The curse of the pantry moths

[HëllaBubz]

Omg @TreeHugger that had me in stitches. Sure as hell ain't ingeating but topical might be an option!

 

[Mach123]

I lived in a very old house in the woods for almost 20 years. The vermin were pernicious. Finally we hired an exterminator. He came quarterly, was very reasonably inexpensive, eco friendly and extremely effective. The improvement in the overall quality of life was nothing short of astounding. When we hired him, I felt defeated. A year later, I felt stupid. Get an expert, they know what they're doing. The stuff you read on the internet and you buy at the hardware store won't work well enough for you to waste your time on it.

 

[Justmehere]

The wasp idea is actually appealing... that’s how desperate I am.... only problem. I’m deathly allergic to wasps after one flew up my shirt and stung me 20+ times. Exterminator is a good idea, but the ones in my area are beyond my price range at the moment.

I am now the proud owner of SO MANY MASON JARS. Lol

It’s helping! The moth count is already dropping.

I just haven’t figured out what to do with 30 lbs dog food. I’m considering putting a week’s worth in mason jars, and then duck taping the crap out of the container that holds the rest.

Probably not an ideal plan.

Right now the whole bag sits in the office of my apartment complex - I just haven’t claimed it yet - and I’m just about out of the dog food I have stored in the freezer. Plastic “airtight” containers are no match for these creatures.

Hmm.

 

[Justmehere]

Omg. I’m losing my mind here. I have lived in places with flying cockroaches and scorpions and giant beetles and bugs that will kill you and where mosquito netting was a matter of survival.

These critters? Gross. Not lethal. They’ll just eat all my food and clothes... which on my budget is difficult...

But at least they can’t kill me.

All food is in mason jars or the freezer. For a day they were gone. Now they are back with a vengeance. I have a tiny kitchen and 40 plus of these moths are on the ceiling. More than ever. Tried to kill as many as I could with a fly swatter. Then decided to make dinner. Some fell into my skillet and others flew around my head.

Gotta figure out how to afford an exterminator soon before they eat me out of food and clothes...

Grr.

 

[Deleted member 487]

A can of starting fluid and a few matches....

 

[falala]

Naphthalene. Dump everything that's not in the freezer. They can get into the mason jars. Then bomb the place with a sh*tload of mothballs. Put them everywhere. Find another place to stay for about a week so you don't get sick from breathing the stuff yourself. When you come back they should all be dead.

And trichogrammatids can't sting.

 

[Chitoshi]

I have no suggestions for pantry moths, but I'm sorry to hear you're still dealing with them. We had weevils in our apartment at one point and threw out literally EVERYTHING that wasn't in the freezer/fridge, then wiped down the pantries/kitchen with bleach. It cost us a lot more in food $$ losses than I'd like to admit, but it helped. I've never had pantry moths though. I was FREAKED about the weevils. *shudder* Never again will I leave a bag of rice next to the non-insulated dishwasher wall....

Keep us updated on your progress. Thinking of you!