Re: Getting Rid of Moths in Pantry

[Guest guest]

Bay leavesrainbowegret <egret.09@...> wrote:

Hi AllCan anyone suggest something I can put in my food pantry to deter moths.This the 3rd or 4th house where this is happening. They get into flours etc. I recently opened a large cloth bag of organic wholemeal flour which was sealed with a rubber band to make some muffins for the kids and it had all these moths crawling around in it and dead ones too. Same as the last house they were in my rice, flour etc. Why do they do this. I have never had this problem until the past 18 months. Weavils but not moths. They seem to breed in the cupboard and in and around packets of things.HELP.Tracey

[Guest guest]

Storing these items in glass jars with lids sounds like a good

idea. I would not blame the houses in which I lived; sometimes

flour, etc., can contain unhatched eggs when purchased. They

then hatch out later within the bag rather than coming in from the

outside. My Grandma used to keep cedar in her closets to

discourage bugs from chewing up stuff.

[Guest guest]

>

> Put a bay leaf in each bag or container. Keeps them

> from going in and breeding. (But it won't keep out

> the ants)

>

Funny you should say that because I have them too getting in the

pantry and cochroaches or a small mouse in my plate cupboard - yuck.

Seems to be plagues of all these things lately no matter how clean

you keep things.

Tracey

[Guest guest]

An interesting study was done at Brigham Young University on the little pests which get into our food. In that study, it was found that neither bay leaves nor freezing stopped the problem. Their best solution was to place foods in sealable glass or metal containers with a small chunk of dry ice. The lid needs to be left ajar until the ice is "melted" to allow escape of excess gases. The reason that this works is that wevils, which grow into either beetles or moths, can't live and grow without oxygen.

TerriLynne PomeroyStudent AdvisorBlind and Visually Impaired Students of Utahhttp://www.bvisu.org/

----- Original Message -----

From: Suzanne

health

Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 8:35 AM

Subject: Re: Getting Rid of Moths in Pantry

Bay leavesrainbowegret <egret.09@...> wrote: Hi AllCan anyone suggest something I can put in my food pantry to deter moths.This the 3rd or 4th house where this is happening. They get into flours etc. I recently opened a large cloth bag of organic wholemeal flour which was sealed with a rubber band to make some muffins for the kids and it had all these moths crawling around in it and dead ones too. Same as the last house they were in my rice, flour etc. Why do they do this. I have never had this problem until the past 18 months. Weavils but not moths. They seem to breed in the cupboard and in and around packets of things.HELP.Tracey

[Guest guest]

BTW, freezing or refrigeration will keep the little critters from growing,

but if they are already there, freezing doesn't kill them. :-)

TerriLynne Pomeroy

Student Advisor

Blind and Visually Impaired Students of Utah

http://www.bvisu.org/