How do you get ride of pantry moths??have tried the vacuum and cleaned everything good but they are still here

Question

How do you get ride of pantry moths??have tried the vacuum and cleaned everything good but they are still here

Answer 1

They have gotten into something in your cupboard.  Check every bag and box of food in the cupboard.  Anything that looks okay, seal in a plastic zip loc bag or a sealed container.  Those buggers will eat just about anything, cereal, flour, sugar, oatmeal, cake mixes, anything.  If you find them in something, it has to be thrown out right away.  You will have to keep at it until they stop showing up.  Once you don't see anymore, you have won.  My parents fought with pantry moths for 3 months before they got rid of them.  My mom ended up throwing out hundreds of dollars worth of dry food products, as it was all infested with the moths.  She now seals everything in zip loc bags or plastic containers and has had no problems.

Answer 2

You have to totally empty your pantry. Look at every container. Anything that's been open for a while that you're not using, throw away. Throw out old food past the expiration date. Anything you keep, put in a resealable container with a tight-fitting lid. (This is for box foods, not canned foods). You have to take everything out to make sure you get rid of their food source.

Once the pantry is empty, wipe down the shelves with hot water and dish soap. You can add a couple drops of bleach to the water if you want. Wipe down the sides of the cabinet too, and you may want to wipe the underside of the shelves and the doors. No need to rinse.

Put a couple bowls of vinegar on different shelves in the pantry, close the doors, and let sit overnight. In the morning, check for moths. Wipe up any you see. Now you can put your pantry back together. When you bring home boxes from the store, transfer the food to canisters or plastic containers right away, because the moths travel in the cardboard of the boxes. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 3

I mostly agree with the other answers, but expiration dates have little or nothing to do with it (I don't know about the vinegar and cabinet cleaning, but you do have to inspect or discard any food that would be vulnerable to pantry moths).

You can also have pantry moths in seed (e.g. bird seed, grass seed) and pet food, and you can wind up bringing them home any time you buy these products.  You can kill moths in things you bring home by "quarantining" such products in your freezer for a few days.

Aside from that, securing your foodstuffs (such as by sealing in tightly sealed plastic containers) is a good strategy.  Also kill any moths you see, and you can also buy moth traps ($6-$7 for a package of two).  Think of his as just one more tool in your battle against the pantry moth.

You basically have to be vigilant... even if you think you've resolved the problem, they can reappear, either because there was another generation of moths that you didn't completely eliminate or because of moths from products you brought in from the outside.