paper labels on cans, under the coffee table on the ceiling on the kitchen curtains and walls. EVERYWHERE!

 

[2ndGenGranola]

I think the bugs are already in the food they just need time to come out. Tupperware won't keep them out.

True. Everyone loves to believe the food we eat is pristine and pure, but it is not. Flours, pastas, grains...all have eggs. Packaging, temperature and humidity determine if these eggs will hatch and become bugs. Once your pantry is clean again, you can prevent this by freezing all grain based items for a few days. That will kill out anything that may hatch.

You may also want to check the humidity and heat in your pantry. When we moved into this house I thought the builder was crazy for putting the pantry in the laundry room. What is cool and dry about that? I redid a coat closet under the stairs to hold my food goods and keep the coats and pans in the laundry pantry.

 

[Dixie]

We have fought a battle with pantry moths for over a year now. I agree with what the other posters said, plus, we use moth traps, they work really well. You can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. I hope this helps.

 

[Rayne]

My pantry is actually in the kitchen and as I said I have never had this problem before. The thing is I really haven't bought anything lately, I don't think that could have caused the problem. Rice, beans, pasta have been there for several months. I bought the rice and pasta at Sam's and really only had small amounts left. The beans were left from winter and although I had several kinds, were in a ziploc bag and the others were unopened. So I find it odd that they just appeared.

The only thing different was dog food. Dh had started putting it in the pantry when we went on vacation over the 4th of July so the neighbors could feed the dogs and I guess he decided to leave it there. Could it have come from that?

Although I do keep a well stocked pantry, most of the time lol, I do not stockpile large quanties of food. This is so annoying.

 

[Saule]

Yes, they can come from dog food. I think cereal boxes seem to be also bad for this. Freezing helps. I transfer anything that is or has flour in it or is a grain into sturdy plastic containers = if they are in there, it won't prevent, but if the product is clean, it will keep it clean. As you notice, they LAUGH at plastic bags.

I discovered that the sticky fly strips will trap them - I won't use poisons in the kitchen, and use fly strips in the summer, but now use them year round. Ugly, but cheap and they do the job.

 

[frugalfoster]

The only time I have had a problem with bugs was when we stored the dog food in the pantry...I definitely think that's where yours came from too.

 

[frugrrl]

I had them several years ago. The day I discovered them was a school day and it was in the morning. My kids left for school thinking I was nuts as I freaked out and pulled everything out of the pantry. Those moths can eat through anything!!

I learned that they came in the house in a package of masa flour. Well, I'm thinking that's where they originated, because that package was FULL of moths!! *shudders*

I emptied the entire pantry -- shelves and all. I applied bug spray to the pantry including the small spaces where the shelves connect to the wall. After I let that work for a few hours, I bleached the entire pantry (including small spaces). I let that sit for a few hours. Then I replaced the shelves.

Another place I found the moths was my spice cabinet. Now I'm VERY careful to make sure the lid on the spices are screwed on correctly. All it takes in one lid on wrong and those moths are there! Nothing is worse then ruining a whole pot of food because there were bugs in the spices. I now pour the spices into my hand (to check for bugs) before adding them instead of pouring the spices straight from the bottle.

Since the invasion, I keep my flours, oatmeal, and cereal in tupperware/snapware/lock and lock containers. I keep my rice, beans, and popcorn in glass jars. I keep my pasta in the freezer (I can't find a big enough container for spaghetti yet).

I haven't had a problem with them for years. Thank goodness!!

 

[starsapphire]

I got infested with them one year - what a royal pain. They came in a bag of pistachio nuts. Watch out for bird seed too. DH likes to feed the wild birds and I have to watch those bags of seed he keeps in the garage. One hint of those tiny cobwebs and into the garbage it goes. Thankfully they don't seem to be able to chew through the heavy duty plastic that this particular seed comes in.

 

[frugalfranny]

Agree..........you often bring them home from the store. I don't even keep my dog food in the house.......it is in the garage...but then I have dealt with mice. So it is surrounded by traps.

Be sure to rotate the food.

Humidity must be a big factor, as my sister fights this much more than I do and we don't have much humidity. For the most part, the heat that we get is a dry heat.

 

[cab54]

I had them about 10 years ago. I think I brought them in with something I bought at a not-very-well-kept health food store near me. I had bought some date sugar, and some nuts and grains. It was gross. :ache:

I had to toss everything (except canned goods) and spary it (in cracks too) with bug stuff....then scrub clean. It's been OK since then. But I DO put everything in snap-down lidded containers, or screw-on jars. Even if it just makes me feel better.

 

[Hamada]

I will freeze rice, beans, flour, etc., before storing in air tight containers.