I seem to have a minor insect problem. My wife and I noticed small moths
flittering around occasionally. I caught a couple and, through some
research, discovered that they are some kind of adult rice/grain weevil. We
only see one at a time and have not seen any swarms or larval worms. We
have cleaned out every cabinet and drawer (even the cabinets where there is
no food stuffs) in the kitchen and pantry, washed all the inside of the
cabinets with a weak solution of bleach and water, and threw out everything
that was opened or looked like it could harbor insects. When I say
everything, I mean everything. All that is left in the cabinets are a
couple of unopened and sealed jars, the cabinets are pretty much bare.

During the clean up, I found no worms, no worm skins left over after they
emerge as moths, and only found a single dead moth in one cabinet. But the
moths are still around. We only see one at a time. Last night I pulled out
the range and fridge and found nothing but some dog hair. I vacuumed and
washed the areas with bleach water just as a precaution.

I checked the dog food and cat food and found nothing. The exterminator is
due to come out soon for his bi-monthly service and I will ask him about it.
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this topic
and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Les

Gina and Les Armstrong wrote:
I seem to have a minor insect problem. My wife and I noticed small
moths
flittering around occasionally. I caught a couple and, through some
research, discovered that they are some kind of adult rice/grain
weevil. We
only see one at a time and have not seen any swarms or larval worms.
We
have cleaned out every cabinet and drawer (even the cabinets where
there is
no food stuffs) in the kitchen and pantry, washed all the inside of
the
cabinets with a weak solution of bleach and water, and threw out
everything
that was opened or looked like it could harbor insects. When I say
everything, I mean everything. All that is left in the cabinets are
a
couple of unopened and sealed jars, the cabinets are pretty much
bare.

During the clean up, I found no worms, no worm skins left over after
they
emerge as moths, and only found a single dead moth in one cabinet.
But the
moths are still around. We only see one at a time. Last night I
pulled out
the range and fridge and found nothing but some dog hair. I vacuumed
and
washed the areas with bleach water just as a precaution.

I checked the dog food and cat food and found nothing. The
exterminator is
due to come out soon for his bi-monthly service and I will ask him
about it.
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this
topic
and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Les



We have a more advanced case of these moths and have seen the larvae
crawling around. We have tried cleaning out the pantry, using
flypaper-like devices (which have caught dozens of these moths) but
they just don't go away.

We have found them in packages that you would normally think are
sealed. They can eat into baggies and other such things. Amazingly, we
have found them in sealed tupperware storage bins (rice, flour) that
had not been opened since filling, leading me to believe it's possible
they are coming into the house via goods from the store.

No solution here...we've tried what you've tried and they are still
around, though not in the numbers they once were. I anxiously await any
advice from someone knowledgable in this.


Joe

These can be difficult to eradicate. You can put flour, grains,
bread/cake mixes, and cereal in the freezer or store them in glass
jars for several months. My mother put a bay leaf in the four to keep
bugs out of it. Actually, there's no harm in eating insects, just the
thought of it.

On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 16:17:20 GMT, "Gina and Les Armstrong"
wrote:

I seem to have a minor insect problem. My wife and I noticed small moths
flittering around occasionally. I caught a couple and, through some
research, discovered that they are some kind of adult rice/grain weevil. We
only see one at a time and have not seen any swarms or larval worms. We
have cleaned out every cabinet and drawer (even the cabinets where there is
no food stuffs) in the kitchen and pantry, washed all the inside of the
cabinets with a weak solution of bleach and water, and threw out everything
that was opened or looked like it could harbor insects. When I say
everything, I mean everything. All that is left in the cabinets are a
couple of unopened and sealed jars, the cabinets are pretty much bare.

During the clean up, I found no worms, no worm skins left over after they
emerge as moths, and only found a single dead moth in one cabinet. But the
moths are still around. We only see one at a time. Last night I pulled out
the range and fridge and found nothing but some dog hair. I vacuumed and
washed the areas with bleach water just as a precaution.

I checked the dog food and cat food and found nothing. The exterminator is
due to come out soon for his bi-monthly service and I will ask him about it.
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this topic
and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Les

"Joe S" wrote:
We have found them in packages that you would normally think are
sealed. They can eat into baggies and other such things. Amazingly, we
have found them in sealed tupperware storage bins (rice, flour) that
had not been opened since filling, leading me to believe it's possible
they are coming into the house via goods from the store.

You can bet your bottom dollar that they're coming in with store-bought goods.
Unbaked bulk goods (such as good ol' flour) are pretty much guaranteed to have
eggs. I always toss my flour bags in the freezer for a week or so after
bringing them home from the store -- temps in a freezer are low enough to kill
off the eggs of the miller moths and weevils.

clipped
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this topic
and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Les



Do you have any unopened boxes or bags of meal, flour, cereal or pasta?
Shelf paper that stuff could have gotten under. I had mystery bugs
for a long time, that infested newer stuff, until I found a little
package of corn meal full of them. Disposing of that solved the
problem, along with not storing any cereal products for long unless they
are in plastic or metal container and sealed well.

clipped
We have found them in packages that you would normally think are
sealed. They can eat into baggies and other such things. Amazingly, we
have found them in sealed tupperware storage bins (rice, flour) that
had not been opened since filling, leading me to believe it's possible
they are coming into the house via goods from the store.

Any cereal product will hatch insects if you store it long enough. The
secret is cooking it before it hatches )


No solution here...we've tried what you've tried and they are still
around, though not in the numbers they once were. I anxiously await any
advice from someone knowledgable in this.


Joe

Norminn wrote:
clipped

We have found them in packages that you would normally think are
sealed. They can eat into baggies and other such things. Amazingly, we
have found them in sealed tupperware storage bins (rice, flour) that
had not been opened since filling, leading me to believe it's possible
they are coming into the house via goods from the store.


Any cereal product will hatch insects if you store it long enough. The
secret is cooking it before it hatches )

Make that "uncooked" cereal product.



No solution here...we've tried what you've tried and they are still
around, though not in the numbers they once were. I anxiously await any
advice from someone knowledgable in this.


Joe

"Norminn" wrote in message
...
clipped
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this
topic and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Les

Do you have any unopened boxes or bags of meal, flour, cereal or pasta?
Shelf paper that stuff could have gotten under. I had mystery bugs for a
long time, that infested newer stuff, until I found a little package of
corn meal full of them. Disposing of that solved the problem, along with
not storing any cereal products for long unless they are in plastic or
metal container and sealed well.


We tossed everything that was more than a week or so old, and really looked
closely at anything we kept. We had a container of white cornmeal that I
only use for pizza making. When I dumped it out, there were some very small
black specks throughout it. They were not crawling or moving. They did not
look like insects, but more like ground black pepper. I was not sure if
they were supposed to be in the cornmeal, so I tossed the whole container.
I poured out the corn meal into a clear Pyrex cup before disposal and did
not see any worms or casings. Like I said, we tossed 99% of the contents of
the cabinets, including lots of spices and herbs. Hopefully we got what
ever they were in. The occasional moth is more of an annoyance than
anything else.

Pack all of your flour, sugar, cereal, etc
in a picnic cooler for a few weeks, and look behind
things like furniture/appliances that don't move often,
and pictures and other things hanging on the walls, in
case it's something other than meal-moths, that's
only there after the water.

Gina and Les Armstrong wrote:
I seem to have a minor insect problem. My wife and I noticed small
moths flittering around occasionally. I caught a couple and, through
some research, discovered that they are some kind of adult rice/grain
weevil. We only see one at a time and have not seen any swarms or
larval worms. We have cleaned out every cabinet and drawer (even the
cabinets where there is no food stuffs) in the kitchen and pantry,
washed all the inside of the cabinets with a weak solution of bleach
and water, and threw out everything that was opened or looked like it
could harbor insects. When I say everything, I mean everything. All
that is left in the cabinets are a couple of unopened and sealed
jars, the cabinets are pretty much bare.
During the clean up, I found no worms, no worm skins left over after
they emerge as moths, and only found a single dead moth in one
cabinet. But the moths are still around. We only see one at a time.
Last night I pulled out the range and fridge and found nothing but
some dog hair. I vacuumed and washed the areas with bleach water
just as a precaution.
I checked the dog food and cat food and found nothing. The
exterminator is due to come out soon for his bi-monthly service and I
will ask him about it. Do any of you home repair gurus have any
advice? I have googled this topic and found many tips but still can
not find the source of the moths.
Thanks in advance for your help!

Les

I don't think it applies to your situation, but one way of dealing with
food stuff that you suspect may be contaminated is to load it in to a large
container (like a clean garbage container, cover the top item with a thick
covering of news paper and top with like five or ten pounds of dry ice.
Cover and seal as well as you can. Leave it sealed for a week or longer.
But that time, you will have done a job on most everything in there. The
CO² displaces all the O² and larva and most eggs die out.

Yea, you still have the remains in your food, but if you really look,
it's there from the store.


--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

In article ,
says...

I seem to have a minor insect problem. My wife and I noticed small moths
flittering around occasionally. I caught a couple and, through some
research, discovered that they are some kind of adult rice/grain weevil. We
only see one at a time and have not seen any swarms or larval worms. We

You describe it as a moth flittering about...weevils are a beetle,
usually don't see them flying about. You probably are dealing Indian
meal moths.


have cleaned out every cabinet and drawer (even the cabinets where there is
no food stuffs) in the kitchen and pantry, washed all the inside of the
cabinets with a weak solution of bleach and water, and threw out everything
that was opened or looked like it could harbor insects. When I say
everything, I mean everything. All that is left in the cabinets are a
couple of unopened and sealed jars, the cabinets are pretty much bare
During the clean up, I found no worms, no worm skins left over after they
emerge as moths, and only found a single dead moth in one cabinet. But the
moths are still around. We only see one at a time. Last night I pulled out
the range and fridge and found nothing but some dog hair. I vacuumed and
washed the areas with bleach water just as a precaution.

They will be found in any sort of plant material, usually what is made
from the seeds. It usually is something you have forgotten about such
as you were given a free sample of a doggie snack and it was put up and
forgotten about...you went through the old herbal tea phase and there
are old tea bags in unopened boxes....you tried a specialty dish that
you don't use all of the special ingredients thinking at some point
you'll make it again, and the years have past since. You need to inspect
all packages, even unopened ones...for the opened packages, rotate the
open box, the moths leave webbing that will be attached to the side of
the box mixed with the food material. For the unopened boxes such as
cake mix, they may not be in the food yet, but the caterpillar may of
crawled under the top of the box to pupate, so even if you found the
source a couple of weeks later moths show up again.

I checked the dog food and cat food and found nothing. The exterminator is
due to come out soon for his bi-monthly service and I will ask him about it.
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this topic
and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Call the company ahead of time so they can bring you Indian meal moth
traps (if in fact they are moths) or you can buy them yourself at most
hardware stores.

They also can be found in dried flower arrangements or old bowls of
potpourri. There is another common food moth called Angoumois Grain
Moth that develops in whole kernels rather than cracked or processed
foods.

--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

Les,

I have several bits of advice which I hope will help you.

1) Perform a Google search using the exact phrase below.
Don't forget to include the quotation marks:

"pantry pest traps"

These pheromone based traps are very helpful in wiping out
pantry moths. They used to be a mail-order-only item, but
I know that Ace Hardware now carries the product and I'm
certain that other retailers must also. I'm guessing $10 for
a pack with 2 traps. I just remember that the retail store
price is about half of the mail order price. I'd suggest buying
at least 2 packages for a total of 4 traps.

2) Don't forget to investigate any pet food or bird food stored
in the house. If you have an attached garage, also check
any bird seed or dog food stored out there. The moths will
find their way into the house. They seem to be particularly
fond of sunflower seeds stored anywhere in the house or
garage.

3) Check behind furniture and behind hanging items such as
pictures. The moths will set up colonies in these areas
and the newborn will find a source of food in your kitchen.

They can be hidden behind these objects for months or
even years without being detected there. There shouldn't
be any doubt when you encounter a nesting area - it will
look like spider webs overlaying mini-cocoons.

If you find them in one or more of these hiding places, I'd
suggest vacuuming them with a vacuum that has a disposable
filter. Remove the filter and clean the vacuum outdoors
soon after you feel that you've vacuumed all of the hideouts.

I would suggest starting your search with pictures hanging
on the walls. Next I would investigate any wooden furniture
which has a rear flat vertical surface which is fairly close to
a wall. Next I'd check the back or sides of all other wooden
furniture. Finally, everything else.

4) Be sure that you check every possible bulk food item which
you may have around your house. Do you have any leftover
unshelled nuts sitting in a bowl from the Christmas season?

Some of those nuts, such as walnuts, may have a slight opening
in them and the moths can get in and use the nut as a
"breeding chamber." This can go on for months or even years
and you are likely to only notice the moths when they hatch
and move over to your kitchen or pantry.

5) Remember that it is very common for a homeowner to completely
cleanout pantries once a month for many months and never
get rid of the moths because there is a hidden location in another
part of the dwelling. This is extremely frustrating and it is the
reason why I suggest an extreme attack on your part as early
as possible.

My personal advice - search for hidden colonies away from the
food source, continue to monitor food sources, and buy the traps.
These pests can ruin a lot of food, consume a lot of your time and
they can frustrate a homeowner for years. It sounds as if you've
done a great start at researching and attacking the problem. Let's
hope these few extra tips win the battle for you. And quickly, so
that you don't have to go through another cycle of pitching food.

That's all that I can remember for now. If I recall any more tips,
then I'll post them later. I have omitted any tips which I have
heard over the years, but which I cannot personally vouch for
based upon my own experiences at home or my experiences
helping friends and neighbors.

Don't forget to post to this newsgroup and let us know what you
discover and how successful you are.

Good luck,
Gideon

Les,

One other comment - I'd try to eliminate the pests myself before letting an
exterminator attack them. The pest control guys are going to tell you that
their treatments are safe, but remember that their approach is to spray poisons
and carcinogens everywhere that you store food. Think about it.

Gideon

In article ,
says...
Les,


These pheromone based traps are very helpful in wiping out
pantry moths. They used to be a mail-order-only item, but
I know that Ace Hardware now carries the product and I'm
certain that other retailers must also. I'm guessing $10 for
a pack with 2 traps. I just remember that the retail store
price is about half of the mail order price. I'd suggest buying
at least 2 packages for a total of 4 traps.

They are only helpful in monitoring the problem and to help show where
the problem may be located at. The remedy is to remove the source where
the larvae are.



3) Check behind furniture and behind hanging items such as
pictures. The moths will set up colonies in these areas
and the newborn will find a source of food in your kitchen.

They can be hidden behind these objects for months or
even years without being detected there. There shouldn't
be any doubt when you encounter a nesting area - it will
look like spider webs overlaying mini-cocoons.
You may of encountered case maker moths or clothes moths at one time.
Meal moths larvae will crawl away from the food source, but not too
far, to pupate then return as the moth to lay eggs. I don't usually see
cocoons in mass unless it's in the food source. It is common to find a
cocoon under shelving or or at the top of a wall where it meets the
ceiling.




--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

Gina and Les Armstrong wrote:
I seem to have a minor insect problem. My wife and I noticed small moths
flittering around occasionally. I caught a couple and, through some
research, discovered that they are some kind of adult rice/grain weevil. We
only see one at a time and have not seen any swarms or larval worms. We
have cleaned out every cabinet and drawer (even the cabinets where there is
no food stuffs) in the kitchen and pantry, washed all the inside of the
cabinets with a weak solution of bleach and water, and threw out everything
that was opened or looked like it could harbor insects. When I say
everything, I mean everything. All that is left in the cabinets are a
couple of unopened and sealed jars, the cabinets are pretty much bare.

During the clean up, I found no worms, no worm skins left over after they
emerge as moths, and only found a single dead moth in one cabinet. But the
moths are still around. We only see one at a time. Last night I pulled out
the range and fridge and found nothing but some dog hair. I vacuumed and
washed the areas with bleach water just as a precaution.

I checked the dog food and cat food and found nothing. The exterminator is
due to come out soon for his bi-monthly service and I will ask him about it.
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this topic
and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Les


I used these when I had a similar problem:
http://www.improvementscatalog.com/p...&dept%5Fid=400

In article ,
says...
One other comment - I'd try to eliminate the pests myself before letting an
exterminator attack them. The pest control guys are going to tell you that
their treatments are safe, but remember that their approach is to spray poisons
and carcinogens everywhere that you store food. Think about it.

Most exterminators wouldn't attack them but explain to the customer
what needs to be done to get rid of them...clean. The source is in the
food, don't think any exterminator would be spraying foods. I would
guess the exterminator is going to tell you what ever is appropriate
for the remedy. Anything "sprayed" in a pantry would be what is
approved for pantry use, but there is no reason to spray anything, much
less run out and find carcinogen to apply...not sure I know of any that
could be found to spray anyway. Also think about probably most stores
ya shop in, church ya worship in and buildings you may work in has pest
control done.

--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

"Gideon" wrote in message
...
Les,

I have several bits of advice which I hope will help you.

1) Perform a Google search using the exact phrase below.
Don't forget to include the quotation marks:

"pantry pest traps"



SWMBO is picking up the traps as we speak. Will they help point out the
main infestation site(the trap with the most catches is closet to the nest),
or just catch them randomly? Also, if I clean, discard, vacuum, etc, and
use the traps, will I rid my home of the problem, or just control it?

Thanks again,

Les

In article ,
says...
SWMBO is picking up the traps as we speak. Will they help point out the
main infestation site(the trap with the most catches is closet to the nest),
or just catch them randomly? Also, if I clean, discard, vacuum, etc, and
use the traps, will I rid my home of the problem, or just control it?



The traps with more in them will be closer to the source, but if you
had one in the kitchen and one in the laundry room and more were in the
kitchen trap it could also mean that there are two areas of infestation.
It is a strong attractant, I have had used ones in a front pocket more
than once and stop by a grocery store to have a little parade of meal
moths following me to the register. You can rid your problem by the
thorough cleaning...areas to watch for are the underside of shelving, or
any gaps between the shelves and wall.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

The traps are baited and in place. Now waiting for the carnage to begin!!!
(insert evil laugh here)

Thanks for the help! I'll keep you updated.

Les

log onto www.gardensalive.com and buy some "pantry pest traps". Worked
nicely for me, and much cheaper than exterminators.

Sounds like Indian Meal worms. I used to call them "flitter moths", so
sounds like we're on the same page.

With shipping and all, probably cost you $25 to take care of this. I think
mine came from cheap dry catfood that had infestation.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Gina and Les Armstrong" wrote in
message ...
I seem to have a minor insect problem. My wife and I noticed small moths
flittering around occasionally. I caught a couple and, through some
research, discovered that they are some kind of adult rice/grain weevil. We
only see one at a time and have not seen any swarms or larval worms. We
have cleaned out every cabinet and drawer (even the cabinets where there is
no food stuffs) in the kitchen and pantry, washed all the inside of the
cabinets with a weak solution of bleach and water, and threw out everything
that was opened or looked like it could harbor insects. When I say
everything, I mean everything. All that is left in the cabinets are a
couple of unopened and sealed jars, the cabinets are pretty much bare.

During the clean up, I found no worms, no worm skins left over after they
emerge as moths, and only found a single dead moth in one cabinet. But the
moths are still around. We only see one at a time. Last night I pulled out
the range and fridge and found nothing but some dog hair. I vacuumed and
washed the areas with bleach water just as a precaution.

I checked the dog food and cat food and found nothing. The exterminator is
due to come out soon for his bi-monthly service and I will ask him about it.
Do any of you home repair gurus have any advice? I have googled this topic
and found many tips but still can not find the source of the moths.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Les

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
log onto www.gardensalive.com and buy some "pantry pest traps". Worked
nicely for me, and much cheaper than exterminators.

Sounds like Indian Meal worms. I used to call them "flitter moths", so
sounds like we're on the same page.

With shipping and all, probably cost you $25 to take care of this. I think
mine came from cheap dry catfood that had infestation.



I found the same traps at Slowes for under $6 per two pack. The traps have
been in place for over three days. Found one moth and have not seen any
since day two. I think we got rid of the nest during the cleaning and
caught a stray left behind. So far so good!

Les

Gina and Les Armstrong wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...

log onto www.gardensalive.com and buy some "pantry pest traps". Worked
nicely for me, and much cheaper than exterminators.

Sounds like Indian Meal worms. I used to call them "flitter moths", so
sounds like we're on the same page.

With shipping and all, probably cost you $25 to take care of this. I think
mine came from cheap dry catfood that had infestation.




I found the same traps at Slowes for under $6 per two pack. The traps have
been in place for over three days. Found one moth and have not seen any
since day two. I think we got rid of the nest during the cleaning and
caught a stray left behind. So far so good!

Les



We found a "lost" cookie and a "lost" cheese cracker pack in an
unexpected place (kids!) that were infested. Hoping this is it. A few
traps have been filled over the last many moons.

--
Joe