Here’s how to identify Indianmeal moths, remove them, and keep them out.
An infestation of pantry moths requires throwing away affected items, cleaning up, and securing other food items.
It can take up to a month to get rid of pantry moths by disrupting their lifecycle.
Pantry Moths (Indian Meal Moth)Antagain/E+/Getty Images
Read on to learn how to eliminate and prevent these pesky pests.
Tip
Webbing is often the first visible indication of a growing pantry moth problem.
Carefully inspect nearby dry foods for larvae.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
What Do Pantry Moths Look Like?
P. interpunctellapantry moths are tiny (1/4 to 3/8 inch long) with a 1/2 to 3/4 inch wingspan.
They have reddish-brown, coppery wings on the outer two-thirds of their wingspan and gray on the inner third.P.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
interpunctellamoths are not the only pantry moths.
Can Pantry Moths Spread Sickness?
Pantry moths do not spread disease, carry parasites, or produce toxins.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
They are simply a nuisance pest but you should still throw away any food contaminated with moths.
It can take from one week to a month before moths are removed.
Look for adults, larvae (tiny worms), and webs.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
Eggs are hardly visible to the naked eye.
Larvae may be tucked into the edges of cans, jars, and unopened packages.
Inspect closed bags for small pest chew holes.
Return infested items to the store or immediately put them into your outdoor trash can.
Do not keep them in the inside kitchen trash, which allows the problem to spread.
Eating moths, larvae, or eggs will not make you sick.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
Clean With a Vacuum
Clean your pantryor cupboard thoroughly.
Remove shelf liners, clean them, or replace them.
The shelves, their corners, and undersides can all be vacuumed.
Clean the shelf brackets and mounting hardware.
Hang sticky flypaper in your pantry to catch the moths.
Moths are attracted to the scent of fish oil.
Dab a little oil on the fly paper to create a moth magnet.
Several manufacturers make commercially produced pantry moth traps using a non-toxic attractant for pantry moths.
They work similarly to sticky fly paper traps.
Clean and Monitor Regularly
Clean up spills in your pantry as soon as they happen.
Thoroughly clean the pantry several times a year to monitor your pantry and avoid infestations.
If you stockpile food items, inspect them regularly for moth activity.
What Causes Pantry Moths?
A pantry moth infestation is usually brought inside from products purchased at the store.
They can hitchhike inside your home from the food processing plant, packaging plant, or grocery store.
Cold storage is a common prevention strategy in regions with prevalent pantry moths.
Prevent pantry moths from getting inside in the first place by keeping doors and windows closed at night.
In ideal dry, warm environmental conditions, a moth can go from egg to adult in 30 days.
However, the process can take up to 10 months in cooler conditions.
Larvae eat the dry goods, spinning small, sticky webs.
When you see moths, you likely have an infestation in dry food containers that are not sealed airtight.
Pantry Moths vs.
The two most commonfabric-eating mothsareTinea pellionellaandTineola bisselliella,and they are not known to infest food-storage areas.
In a home with a severe infestation of pantry moths, they might lay eggs on fabrics.
However, they do not consume textile fabrics.
If you also notice holes in the clothing, theinfestation is likely clothes moths, not pantry moths.
Inspect any area in your home where dry goods are kept to avoid infestations.
Pantry moths only feed on dry foods and do not bite.
Pantry moths are not seasonal visitors likecluster flies,box elder bugs,or other insect pests.
Indian Meal Moth.Penn State Extension.
Keep food safe by implementing the FIFO system.Michigan State University.
How to Store Nuts and Dried Fruits.International Nuts and Dried Fruit.
National Pesticide Information Center.
