Insect Infestation

The Invasion of a Prolific Enemy — Pantry Moths

Removing them was difficult, time-consuming, and expensive

One night while watching TV in my bedroom, a small flying insect flew past me and circled around the room.

I assumed he had flown in when I opened the front door earlier. I continued watching my show. Later, I noticed it had flown past the TV and circled the room a few more times. Still ignoring it, I figured it would either find its way out or be dead by morning.

The next night, once again, an insect was flying around my room. This time I tried to catch it without success as it continued circling and wouldn’t land.

While preparing dinner, a few days later, a tiny object flew out of my kitchen cabinet when I opened it. Initially, I didn’t associate it with the same insect that had been flying around my room, as it was a different part of the house.

Ew, what’s that in my rice?

Later in the week, when I put brown rice into a pot with water, I saw little black things float to the top. It alarmed me, as I knew they had to be eggs or larvae, so I drained the water and threw the rice in the garbage.

Upon inspecting the container, I noticed a powdery substance, indicating that a living creature had somehow found its way in and had been feasting on the rice.

A few nights later, I noticed an insect flying around my room again, this time landing on the TV screen. I jumped up to get a closer look. It was a tiny moth of some sort, not the large variety I’ve seen in closets that eat wool clothing. This one was different.

Pantry moths — I never heard of them

I researched the insect on the internet the next day to find it was a pantry moth (aka Indian meal moth) and lives on dry goods, from cereal to rice and everything in between.

The rest of my morning was spent throwing away just about everything in the kitchen cabinets and storing the still-unharmed food in glass containers.

Removing their food source should have addressed the issue. I was mad that these little demons caused me to throw out what would have been perfectly good food had they not gotten into it, but if that solved the problem, so be it.

Just when I thought it was safe…

I had no idea how horrific the situation had become until I turned on the light in my bedroom closet one night and saw about 20 of them on the wall. They weren’t moving fast, enabling me to kill most of them with a fly swatter. I knew I had a serious infestation on my hands.

Procuring pantry traps was the next item on my agenda. I set them in every cabinet, closet, and drawer. The traps had a sticky surface with pheromones that were supposed to attract the males, theorizing that if they were eliminated, there would be no more mating, hence no more eggs!

I also hung bags with spices, peppermint, and cedar as a deterrent to their presence, but that made any food left in the cabinets peppermint-scented and also had to be thrown out.

The natural spray I bought smelled awful, also made my food smell, and was only effective in the treated area. Those prolific pests would just fly to another spot as I was spraying.

Too late for my treatments

Even though I was trapping 10 or more a night, they were still flying around my bedroom and dive-bombing me as they exited my cabinets. They were reproducing faster than I could kill them. There had to be another food source I was missing.

I was finished playing games. I moved my bird and his cage out of my bedroom and opened one of those bug bombs that were supposed to go deep into the room and kill every living insect.

The thought of bombing the whole house with chemicals was against everything I believed in, but I finally succumbed when a few days later they were back in full force, flying around my room, out of the cabinets, landing in my coffee, mocking me.

I took my bird and spent a night at my son’s house after bombing every room in my house. That should do it!

In the process of moving

Around this time, I had been preparing to move to a new home. Bringing pantry moths with me was not an option. To be sure, I threw away any items that could potentially serve as a breeding ground for them.

Before packing my curtains and bedding, I washed and shook them out thoroughly. Additionally, I sprayed every box before sealing them tightly to prevent any insects from getting in.

By the time I was packing the last of my belongings, every cabinet, every pantry shelf, and every closet were empty. There wasn’t a moth in sight. Nothing. I left my old place completely moth-free, and sure enough, the problem was behind me forever.

In my new place, I carefully unpacked boxes one at a time, again spraying each box before I brought it into the house, just to be sure.

I did find a few dead ones that made their way into the boxes or bags of clothes. It’s over, finally. I didn’t bring any live ones with me. Any that are stuck in boxes in the garage will die off soon. Die, die, you pesky bugs!

Then, one night, while watching TV in my bedroom, a small flying insect flew past me and circled the room.

Here we go again!

Oh, please, please, no, don’t let it be a moth. I ignored it. I had to. My sanity was at stake. Freaking out or panicking was not going to help. Tomorrow, I’ll look through all my cabinets to see if there’s any cause for alarm.

The next morning, I nervously opened one cabinet door after another, and nothing happened. No insects were flying out. Then I opened a few new pancake mixes, pasta, and beans. So far, so good.

When I came to a container of dry oatmeal, it was contaminated again. This time I threw the oatmeal in the toilet, not the garbage, so they didn’t proliferate right in my garbage can and fly out at me.

I waited. All was quiet for a few days. No moths, but the real test was yet to come. I had replaced my brown rice with a new one and had not put it into a clean container; it was still in its original wrapping. I opened the bag of brown rice, and it was completely infested!

The larvae came in with the brown rice! That’s where my original infestation came from!

I quickly threw the rice down the toilet, cleaned all my new cabinets, threw out anything suspicious, and waited. After I was done, there were only cans and glass jars left in the cabinets with no food source for them; they’d have to leave!

But little by little, one by one, they were still coming out of hiding or hatching. The little beasts must have laid eggs in everything, including clothing and towels, and they were all coming to life eight months later!

Each time I brought in a box from the garage, even mugs, new moths would fly out. How is this possible? How did they survive in boxes in the garage in the cold for months with no food?

After that, I had to start opening the boxes in the garage and spraying the moths as they flew out. This was my life; I had become a moth stalker with a can of spray at the ready.

But when I found they had gotten into this huge jar of very expensive birdseed, I knew it was time to get much more aggressive. It’s time to hire an exterminator. I give up!

Amazing discovery

After conducting an online search for one in the area, I stumbled upon a flying insect trap that looked like a combination of bug zapper and fly trap. This device was designed to be plugged into an electrical outlet and emit a light that attracts insects.

Once an insect flies into the trap, it would become stuck on a replaceable adhesive card, something like fly paper, but not hanging from the ceiling, displaying weeks of dead flies in various stages of decomposition.

It seemed too good to be true. Could it really work?

It was a simple, chemical-free alternative to spraying or using a fly swatter. Why hadn’t I discovered this before?

I purchased one online and plugged it in immediately. I didn’t hear anything or see anything, but the next day there were eight dead moths stuck to it. And the next day after that, there were more.

That first card had to be replaced after only a few days with about 20 moths stuck on it. It was attracting them and catching them before I knew they were in the room.

Not only was this plug-in trap effective at killing moths, the cards were easy to replace, worked quickly, and also attracted flies and gnats.

The following spring, I added another one to my walk-in closet. I didn’t expect to find any, but after checking a few days later, there were dozens more.

Apparently, I had brought moths with me to the new place. They were still laying eggs and hatching in my closets, on my clothes, all over.

Since installing the traps, I’ve replaced the cards several times. If one hatches and makes an appearance, I don’t even get up. I know it will be gone by the next day.

Peace at last

For the first time in years, I’m confident I have the problem under control. Where they hide is still a mystery, but I know they will have to come out to feed sooner or later, and they will eagerly and unhesitatingly dance toward the blue light, like moths to a flame — and I will get a restful night’s sleep.

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