Bella Adams
The food moth is an insect familiar to each of us, just like the cockroach. But the latter, much to the delight of all homeowners, have been eliminated, unlike the moth, which continues to fly in the kitchen and spoil food – bulk cereals, candy, and other groceries. Is it possible to get rid of food moths and how to do it?
There are several types of food moths, but in order to get rid of them, it is not necessary to know all the features of their appearance. Suffice it to say that food moths are different from clothing moths, i.e. those that feed on fur clothing.
The latter is rarely seen, but they do their job properly, while the food ones fly freely around the kitchen and, if desired, the hostess will always find the place where they came from.
Many people wonder if food moths eat clothes. No, it eats only groceries and is not interested in wardrobe items at all.
Professional entomologists say that an adult does not eat anything at all and lives only about a week, but each female lays up to one and a half hundred eggs at a time, and in places where future offspring can eat properly and normally.
Where the larvae develop and why they are dangerous
Where does the food moth most often start? It does not disdain absolutely anything that is stored in the kitchen cupboard of every housewife – dried fruits, cocoa, nuts, sugar, flour, cereals, crackers, cookies, not very spicy spices, etc.
With the onset of active economic relations between countries and continents, food moths quickly spread around the world, destroying and rendering the contents of granaries unusable.
This is exactly the harm of the food moth to humans – it is no longer possible to eat groceries infested with moths.
And while in African countries fried larvae are a delicacy, for our compatriots the pleasure of such food is very doubtful. The contaminated grain in warehouses is processed, and as a result, the buyer receives cereal in a store that is no longer suitable for human consumption and brings it home.
Fighting food moths
It is difficult to fight this domestic insect. Having defeated it and completely gotten rid of such a neighborhood, it cannot be guaranteed that it will not enter the apartment again with contaminated flour or cereals.
A variety of methods are used to destroy it, here are some of them:
- First of all, you need to destroy all the foods that have been infected. Go through all the cereals in the kitchen cabinet, carefully inspect the contents of all the packages and send them to the trash without regret. If you feel sorry for throwing away all this goodness, you can sort through the cereal, remove the larvae from it, and then warm it in the oven at a temperature of at least 60 ⁰C. In this way, you will destroy the laid eggs and will be able to use the bulk products for cooking;
- Eggs and larvae on the surface of cabinets and nightstands can be destroyed with aerosol insecticides. However, they should never be sprayed on food, as the toxic components in them can be harmful to human health. If for this reason, you are afraid to use such means of control, take ordinary vinegar and wipe all the walls and compartments of the kitchen furniture with it;
- food moth traps have a good effect. The fact is that it is not so easy to catch flying butterflies with your hands, and a special trap with a sticky adhesive base attracts them with its smell and ensures the complete destruction of insects that have fallen into it.
Folk remedies
Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did not have the opportunity to use special insecticides, and they fought this insect with the help of medicinal herbs and other methods. For example, it was noticed that moths are repelled by herbs with a pungent odor – wormwood, tansy, lavender, and rosemary.
Moths also do not “like” the smell of citrus fruits, laundry soap, and horse chestnut blossom. However, there is a risk that the insect will get used to it, adapt to the smell, and stop being afraid of it.
Therefore, it is necessary to fight the insect comprehensively, using all available methods.
Regular garlic, which can be placed in jars and bags of cereal, also has a good effect. Well, if you want to meet with such a neighbor as little as possible, pour all purchased bulk goods into glass jars with tightly screwed lids.
This will not save you from the appearance of larvae in them, but you will be able to avoid the further spread and reproduction of insects.
