Pantry Moths

[mandieg4]

My house has been invaded. At first we didn't realize what they were, I've lived in the South for 12 years and have never had a problem with bugs in my food. I didn't see any moths in the pantry or in the spare room where we keep a lot of our dry goods. The only place we saw them were on the wall behind the tv and the ceiling above the tv. We figured they were the same bugs that harass our porch light every night. I've had a rough couple months, health wise, and haven't really been cooking a lot so I wasn't in the pantry enough to realize that the invasion had begun. They are everywhere!! I have noodles that I had put in ziplock bags and then put into a tote with a tight lid that the moths still got into. Pretty much anything that wasn't in a can or a jar is ruined. I am so frustrated! Thank goodness we have pigs and I don't have to throw it all in the trash. I guess I need to quit being a cheap skate and buy some good buckets and gamma lids rather than keeping my dry goods in clear totes.

 

[lwheelr]

If they are brownish gray moths, about an inch long, they are probably Miller moths. We had them everywhere in Wyoming, especially in the late summer/fall. I hate to tell you this, but the moth season is really only just begun.

If you have ducks or chickens, see if you can collect some of them up for them. They'll be a great source of protein for poultry.

 

[TanksHill]

When stocking next time try to freeze your grains/ flours etc. for a couple days before you package them up.. I try to do this with anything new I bring in.

sorry for your problem. Just wondering, is the food really ruined or just gross because of the moths?

g

 

[moolie]

It's more likely that the eggs were in the food you bought, than that they got in through the ziploc bags and plastic containers. Definitely a good idea to freeze any dry food you buy going forward

 

[miss_thenorth]

I have them too, and for the life of me, I can't figure out where they are coming from. I have searched everywhere,a nd went through everything.

 

[mandieg4]

When stocking next time try to freeze your grains/ flours etc. for a couple days before you package them up.. I try to do this with anything new I bring in.

sorry for your problem. Just wondering, is the food really ruined or just gross because of the moths?

g

For a couple weeks I was actually using some of the stuff as long as it was just webs and not actual worms, until it dawned on me that I needed to get rid of everything that was infested if I ever wanted to get rid of the problem.

The problem with freezing stuff is that I simply don't have the freezer space. If it was just a box at a time it would be one thing, but we're talking 25# or more all at once. I thought I might pack everything in 5 gal buckets instead of totes and put a piece of dry ice in the bottom and on the top when I fill the bucket. That might work, maybe? The only problem with that would be finding someplace around here that sells dry ice.

 

[ORChick]

If you have a bit of spare room in the freezer - say, 5# worth - you can freeze your food in batches. You'll want to freeze it all of course, but each lot only needs 3 or 4 days, and it won't go bad waiting for that period of time. Just don't mix the already frozen with the not yet frozen . Dry ice would also work, or oxygen absorbers. There is a supermarket here in town that has dry ice; I'm not sure why, but have seen the sign. Emergency manuals usually suggest looking in the yellow pages for meat packers for dry ice.

 

[~gd]

If you have a bit of spare room in the freezer - say, 5# worth - you can freeze your food in batches. You'll want to freeze it all of course, but each lot only needs 3 or 4 days, and it won't go bad waiting for that period of time. Just don't mix the already frozen with the not yet frozen . Dry ice would also work, or oxygen absorbers. There is a supermarket here in town that has dry ice; I'm not sure why, but have seen the sign. Emergency manuals usually suggest looking in the yellow pages for meat packers for dry ice.

Unless you have a medical lab in town dry ice is often used to flash freeze lab samples. After they are frozen they are then shipped with cold Packs (frozen to dry ice temperature) They are NOT shipped with dry ice since it off gasses huge amounts of CO2 and NO ONE will accept it for shipment! If you are buying it remember that you need oven mit like gloves to handle it. I know everybody here hates styrofoam but a thick walled styrofoam cooler or a card board box lined on all surfaces with sheet foam works better than plastic beer coolers since most plastic becomes as brittle as glass at dry ice temps. KEEP YOUR CAR WINDOW AT LEAST CRACKED since CO2 is heavier than air and it can sneak up on you and kill you. The same thinking should be done in the home, put it somewhere where the gas can drain outside safely. If you know all this already I am sorry to have offended your intelligence, I darn near lost a friend that wanted to make a smoking punch for a party and mis used dry ice.~gd

 

[Emerald]

An Amish lady told my Aunt to buy and put good bay leaves in the cupboards and the dry goods, helps keep india mealy moths out of your foods. So my mother and Aunt both picked up bay leaves and got some for me and darn if it doesn't work well. I change them out about every three months in the cupboard.

The worst invasion I got was from some bird seed that I got from my daughter for my birthday(its in the dead of winter and I feed the birds you get the picture) The little moths were every where. I also freeze my flours for a week before putting them away..

 

[ORChick]

If you have a bit of spare room in the freezer - say, 5# worth - you can freeze your food in batches. You'll want to freeze it all of course, but each lot only needs 3 or 4 days, and it won't go bad waiting for that period of time. Just don't mix the already frozen with the not yet frozen . Dry ice would also work, or oxygen absorbers. There is a supermarket here in town that has dry ice; I'm not sure why, but have seen the sign. Emergency manuals usually suggest looking in the yellow pages for meat packers for dry ice.

Unless you have a medical lab in town dry ice is often used to flash freeze lab samples. After they are frozen they are then shipped with cold Packs (frozen to dry ice temperature) They are NOT shipped with dry ice since it off gasses huge amounts of CO2 and NO ONE will accept it for shipment! If you are buying it remember that you need oven mit like gloves to handle it. I know everybody here hates styrofoam but a thick walled styrofoam cooler or a card board box lined on all surfaces with sheet foam works better than plastic beer coolers since most plastic becomes as brittle as glass at dry ice temps. KEEP YOUR CAR WINDOW AT LEAST CRACKED since CO2 is heavier than air and it can sneak up on you and kill you. The same thinking should be done in the home, put it somewhere where the gas can drain outside safely. If you know all this already I am sorry to have offended your intelligence, I darn near lost a friend that wanted to make a smoking punch for a party and mis used dry ice.~gd

Hey ~gd~ very good advice, and I always feel that warned twice (or more! ) is better than not warned at all