I have pantry moths called Indianmeal moths. Any ideas how to get rid

Joan A
by Joan A
These are small brown moths that get into grain type products: i.e. flour, cake mix, rice, pasta, nuts, etc. Have already thrown out a good bit but daily I find one or two of these things on the ceiling or wall.
  10 answers
  • Joan, the trick to remove these buggers for good is to rethink the way you store your boxed grain products. This includes cookies and similar products. The only way to remove them first is to discard everything or remove the product and place in an air tight sealed container such as glass or plastic. Looking for larva, webs and the like as you transfer the product from the box to the new sealed container. You will still see some of the moths around for a few days but they will die off in short order not being able to find a new place in which to survive. I would suggest that you empty your pantry completely and do a through cleaning once everything is repacked. . We had this issue a few years back. We purchased plastic container that held what ever product it was that we were using. For flour we used the large 2 gallon plastic sealable freezer bags to keep the buggers out. Or should I say in? But remember its not that they come from the outside and enter into the products your buying, but these bugs are already in the product you purchased from the store. The government allows for an allowable amount of these bugs to be in products as its pretty much impossible to keep them out. In any case if you store a grain product long enough even in a sealed container, you will end up with moths in the box. The trick is to purchase smaller quantities of products that are not normally used on a daily basis so they do not remain in storage for great amounts of time.
  • Gail Maddx Gail Maddx on Mar 11, 2014
    You'll have to throw everthing away and store all your that has grain in it in glass containers or plastic containers with titght lids..
  • Dcz665 Dcz665 on Mar 12, 2014
    Follow the above instructions: a massive clearing of all opened products (rice, flour, spices, etc) is needed as the moths seem to get into everything. Wash all containers, shelves and walls of your cupboards. I took the shelves out to clean them as the moths seemed to hide underneath in the corners. Keep dry goods in sealed bags or containers. I also put fresh sage leaves in my cupboard for a few months. Not sure what worked but the moths went away eventually.
  • Pia Lyotier Pia Lyotier on Mar 12, 2014
    Throw everything out clean completely wiped down every surface and start from scratch sorry
  • Victoria Valle Victoria Valle on Mar 12, 2014
    Clean and purge.
  • Janieac Janieac on Mar 12, 2014
    I had them in Massachusetts...The drying was vented under where the pantry was...We rerooted it. the moist heat were just making them go crazy...We picked up rubber maid containers to store anything made from grains and then never had a problem again...five gallon bucket with a cover is perfect for storing flour if you are a baker...
  • Brenda De Lair Brenda De Lair on Mar 13, 2014
    We were infested with them last year, and I had to throw everything out. I have started buying things in smaller quantities because even if you put things in containers with tight lids, these little buggers can appear again. Every once in a while I still find one flying around and try to hunt down the source. Good luck. They really like nuts and pasta.
  • Linda K Linda K on Mar 16, 2014
    Don't use plastic bags to store in because they chew through them. They can also squeeze through the screw on lids if they aren't tight enough. I bought sticky traps with pheromones and placed them near, but not in my pantry (didn't need to attract any more there). The moths will make their way into your house from the outside also, attracted by lights the same as other moths. I've killed a few in the last week when it warmed up outside. They will also make a little web spot in the place where the ceiling meets the wall. I found the larva stage hiding there in a web.
  • Michelle Leslie Michelle Leslie on Nov 26, 2021

    Hi Joan, check all your foodstuff and get rid of any that may be housing those critters. Pantry moth larvae are between ¼ and ½ inches long and you'll see the food moving. Rinse, disinfect and then thoroughly wash reusable food storage containers in hot soapy water. Vacuum your pantry top to bottom. Don't forget the cupboard corners and under the shelves. Make sure to empty the vacuum outside. Wash the shelves down with watered-down bleach. You can buy pantry moth traps to help keep them away after doing the deep clean.