No one wants pests in their Sugar Land home, but one particularly off-limits area is the kitchen. We do not want to be greeted by insects, rodents, or spiders when we open the kitchen cabinets or the pantry to retrieve food. Like some of us, you may have memories of shrieks from the kitchen when your mother opened a bag of flour only to find moths crawling all over the product.
Don't keep throwing away food from the pantry because of an infestation of moths; instead, call for the Sugar Land pest control team from All-Safe Pest & Termite. Our award-winning company has been serving Texans since 1984, and we know how to stop a moth infestation.
How To Identify An Indian Meal Moth
Food production companies do all they can to keep Indian meal moths out of their food products, but occasionally a few moths slip through the inspection process and end up in food products. Once inside a home, the moths quickly reproduce and infect other products in the storage area.
Adult Indian meal moths have the following characteristics:
- Length: 3/8 inch long when at rest
- Wings: 1/2 to 3/4 inch wingspan
- Wing colors: Most of the outside of the wings are reddish-brown, and the remaining part is bronze.
- Head and thorax: Reddish-brown
- Legs: Grey
The life cycle of Indian meal moths consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Adult Indian meal moths are easy to identify, but damage to food products occurs when they are in the larval stage. An Indian meal larva is about 2/3 inches long with a white head and a cloudy white body. The larval stage may last up to 41 weeks.
You Don't Want Pantry Moths In Your Cupboards
Like other living creatures, Indian meal moths reproduce. During its short lifespan of seven days or less, the female moth will lay between 60 to 300 pantry moth eggs; the eggs will hatch within two to 14 days. When the moths reach the larval stage, they feed on grains, nuts, seeds, chocolate, candies, powdered milk, fruit, and dog food.
They contaminate food products by spinning webs as they crawl over food, and with the moth poop, they leave on the food product.
How To Get Rid Of An Entire Pantry Moth Infestation
The following tips will help you get rid of a pantry moth infestation:
- Eliminate infested food items
- Store foods in plastic or glass airtight containers
- Remove old packages of grains and pasta
- Vacuum the pantry and use the wand to clean out crevices
- Wipe down pantry shelving
- Seal any cracks or openings in pantry walls or baseboards
- Store pet food in a sealed container
While these methods will remove current Indian meal moths from the pantry, they do not ensure the elimination of Indian meal moth eggs.
Simple Tips To Prevent Future Indian Meal Moth Infestations
Prevention is the best way to keep Indian meal moth nests out of your pantry. Purchase only products with no signs of damage. Upon purchasing grains and cereals, inspect them for moths. After inspection, transfer the contents to an airtight plastic or glass container before storing them. Eliminate products stored for more than four months, especially those in the original paper containers. Regularly wipe the shelves, and clean the pantry floor and ceiling. If your pantry has a light, use it only when necessary to avoid attracting other insects and moths.
The best solution for ending an Indian meal moth infestation is to call our pest control professionals at All-Safe Pest & Termite. When we arrive at your Sugar Land home, we will determine the scope of the infestation, create a customized action plan, identify problematic areas, and, upon approval, eliminate the Indian meal moths in your pantry. Contact us today and set up an inspection.