Moth Mystery
 

Our new house is plagued with moths. :eek:

Millers, my Mom would have called them. At first they were tiny, smaller than 1/2", but now they are getting Bigger!

Every evening a few will appear on our kitchen ceiling and cupboard doors. Just a few. They don't flitter around the lights, they just lounge on the ceiling like lizards on a warm rock. They're not fast, but you don't want to smack them with a swatter, because they're messy.

So that means we have to get out the stepladder and collect them in a napkin. We've killed between 5 and 12 every night for the past 5 weeks. We've been very diligent, thinking that pretty soon they'd disappear. I know we didn't bring them with us, because my Dad complained about them too. (We moved into his house).

We're stumped on where they are coming from! The kitchen cabinets have been gone through and cleaned. We had a guy from Dish up in the attic last week -- he didn't say anything about a collection of critters. He also was in the crawl space and didn't report anything.

The garage is attached, but we haven't seen any out there. They mainly like the east end of our small kitchen, but we've seen a couple in the adjoining hall and living room. I have potted plants, but they don't hang out there. The pantry is clean. We just replaced the washer and dryer, so they're not hanging out behind them. Closets with any possible wool items are clear down on the other end of the house.

The only places I haven't cleaned are behind the fridge and stove. And under the sink. But there hasn't been enough activity there to make me suspect that is their hideout. The old couches and chairs have been removed from the house.

WHERE THE HECK ARE THEY COMING FROM? :mad:

OH NO Twink!

You need to get a pest control company out there ASAP!

They do a lot of damage. Double check everything in the pantry. Look deep into flour and spices. Tea..cereal.

They mulitply fast.

They will burrow into wood.

I had a problem one year with (mealy moths)? Not sure though..They were the eggs that hatched on the inside of cardboard cereal/grain containers. They were hard to find until they actually changed from larva to moths. Perhaps that is what you have? Check the undersides of some of your boxed goods, under the actual closed part for tiny larva.

They burrow into wood? :eek: They don't look ambitious enough. I mean, they won't even fly around the lights.

Okay, fine. I'll call the pest guy. I was hoping we could just take care of it on our own once we discovered their hideout.

Thanks, Curious.

I got them at my house after getting a bunch of food items from my daughter when she moved.

I tried for about a week to get rid of them. Threw out so much frood from the pantry. They kept coming back.

I had to have everything sprayed. I hated that. I don't like chemicals,but no choice.

They lay eggs in the teeny cracks in the shelves. They get everywhere.

Dang Twink. Sorry you got moths. :(

( totally OT..but be sure you do a change of address...Moi and I have gotten out Mental Floss magazine..not sure about others I sent them to...)

You know what? I just went to the University Extension website. Gardengrl, you are right: they are meal moths! Aaaackkk!

Indian meal moth

•Most common pantry pest in the world
–Grains, cereals, dried fruit, nuts, candy, spices, powdered milk, chocolate, pet food

•Infested food will be webbed

•Larvae have light body, dark head

•Adults have bronze wings, zig-zagflight


And what's worse, a few months ago I grabbed a handful of almonds from Dad's stash and later discovered it was "webbed!" It looked like a spider had built a nest there. I just thought it was probably weevil. :yikes:

*Holding hand over mouth and running away.* :vomit2:

welcome, gardengirl! :D

I am with the Pest Controls...ASAP!!

Tah dah!
 

We finally found some larvae!

You know how some shelves are adjustable? There's all those holes drilled in a neat line? Well, DH got to looking and some of them were plugged. He poked them with a toothpick and there were little ugly LIVE worms in them!

The description matches: "Larvae have light body, dark head"

We still have moths, but at least we're making progress! (Haven't called the pest control yet -- we'll see how it goes first).

Isn't that just gross!?

You know, some years ago when the pest control people (even the Natural pest control people who I always had) came they seemed to spray everywhere.

Recently we had huge ant infestation here in all our area. (IMHO it was a sign that the weather was going to get so bad). Anyway, when the pest control came they didn't spray at all. The guy had this little puffer spray gadget and he put it in the hinges of the kitchen doors rather than all over the shop.

I put most of my stuff in the 'fridge now. Coconut, nuts, dried fruit etc.. Can't put the flour in the 'fridge, but I have it all sealed really well. I reckon rice can be a problem, but see I live in a very hot and humid climate. I'd love to be able to leave fruit out but just can't because it goes off so fast.

all the best with getting rid of the pests.

Twink, I had these at the last 2 places I lived. I didn't call in a professional and don't remember how I got rid of them, but yes, once you see them, you'll never forget about Indian Meal moths for sure. I do remember using my vacuum cleaner in the cupboards, and in both cases the culprit was flour.

Good luck! Indial Meal Moth information