The Indian meal moth is one of the most common pests in the United States, preying on people’s pantries and eating dried goods, grain products, cereals, nuts and various processed foods. This villain-like moth raids pantries, claiming your uneaten foods for themselves and their larvae. Luckily, there are a couple of ways that you can defeat this pantry pest!
Keep An Eye On Your Food
Before you sink your teeth into those delicious looking cookies in the pantry, give them a quick glance over for evidence of a pest. Evidence of the Indian meal moth may include visibly seeing the moth, seeing tiny white worms, sticky webbing inside food packages and fecal droppings in the food. I bet you’re not so eager to eat that cookie now, but give it a quick look, you should be fine.
Remove Infested Food
If you see an Indian Meal Moth in your pantry, don’t worry, you won’t have to throw all of the food away. However, it is crucial that you identify the infested food quickly and discard the food before the pests spread. Foods that you are most likely to be infested are…
- Dog or cat food not in a sealed plastic container
- Food with a damaged container (holes, tears etc.)
- Food that has sat on the shelf for a long period of time
- Foods in a poorly-sealed package
If you do find any food that is infested with the Indian meal moth, it is important that you throw the food away in a trashcan, and then put the trash can outside so the pest does not have a way to get back into the house.
Home Remedies And Pest Control
If the infestation is small, and you think that you can take care of it yourself, there are a few things that you can do. There are various over the counter solutions such as insecticides and traps that are available for purchase at most large retail stores. The only issue with this strategy is that the chemicals sold over the counter are weak, considering they will be used around foods, and the pheromone moth traps only attract the male moths, letting the pregnant female moths go free. If none of these approaches seem to be working, it might be time to call your local residential pest control company.
Residential Pest Control Professionals
If you have tried to get rid of the Indian meal moth by yourself and can’t seem to shake them, give your local pest management company a call. It is important that you give the exterminator a call quickly, as an adult female moth can lay up to 300 eggs on food materials. After that happens, it only takes two weeks, and you will start seeing little squiggly worms all over that cookie you were craving. When you contact a pest management company, you can get the peace of mind that you’re eating food, not worms.
If you are experiencing an Indian meal moth infestation and your best attempt to get rid of them falls short, give us a call at Earthwise Pest Management. We will send one of our residential pest control professionals to come liberate your pantry from the pantry pest of the west! Contact us for a free quote or consultation today!
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