indian meal moths???

[barnyardgal]

I bought a 20# bag of dog food and had it about 2 weeks down in the basement with bag closed,i take a small amount out for the little dog & put in a small sealed container upstairs & when that container gets empty i fill it up from the big bag downstairs,well a couple days ago i was shocked to find it FULL of the moths & webs,so hauled it to the garage & cannot feed it to the dog maybe the chickens,those buggers are flying around after dark & hard to get rid of,got to kill them flying if ya can...I don't want to get them in my pantry or anywhere else...

How do you get rid of them??? Do you use the traps they advertise to kill them?? Do they work?? I hate those things!!!

[Jean in Virginia]

The traps work, and are about the only thing that will short of grabbing them out of the air and smacking them on your leg. All the bird owners can relate.

Several years ago I tried the Safer brand traps from Lowe's and they were disappointing.

If you're going to order some, get these

http://www.amazon.com/Springstar-Bio...9852671&sr=8-4

That is the brand I sold in my parrot store, and that price is almost wholesale.

The trap uses a pheromone to attract the males, so you will still have a few flitting around, but the main thing is get it taken care of before you are really infested. Check all the boxes in your pantry.

Good luck. I keep a trap set up year round.

[arcticow]

Freezing when ya get it home next time will help.

[gobug]

Traps are an indicator if the problem still exists, not a cure.

There are pheremone patches that can be placed in areas of risk. Gentrol is the name of the active ingredient (also known as hydroprene IIRC). It prevents immatures from becoming sexually mature.

Then there is diatomaceous earth (DE). That can be added to the infested materials, but I don't know how well it works or recipes.

Freezing is definitely effective. One challenge is to get a 20 lb bag into a freezer. That may be easy if you have a large freezer. It must be very cold, like below zero, and the products need to stay in the freezer a long time (weeks).

You could freeze smaller portions and place it into zip lock or air tight containers.

These critters can infest many of your processed foods in the pantry.

Good luck,
Gary

[motdaugrnds]

I'm not understanding how they get into the bags if such bags are kept closed. Are they there before the bag is sealed by manufacturer?

[barnyardgal]

Originally Posted by motdaugrnds

I'm not understanding how they get into the bags if such bags are kept closed. Are they there before the bag is sealed by manufacturer?

Yes,that is my understanding from what i have read about them~~


Don't have the freezer room to put stuff like that in for any length of time~~

[Tricky Grama]

We've battled 'em off & on for YEARS!
I'm convinced you bring 'em home in some stuff...I've started checking ex. date on stuff I buy & make sure its fresh as possible & that we're not gonna store it for a long time. I've open SEALED snack bags of doggy treats to find a worm & lillte webby thingy.

We got rid of 'em for a LONG time buy tossing a lot of stuff (hate to throw food away!) then wiping down the pantry w/orangeoil solution.

[Maura]

The moth eggs are so small that processing the grain does not get rid of them. They just lie there and wait for the right conditions. You can get moths in any grain as well as some food that has grain in it, like your dog food. You have to freeze the flour/dog food for a few days to kill them off.