That fireball in the sky you see might just be my house. After I douse the mofo in gasoline and light it up.
Since October we’ve had uninvited guests.
Moths.
Of the pantry ilk.
You heard me.
October.
Animalia Kingdom, Arthropoda Phylum, Insecta Class, Lepidoptera Order,Pyralidae Family, Phycitinae Subfamily, Plodia Genus, Plodia Interpunctella Species.
Google that shit.
It’s simple really, getting rid of them, according to most conventional wisdom. Throw out any infested grains, clean out your shelves, vacuum. Maybe put out a few non-toxic sticky pheremone traps. Ta da! Bob’s your uncle. Problem solved.
Except not at all, as it happens.
Fast forward to June. Mother. Humpin’. June.
Moths.
Animalia Kingdom, Arthropoda Phylum, Insecta Class, Lepidoptera Order,Pyralidae Family, Phycitinae Subfamily, Plodia Genus, Plodia Interpunctella Species.
June.
Still have moths.
My cabinets are so clean you could perform surgery in them. I have thrown out enough food to feed entire third world nations. We cannot find any evidence of these bastard moths, their larvae, their eggs, nothing. Where are they coming from? No clue. They turn up in the living room. The dining room. The hallway. The bathroom. The basement. And yes, in the traps. I’ve never seen one anywhere near food, of course, because that would make sense.
I’m living in a Stephen King novel and I am slowly losing my mind.
So last night we threw the food out again – not that there was any sign that there was a single moth egg in any of it, emptied all the dishes from the cabinets, and started washing. We’ll wait a few days and then we’re going for the big chemical guns. After that’s done, we’ll wash again, and then before we bring food back into the house (hello Wawa!), we’re going to do the same in every other room of the house, being sure to wash and spray down every baseboard, floorboard, and crevice we can spot.
And if that doesn’t work…keep your eye out for the fireball in the sky.
are they living in your basement? Maybe in some clothes or stuffed animals or blankets or squirreled away pb&j from 2009? That’s where ours were. In the clothes and stuffed animals. I still haven’t found that damned sandwich.
I had this problem several years ago. Ultimately we used bay leaves in all grains and of course sealed every food item hermetically. I think we also spread some bay leaves around the cupboards (it’s been awhile). The bay leaves seemed to do the best at keeping them away.
E had this problem after getting a pair of finches-the moths would lay their eggs in the seed, we’d pour the seed, the moths would hatch, and… Voila! They nested mainly in our pantry. We took all the food out, trashed it, scrubbed the pantry, tore up the shelf paper, scrubbed with bleach. Then, we calked and filled all the cracks and holes, and painted everything again. Give it a final while down, remove the food from the plastic bins you’ve been living out of the past few days, and restock. The disgusting fly paper will catch any strays. Do this to all of your cabinets, too.
Haven’t seen a damn moth since. (Well, since the Great Finch Escape of 2009, but that’s a story for another time…)
You could move.
You’re not gonna like this answer but……..
you could call the exterminator.
Oh, they are horrible little creatures! I had the same problem a few years ago. My husband and I searched for the source, trashed the pantry and cabinets, cleaned…..all of it. Then, thinking we were rid of them, one would flutter before us in the glow of the television screen announcing, “we’re back!” After a number of months I opened a drawer in the garage and found a bag of walnuts which was completely infested with the critters in every stage of development! Once the nuts were thrown away and another cleaning the moths never returned. Good luck!
Wish I could tell you I had no experience with this. We still keep EVERY SINGLE THING in plastic bins. Like, I went to Target and bought cereal bins, pasta bins, flour and sugar, you name it. Other things, like beans and chocolate, go in ziplocks. EVERYTHING. Even ramen noodles. They like glue (on boxes), chocolate, nuts and beans. No fooling. And peanut butter. Got these nifty glue trap thingies at the deli place on 352 up towards Gradyville. Edgmont. Whatevs it is there.
Also? I’m terrible about keeping in touch. Sorry about that.
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My condolences. I have a friend who went through this. So painful.
gross. we got rid of stink bugs and now have guests of the fly version. why is it always something? Hope your sweaters and woolens are hermetically sealed.
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