Pests That Attack by Land and Air
A while back I told you all a story about a little visitor that we had roaming about in my house. Our little visitor, who was named Larry the mouse, terrorized us for weeks, until we finally rid him one night when we baited him into a humane live trap, with some peanut butter and crackers. After releasing him into a park a few miles away, we thought that we could finally rest easy and get on with our lives, not having to worry about pests sneaking their way into our food. Wishful thinking.
About a week or two back, we decided to head into the deep winter months right and get into some serious house cleaning. We went through forgotten closets and cupboards,swept out the cobwebs from the highest reaches, and rounded it out with 
some food pantry overhaul. We had jars and bags full of grains, flours, mixes, granolas; you name it, we had it. We went about the task of consolidation, when to our horror, we opened up a bag, and some moths flew out. Upon further inspection, we found that moths had infiltrated nearly all of our grains and flowers and forced us to throw them all out and reevaluate how we go about storing our food.
I had really never seen a grain moth before moving into my current home, so I went in for some investigation. I learned that grain moths and clothes moths are not the same. In general, grain moths can be identified from other moths by their quantity and location. Apparently when you have grain moth issues, they are highly evident, if you are paying attention, unlike me, and like to hang out in the kitchen, pantry or your cupboards. The moths pretty small and with brown wings, and are capable of laying eggs in anything and everything it comes in contact with.
So, what can you do about the unwanted pests? You can start with assuring that your grains, rices and flowers are stored in a clean air tight container, such as jars or tupperware containers. Be sure that when you need to get into them, you seal them back up tight, as moths are sneaky little suckers and can find a way in if you’re not careful. There is also some natural ways to either repel the moths or trap them. If you are looking to repel the moths, there are resources that suggest that you place bay leaves either on the shelves or directly in your grains. The moths hate the smell of the bay leaves and will keep them away. If your moths get out of control, or you just want to keep a handle on
them, there is a product that MOMs sells that is called Pantry Pest. Pantry Pest is a trap that uses strong pheromones that are specifically made for moths. Placing them in a space away from the moths helps lure them away and into the trap. It is a non-toxic and long-lasting trap that covers 1,000 sq. feet.
I opted for the Pantry Pest product, and since we put them in place and sealed up our grains, the moths are becoming less and less of a problem. I wonder what to expect once the moths are out of the picture? This is a reminder to stay on your toes and not let your guard down.
September 22nd, 2007 at 10:20 am
The grain moths actually ARRIVE in home IN the grain product. Eggs are laid IN the grain while it is growing. Processing does little to harm the eggs. When conditions are conducive to hatching, you have crawling larva, which you may see on your counters if they can get out of the package. They become moths. So we bring them in. This defeats the purpose of buying in advance and stocking up.
Using plastic and glass containers will prove me point. Of course, once you have them, they get into other grains and LOVE NUTS (cereals).
The ONLY protection from hatching is:
- Use the product right away.
- Store the product in the refrigerator thus failing to provide conditions for hatching.
Lovely thought isn’t it!