those blasted moths in flour, etc

cathybird

hi there, have any of you frugal folk out there got any ideas for a cheap way of getting rid of indian meal moths (those pesky moths that get into your flour/dried foods/seeds/raisins in your cupboards etc)? They got in somehow a few months ago and though I kill any on sight they never go away, there's always another one a few days later. I've got everything I can see that they might eat in sealed containers (though they must be eating something). I've had regular clearouts, chuck everything out, wash the cupboards out, they still come back. You can buy traps but they cost about £14 and when they wear out you have to replace them. I wondered if anyone had successfully got rid of these moths from their kitchen without going to huge expense...

thriftlady_2

:eek: :eek: Omg, they sound horrible, I've had flour beetles and the way to avoid getting them is to freeze new packages of flour, beans, rice etc overnight. This should kill any larvae. I'm sure if you put your dry goods in the freezer overnight it would kill the blighters. Good luck.

cathybird

hi there thriftlady, thanks for your suggestion ... freezing would kill them if they'd already got in to the dried goods that's true ... so I'll try it with all my current stuff. the trouble is they don't come in with packages now, they're already in the kitchen. so I've got to get rid of the blighters that are already there!! (not too many of them at the moment thankfully) cheers & thanks again

gwinnie

Hi cathybird, Have you contacted your council? They should have a pest control service and I think this type of infestation would be something they would come out for.

Pink.

Hi cathybird,

What a horrible problem to have. I don't know if it will tell you anything you don't know already, but have a look at this link: Indian Moth Invasions

By the look of it, it will take perserverance on your part to get rid of them completely.

Pink

cathybird

Hi there pink-winged & gwynnie! & thanks for your replies & suggestions. I did think of the council but I think they do something called "fumigate" which is sort of the equivalent of letting off a nuclear bomb in the kitchen - anyway when I read about it it sounded over-forceful, shall we say, but I should really look into it again. Thanks pink-winged for the link, I guess I'd better make more efforts to put grains etc in the freezer so they don't get at them & store more stuff in airtight containers. I was hoping there'd be a magic easy solution but life's not like that, is it!!!

newleaf

I have been chasing these little blighters about my house for the past few weeks and had no idea what they were. I had a suspiscion they were coming out of my 'baking' cupboard though. Thanks for posting this, otherwise I'd never have known. Big clearout tomorrow then...

cathybird

hi newleaf, yeah that is probably what they are by the sound of it, especially if they came out of the baking cupboard. I hope you're wrong tho & that they're something else because the moths in my kitchen are very difficult to get rid of. You might find if they've been around for a bit they've got into most of your baking stuff, in other words you may have to chuck all of it out, annoying and non-frugal as that is. I've tried to put everything I have into airtight jars, but they still seem to find other things (herbs & spices for instance - pinenuts even!) that they can invade. Maybe a trap is the only answer (it exudes a smell they like and they wander in and get stuck to a sheet) - £14 is the cheapest I've found though and I was hoping to avoid spending much money. Let me know if you come up with a brilliant solution for getting rid of them!

newleaf

Hi cathybird! That's definitely what they are, I knew as soon as I googled them and saw some photos. Thank goodness you posted, I might never have realised. This morning I've thrown everything out, hoovered inside cupboards, washed with disinfectant, and dried. I found loads of moths and larvae (ugh!). When I first thought they were coming from the baking cupboard I asked hubby to have a look - he's taller and can see better than me - and he declared the cupboard to be free of any signs of life! I found some opened bags of specialty flours at the back of the cupboard - leftover from when I was all enthused over my breadmaker, and I wonder if that's where the blighters came from. It makes me go green to think what we might have eaten over the years without knowing....:shocked:

cathybird

hi newleaf - don't worry too much about what you've been eating - if they've invaded something it becomes incredibly obvious pretty quickly, food goes as if it's got spiderwebby stuff on it and hangs off the sides of packets etc (sounds loverly doesn't it, shouldn't be writing this when people are eating their sunday lunch perhaps). So in other words there's no way you could decide to make bread, say, and not notice the flour had been contaminated. At least I think so. But well done washing out cupboards and good luck getting rid of them! :T And keep us posted on whether the little blighters go away!! (frustrating getting rid of stuff though isn't it? feels like such a waste) :mad:

CharleneUK

*Shudder* I've still got a moth infestation and it's taking the biscuit! At first we knew the food source was the hamsters food in the cupboard and got rid, but kept seeing them and their nasty larvae on the ceilings, I literally didn't want to go in the kitchen!

It's calmed down now, but we still occasionally see moths, but haven't seen any larvae in about 4 weeks.

I called the local council who said Moths are not considered pests! I sympathise!