For days, nothing. The latter will keep any eggs that develop from spreading in storage settings. Adult pantry moths usually have a lifespan at this stage of 1-2 weeks. They can remain as larval for up to 2-3 months until they move into cocoons. Move the traps out of your cabinets and start putting peppermint drops from the GNC in your cabinets. Then I saw them in the kitchen and pantry again. I’m wondering if it’s just a brand new infestation with the new bag of dog food I bought, or can be the same original one from last year? I'm Tiffany and I'd like to welcome you to No Ordinary Homestead. I have thrown out a ton of food and she cleaned out the entire pantry with bleach. Inspect all food in your pantry for signs of infestation: Look for larvae in and on food packaging. Be careful! Is there another food source they may have located? Hi we have the problem for about two months. And to the poster who mentioned the container not being air tight bc it wasn’t a “twist on” lid- I had my rice in a container with a twist on lid and the nasty little worms are hanging out with my rice in there. Tiffany, welcome back to Florida! I’m a bloody itchy mess from carpet beetles. After doing this we noticed we had stopped seeing them in the kitchen but would still find them in the living room. Yet, every 10 days or so I go in search of them around the house and kill at least 8-15 pupas hanging from the ceiling in other rooms (bathroom, closet, bedroom). Well, if you have moths in your house like I did, you may find your time occupied by something entirely different: the war of the moths. Just enter your best email address below, confirm your address in the email you get immediately after and start reading. Do Silverfish Eat Money? I have all my food in tots and always keep my flours in the freezer with only what I need in sealed jars. I ran into her room thinking she'd chopped off her finger or something. The moths love any hue or shade of yellow in the spectrum. It was an old box of brown sugar that was opened, tucked up on to the top shelf which was forgotten about. I have not seen a single moth or larva in my dog food or cat food in two years. I made myself cheese crackers. And I have to say I’m really not a fan of bugs, but somehow killing those moths is a pleasure. He has sprayed twice at 30 day intervals.. finding dead ones now on floor more then get caught in traps) He recommended removing/ changing insulation around perimeter of basement its from 1992…. At this point I purchased D-FENSE SC DELTAMETHRIN with a pump sprayer. Got some air tight containers for everything or store in fridge. Thank you Matthew. Looking for a good peppermint spray I can get. Stage 3 – Pupa: Moths in the pupal stage can be found in cocoons. I need to do a lot of research on what compound I could use to make sure it is not toxic to my bird. Really??? One of our big problem areas has been my spice cabinet so I finally had had enough last week and I tore the whole thing what I found was really gross. my whole house( they have been spotted flying around) what do I do? Also, I’ve found that only Tupperware and the ‘better’ (red lids?) We found the bird see we were storing in the basement had the moths….we got rid of the seed, haven’t seen any cocoon or webs, and set out the traps…now we will just wait and see…so far it looks like it’s under control…fingers crossed!! So,the first night i sucked them up and then dispersed them into the toilet to drown. However something horrifying seem to have happened. Unfortunately the fan does not exhaust outside but into a hollow area above my family room. It took a lot of nerve for me to purchase these. Last yr they were so bad in my kitchen that they rained down from the kitchen. I have never heard of these pantry months and when I started seeing the in my home I thought they were fruit flies which usually disappear after throwing out the fruit but these were still hear and I thought these fruit flies have been here so long they are huge what the hell why are they still here. We've spent a fortune trying to get rid of these things and still have them upstairs (they don't seem to be anywhere else now). Anti Bug cleaner— 1/2 cup vinegar 1/2 cup water 5 drops peppermint oil 10 drops lavender oil 1/4 cup dawn. In the meantime I put my own food items in a different, separate cupboard and have had no trace of the bugs in any item since. The pantry moth pheremone traps are full so I know they aren’t clothes moths. While there are over 160,000 species of moths, the pantry moth is the most common household moth in the United States and Europe. Be sure to buy food-grade so it’s safe for pets, humans, etc. OMG I hope I don't find any of'm. Mgmt company sent exterminator twice but that did nothing. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. My pantry has been spotless since then (about 6 months ago)… BUT the darned things moved to other places in my house and I can’t figure out why! My neighbor said “Oh yes” they are flying all over the place, but not to worry she would take care of it. Home / Blog / Where Do Pantry Moths Come From? Should I remove my hanging cloths from the closet the litter is in, they are pushed way over but….?? I cleaned out all cupboards and sprayed with an essential oil blend. usually have a lifespan at the adult stage of 1-2 weeks. “Every one you kill means one less can go back and lay eggs,” Hahn says. I suppose that might be a place that people might put the trap. We are living evidence that you can beat this and exterminators won’t work. The yellowish worms similar in color to dry food, was probably millions of them. Welcome to my digital homestead. Allie Johnson is an award-winning freelance consumer writer with a degree in magazine journalism. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. And found another package of spices that had a hole in it which they infiltrated. I’ve been here about a month and am still finding adults flying around. And those buggers tend to hide in the strangest of places. The female pantry moths can lay up to 300 eggs at a time. I didn’t find any more of the bugs on the other baskets but I can assure you I inspect each one of them closely now before I use them. I hope to one day conquer these beasts, where the eggs can live for 300 days after laid. 3. Meet the pantry moth, properly know as the Indian Meal moth (Plodia interpunctella). Early on I purchased some that were supposed to have locking rubber seals but when I put water in them and checked they were not air tight, so DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT IT SAYS ON THE PACKAGE. I especially put peppermint oil on the pet food container. I seem to find moths in cycles, after a couple of them seemed to have hatched at once. Good luck!!!! Not going away. . The issue with grain free cat food though, is that it isn’t a big seller.. I also found a substance that looked like Vaseline except it was the color of ear wax in the hinges of the cabinets. Have you ever had pantry moths in your home? Just thought I’d give you a follow up. I can’t think of anywhere else they could be coming from? I went through all the packets of nuts etc that I’d put into a bowl, it turned out the critters had come from the fruit and nut packet, which I promptly threw out. by Tiffany | Aug 22, 2011 | Food, Homesteading Life | 353 comments. I am having good success with cleaning vinegar, though.