I didn’t intend to turn the pantry situation into a big guessing game, though I suppose I was quite cryptic with my description. However, if it was a guessing game, Lauren would have won. No ants, no sir, we had MOTHS. Pantry Moths. Indian Meal Moths.
I didn’t even know these were a “thing”. Sure, I’d heard cedar closets are good for keeping away moths, but I never thought much about it… especially in our PANTRY. I found a couple of these guys flying around and bought moth balls. Then I started doing my research. Moth balls are TOXIC… duh, right? They kill moths. But the fumes are supposed to be pretty darn harmful to us, too, and with Hailey and Koda around, I was up for taking chances, so I tossed the balls. (That’s what she said.)
While trying to figure out what to do, I couldn’t help but wonder
GROSS. Where did they come from?
We bring them in, unknowingly. Then can arrive in food that we buy that already has moth larvae in it. Moths prefer and feed on grain-based foods, like flour, pasta, cereal, breads, cookies and beans. They can arrive in foods that are already prepackaged. Ew. They also can get into our homes via reusable shopping bags. Oops. Guilty. I never even thought to wash mine. Now they’ve been washed twice in HOT water and detergent.
So, what’s the solution?
Everything I read said not to mess around with these guys and to do a total pantry overhaul. So, with a heavy heart, I cleaned out the pantry.
First, everything got pulled out, and a huge portion got thrown away. Even though I didn’t see evidence of an infestation (no moths flew out when I opened certain packages and I didn’t see much webbing, which is evidence of their existence), I didn’t want to take any chances.
Please note, that even buying things in bags doesn’t necessarily keep moths out. These bags had tiny holes in them, so they got tossed. Tear.
Then, I removed all the shelving.
Supposedly they can attach and lay eggs on shelving and again, I was taking no chances.
Then I scrubbed down the walls, every crack and crevice with a water and detergent solution. I got out cotton swabs for the hard to reach places. I’m so glad I did, I found little webs and who knows what else in the tiny areas.
I won’t lie, this took a long time. It wasn’t a fun day for anyone.
Finally it had all been scrubbed, but I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to make sure everything was gone, so I decided to paint. How often to you get a chance to paint your pantry anyways, right?
After my hard work I figured there was no way I could get the shelves clean enough to satisfy me, so we bought new wire shelving.
I cleaned the floors and pronounced my pantry the cleanest in all the land.
Then, I refilled it with the food I saved, wiping down every container before putting it back on the shelf.
It feels fantastic to have a totally spic ‘n span pantry and hopefully I’ll never have to deal with this again. How do I plan to keep moths away?
- Washing my reusable grocery bags with HOT water.
- Keeping food sealed tightly. No more rolling down a bag of crackers and cereal and thinking it’s good enough.
- Keeping all food in hard plastic (or glass) air-tight containers
- Storing all grain-based items in the freezer for the first 4 days after purchase. The freezing temperatures will kill any moth larvae that may be in the food. This is especially important if you buy organic food from bulk bins (GUILTY).
- Hang a sachet of bay leaves, cinnamon, mint leaves and/or lavender in the pantry. The scent acts as natural moth balls, deterring the little suckers.
Have you ever had an infestation?
What was it?
How did you get rid of it?
How do you keep little pests away?
Jamie @ Don't Forget the Cinnamon says
We’ve gotten pantry moths at home a couple times and they are so gross!! It’s quite disturbing as a child to have a moth fly out of the cheerios box as you try to pour your breakfast! My mom thinks that they came in in either the dog or bird food.
This fall my apartment had mice which was even more gross! Ii found so many bags of food that they had chewed through!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
Wow, well that was very educational! I had never even heard of pantry moths. Now you have me all freaked out haha! 😉 What a huge pain to have to do all of that. But on a postive note, your new pantry looks beautiful!
Glenneth says
We had the exact same problem a few years ago. We kept thinking we got them all and then more would show up. We finally did what you did – emptied the entire pantry and started from scratch. We found they even got in some canned goods. We haven’t had them since – thank goodness.
Brittany says
in canned goods?! oh my gosh, I thought those were safe. ickkkkk
Glenneth says
yep – in the canned goods. you might want to open a couple and just check. better safe than sorry. if you put a can back in the pantry that has them, it will just start all over. trust me. we learned the hard way. this went on 3-4 months at our house before we got rid of EVERYTHING and started over.
Cait @ Beyond Bananas says
I had that problem in my house growing up! We tried a lot of things.. but I don’t think my parents ever did a pantry overhaul. That being said.. they would just never go away. I remember we had to have the house treated my terminex.. which I am sure wasn’t very safe. That.. got rid of them, however!
Melody says
Wow. What a nightmare! You were, and probably still are pretty grossed out and when you go to get something from the pantry will check it 87 times to make sure there’s no sign of mothage! Nasty. I think I remember having those in our cupboards as a kid. I have had those big huge sugar (carpenter) ants in my pantry getting into anything sweet…. exterminator was called asap! Your pantry looks awesome though!
nicole @ making good choices says
yikes! at least you have the cleanest, most organized pantry now!
blackhuff says
One thing I can say, is that I only got moths one time in my life before. It’s not a thing one get frequently, luckily.
Pantry looks good with the overhaul you gave it.
eal4c says
If you can find what they are in, putting that food or container in the freezer overnight kills them and their eggs. Since I can’t take my cabinets apart, this was the only things that got rid of them for me!
And I agree – GROSS!!
Brittany says
I certainly plan on using that freezer trick, especially with foods I buy from bulk bins. It made me feel like the stinky kid in class. I kept thinking “am I gross for having this issue?”
eal4c says
It has been such a mild winter – I imagine lots of really clean, nice-smelling people are going to have issues with bugs this year! Don’t worry – it’s not you! 🙂
Brittney says
Ok, now I’m completely freaked out! Yikes! I need to go through my pantry and make sure all my stuff is secure!!
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean says
ugh, this happened to my mom with pantry beetles. we had to throw away so much stuff! they could flatten themselves and even get into unopened boxes. now my parents put EVERYTHING in plastic containers.
Brittany says
I’m going to be just like your parents- everything is airtight containers. The whole ordeal just grossed me out.
Lauren says
What a nightmare! Are you an office fan??? (related to “that’s what she said.”)
Jenny says
You better believe I will be checking out every inch of my pantry ASAP! Glad you got rid of the problem. And your new pantry looks great!!
Beth says
Thanks for this post, I never knew these things existed! I think I’ll be paying more attention to my pantry after this!
Susan @ Real Life Travels says
That is crazy! I had no idea about moths … like how in the world do they get into stuff like that? I’ll be paying more attention to my pantry as soon as I get home! Glad you got it all figured out!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
Omg, I’m paranoid now. Especially when you mentioned the bulk bin thing at the end!
On the brightside, your pantry looks amazingly clean and tidy!
Katie @ cooklaughmove says
Yup, this happened to me and I did a complete overhaul on President’s Day weekend.
The last straw was when one was in my cup of coffee. I think it flew in there (not sure how it would have gotten threw a coffee filter during the brewing process) but that was it!
I cleaned EVERYTHING and threw away so much food, I felt terrible.
I wash and reuse a lot of my glass jars to store food in now and inspect EVERYTHING before I eat it. A good way to get rid of the moths instead of hitting/smashing them, is to suck them up with the vaccuum hose 🙂
Michelle says
This happened to my parents pantry when I lived at home. GROSS! You have inspired me to clean on my cabinets now. I need to make sure I don’t have any critters hanging around!
P.S. your pantry looks great 🙂
Brianna says
Ugh, what a pain. The silver lining is that your reno turned out fabulous! I have serious pantry envy.
Kristen @ The Concrete Runner says
Not gonna lie, this freaks me out! I have had larvae in some bagged rice before but we haven’t seen them since. I store all my grains in ball jars now. My aunt had an infestation before and now stores all her grains in the fridge at all times!
Lauren B. says
I have NEVER heard of pantry moths, but now I am afraid. 🙂
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
What an intense clean up! My parents have had those moths but not me yet. I hope I never get them!! Yuck!!
christina says
OMG this is nuts. i shuddered at the thought of moths being in the bulk bin stuff. eeeeek!! but hey, your new pantry looks fantastic.
Madeline @ Food Fitness and Family says
OMG I have TOTALLY hate this happen before!!!! It was AWFUL! Funny thing? I painted too haha. My advice though? Keep an eye on things for at least a week. I thought I had gotten every single thing and low and behold another moth appeared a few days later. It was by far the most disgusting and disturbing thing ever haha.
Amy says
I got some type of larve in a bag of rice last year. Luckily I keep my rice in a sealed canister so they didn’t make it past that, but it was definitely gross to scoop out a cup of rice to start cooking and see something moving in it. I couldn’t eat rice again for a long time after!
Kelly says
Ugh! Now, I am going to check my pantry when I get home tonight lol! Thanks for the heads up!
Sejal M says
Oh man, now Im super scared. I often roll down bags of cereal, chips, etc and put them back in the cupboard!
Jen says
Oh my! I can totally relate to this post. I got some pantry moths from some Honey Bunches of Oats cereal last year. Those little suckers are so hard to get rid of that to this day, I only keep one shelf full in my cupboard. I hope you were able to got rid of them, and on the bright side, you have a clean pantry.
P.S. I have been silently following your blog since you were pregnant and I love it!
Sarah says
SHREIK!!! Ugh I haaaate it when stuff like this happens to good, clean people. When we had mice it made me feel like I was failing at cleaning my house, which of course isn’t true. (They weren’t getting into any of our food, just living in the basement, eating the neighbor’s bird food.)
Thank you so much for the tip on freezing bulk bin items! I am so going to do this now. I can see it already… “now where did I put those lentils. I KNOW I bought lentils. Where did they go?!” hahaha the freezer!
Jen says
first, i am so jealous of your big and organized pantry.
second, thanks for explaining all of this. i am definitely going to start using the freezer trick and move all my grains/bulk items to jars or sealed plastic containers.
Lisa says
Ah omgomg, this just scared me so much. This is honestly my worst fear…like actually I am terrifieddd of moths!!! I cringed through this whole post and never knew of such a thing! I’m terrified to look through my cupboards haha.
Lindsay@Fuel My Family says
Oh gross, that really stinks! But I’m sure you’re loving that clean pantry!
KaraHadley says
My grandfather has taken to putting moth balls EVERYWHERE. It’s gross and now I know it’s toxic. Awesome.
But really, this whole moth business is gross. I pretty much only buy things organic from the bulk bins, so now I’m freaking out. Eeew.
Christie says
Oh my gosh, Brittany- I would’ve lost it! I hate bugs with a passion and would’ve tried telling Ryan we had to move. A little over dramatic, maybe 😉
I love the bulk bins too (hellooooo, Healthy Home Market) so will definitely try your tip from now on. Thanks for sharing!
Kelly @ Cupcake Kelly's says
I figured I would comment here too. Seriously, nothing like moths to make you feel dirty right?
As some others said, we threw out EVERYTHING, even cans and jars of things like peanut butter. The moths made nests in things like the crevices in the bottom of my bread maker. Yuck. Since I was pregnant when it happened my MIL and husband got the lucky job of cleaning and bleaching the pantry.
But they wouldn’t go away. I live in a city condo, so it’s 3 floors and each floor has 2 units. One day I was walking upstairs and I saw moths in the hallway. Somone else either brought them in or gave them to us or vice versa. So we had to tell everyone. And after that it took a few months for the moths that were still in early ages to die and kill off the whole brood.
I know you said you have the traps in your pantry, but if you are still keeping food in there, the trap is inviting them into the pantry, but they also might go to the food instead of the trap. We made that mistake. Finally we moved the trap to the dining room, on top of our china cabinet, set far back. No one could see it and the pheremones reach up to 1000 square feet, so the moths would stay out of the pantry. And as long as the traps are clear for 6 months the problem is gone!
Good luck, I hope this goes away fast!
Brittany says
Ugh- they’re snaky little monsters! I didn’t think about inviting them to the pantry with the trap- ah! Great idea, I’ll move it out.
Tiff says
Bless your heart – that’s awful. That would seriously bum me out, but at least you got it taken care of. Thanks for the tip about the bulk bins. I’ll definitely keep that in mind!
Katie says
Oh my gosh, you poor thing!! So much work!!
Lauren says
Thanks for the shout out 🙂 I should probably blog more so there is more to read! At least now you know it has nothing to do with being clean. Those pests come in from the outside and they are so annoying! Love how open and clean your pantry looks now. When we move, I hope to stay more organized!
Caitlin says
You should make sure to check the light fixture if you have one in there. They are sneaky little buggers and get in there! good luck!
Brittany says
Oh my gosh, how did I forget the light fixture?! Thank you! I’ll go check it now!
Leah says
Yep, I’ve had them and yuck yuck yuck. 🙁 It was no fun at all, but luckily I live in a different place now… not for that reason though. I would suggest refrigerating as many dried goods as possible. 🙂
NikkiB says
Although food product moths are pests traditionally associated with food factories, bakeries or commercial food stores, they are now becoming increasingly common in the home, with people finding tiny moths in their kitchen and wondering what they can be. Other signs that may suggest food moth activity are maggots in kitchens or on kitchen walls and ceilings. These maggots are actually the larval stage of kitchen moths. Yuck!
Here are some tips to stop Food Moth Infestations
1. REMOVE – Remove your food from the affected drawers or cupboards and vacuum really thoroughly paying attention to edges, cracks and crevices inside and out.
2. CLEAN – Thoroughly clean all surfaces that may be affected and leave to dry. Discard any infested foodstuffs away from your house.
3. KILL – Spray the affected storage unit to kill any eggs and / or larvae
4. MONITOR / PREVENT – Place moth traps close to affected areas to monitor for adult moths and to break the breeding cycle
5. REFRESH – Keep moth traps current and replace every 3 months – please remember, with warmer houses food moth damage and infestations are now a year-round problem, and moth prevention is better than cure.
Hope this helps you. There is a great new site selling a full range of moth control and prevention products, and also providing great advice: MothPrevention.com http://www.mothprevention.com – give them a go…
Kris says
We had cereal bugs. Living in FL, I’m used to watching out for bugs. I know to keep everything in freezer ziplocs or glass or hard plastic containers, but it doesn’t always happen. And, all grain products go into the freezer when I bring them home for a couple of days. I cleaned out the entire pantry, including spices (they were in there). Warning that I even found infestation in tea bags since the boxes don’t seal tight. Now the tea bags go in a canister. Sorry you had to go through this!
Brittany says
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I read to throw out all tea! I did that and it was so hard 🙁 I’m so sad to hear they were in spices. I have yet to put mine back in the pantry, but I can’t fathom throwing them all away… decisions decisions…
Kris says
The sad thing was making soup, and adding the cayenne pepper which the bugs were in (the lid was shut but not snapped tight). I had to throw out the soup. The other place I found the cereal bugs was in the dog’s rawhide chews. Wouldn’t have figured that …
Katie @ cooklaughmove says
Yeah, I had the moths in my cat’s food and treats and had to throw all those out too!
STefanie says
ok I’m a day late but i had to say…
I WANT YOUR PANTRY!!!!!!!
Carolynn says
Growing up in NC we always had pantry moths! Once we bought traps and replaced them regularly they never effected our food again, even if they accidentally made their way into our home 🙂 Seeing one crawl out of my ramen noodles as a kid scarred me for life, though!
Kristy @ Breath of Sunshine says
This is exactly how I have spent my entire weekend. My pantry is now bright yellow. and hopefully moth free.
I had no idea about the grocery bags. Thank you. When I unfolded them all, I found tons of eggs. GROSS. They are all washing right now.
We also bought all new shelving!
Amy says
Thanks for the great cleaning tips. I know there’s a bunch in the pantry that needs to go before an infestation happens. I also appreciate the photos, seeing how to store nearly everything air-tight is key! Never thought about boxes of tea bags! Also, I almost always see moths fly up out of the dog treat “bar” bins at Petco. It gives me the shivers, so I never get that for my dog.
Lucy says
I experienced this a few years ago…they came with my new apartment then. Since the place also had a few mice running around that the roommates claimed ‘were just chillin’ and didn’t need to be bothered with…eh hem…they had also stored seeds and such in the walls where the moths could breed and be happy and free….sometimes for years living off mouse stores. This realization caused a lot of issues in keeping the problem contained. I have since moved to a place where there is no known infestation. Hope that didn’t scare you further.
Good luck keeping your place clean.
Audrey says
Make sure you check everything, not just foodstuff. The worms were in dry packets of herb mixes, toothpicks, packets of matches!!!! They were inside sealed jar lids, things that were never opened. My boyfriend was ready to strangle me for throwing out all his lazy suzan stuff when I showed him his toothpick box. LOL!!!!! I think our infestation had to do with remodeling the house next door…they stripped the walls there, so the little critters came to us! Gotta be vigilant on this one!!!
ubat tahan lama says
I think that what you composed was very logical.
But, think on this, what if you were to write a awesome headline?
I ain’t suggesting your information isn’t good, but suppose you added
a post title that makes people desire more? I mean The Pantry Infestation that WASN’T Ants | A Healthy Slice of Life is kinda plain. You might look at Yahoo’s
front page and watch how they write news titles to get viewers to open
the links. You might add a video or a related pic or two to grab people
excited about everything’ve written. Just my opinion, it could bring your website a little livelier.
Noemi says
First off I would like to say terrific blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you
don’t mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind before writing.
I’ve had a hard time clearing my mind in getting my
ideas out. I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually
lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or
hints? Thank you!
Brittany says
Mine come from the bird seed I buy and they are everywhere. I have read many things saying that freezing does not kill them. I started storing my bird seed in the freezer and they still take over. I just did a cleaning and switched from seeds to pellet food. Done dealing with these gross things!
Stacey says
We’ve had 3 different types of infestation: rice weevils, pantry moths, and these little red beetle looking bug. Rice weevils actually lay eggs in the grains of rice and then hatch out of the grain. Keeping the rice in the freezer definitely keeps them from hatching (but think of all the grains filled with eggs that you eat!). One place I stayed at got them and I had to toss all the pasta – the weevils made a sheet of lasagna look like an ant farm with all the tunnels. Rice weevils also got into the instant mashed potatoes that I put in a Snapware container, to keep them from getting bugs… Didn’t work, obviously.
The red beetles came from my rabbit’s pellets. By the time I figured that out I found them all over the place. And they fly so I’d kill many during the day. Then I kept the food in the freezer and they decreased considerably.
The moths are probably the hardest to get rid of. I keep flour in the freezer now too. My freezer hardly holds frozen food!
I agree that a total pantry clean out is the only way to go. It’s a drag that you have to throw out money, but it’s not like you’re going to sift through the food to get rid of the bugs to eat the food. That’s so gross. And they get into anything so it’s best to toss it all, clean the pantry well, and make sure everything is in an airtight container.
Melanie says
RiversMom8 minutes ago
@Lala22 I’ve been cleaning my kitchen for 15 hours. I opened some dog treats and a couple moths flew out. I had never heard of these before, so I didn’t think much of it. Then, about two weeks later….I’m sitting at my desk in my kitchen and a small white looking worm fell on my key board. When I looked up I about freaked out. About 25 to 30 worms on my ceiling. I attacked my entire house with Sevin Dust. The kind I use on my garden. It looks like it rained Sevin Dust in my home. I made it six times stronger then the directions called for, the ceiling, cabinets, floors, walls….every where. I threw away all the food in my pantry, all my spices and put my dog food in the freezer. I’ve scrubbed walks, ceilings, cabinets, every single can good, all the furniture ….I mean every single thing. Even the cords to coffee maker and can opener. With vinegar, soap and water.
After I threw out all my food, I took all four trash cans down to the street ASAP. I didn’t want them any where near my house. That was Friday night. Saturday night when I pulled in the driveway, my car lights hit the trash can.s……they were covered with them worms. Hundreds. I attacked the trash cans with Sevin Dust and it rained today…last I checked….no more sign on the trash cans or in my home. However, I’ve told every one to keep there shoes on because I’m keeping Sevin dust on the floors and ceilings for a month. No one is allowed to eat in the house. I will not buy groceries for at least a month. Praying I caught it in time. I was shocked to see how bad these things were in the pantry on the underneath of the shelves and hidden in corners.
Heather says
It’s pretty cool that your extermination of this pest turned into a small-scale room renovation project! Thanks for sharing!