All about food moth

Food moth is one of the main pests living in the apartment. It multiplies quickly and has good insecticide resistance. Therefore, it is important to learn how to deal with these insects.

First of all, you need to figure out where the mole comes from in the room. The main reason for its appearance is contaminated food entering the house. Typically, moths lay their eggs in cereals, dried fruits, or sugar. It penetrates there through small cracks and cuts on the packages. The main reasons for moth contamination of products are improper storage or transportation conditions.

In addition, these insects can break into an apartment from neighbors... This happens if they have got a mole for a long time, but they did not start to fight it. The reason for the appearance of flying pests in the house can be grocery store located on the ground floor of the building... If there are a large number of products stored in warehouses, moths may well start in it. From there, the pest can enter residential buildings. But such cases of the spread of the parasite are rare.

Finding insects is pretty straightforward. Adults fly out of their hiding places in the evenings. At this time of day, small grayish butterflies can be seen in the kitchen. They, like small white caterpillars, can be seen on the walls of cabinets or kitchen doors. During renovations, they can be found under the paper wallpaper.

This pest is not particularly dangerous to humans. The kitchen moth does not bite and is not a carrier of dangerous infections. In addition, she does not eat clothes or damage furniture. The kitchen moth is only dangerous for food. She eats them, and also lays eggs in cereals.

The products in which the moth lives and multiplies can no longer be consumed. This can lead to an allergic reaction or stomach problems. It is worth noting that airing and rinsing spoiled food does not completely cleanse it. Therefore, such cereals or dried fruits must be thrown away, and not tried to save.

Several types of moths can live in the room. You can distinguish them from each other by their appearance.

• Flour... The insect got this name because of its love for flour. Such creatures are often found in mills and other grain processing plants. The adult moth has gray wings with a black wavy pattern. The caterpillars are yellow.

• Grain... This moth is also called seed or tobacco moth. It all depends on what products she prefers to eat. The mole looks pretty inconspicuous. She has light ash wings. There are small dark spots on their surface. Caterpillars can be either white or yellow or pink. Their appearance also depends on what kind of food the adult moth eats.

• Barn... This food moth is often called Indian moth. It is small in size. Her wings are yellow-red, covered with ash stripes. Caterpillars are greenish or yellow in color. This moth prefers to eat corn grits or corn cobs. She lives only in warm rooms.

Having found a grocery moth at home, you need to immediately begin to destroy it. This can be done in different ways.

To cleanse your kitchen of eggs and food moth larvae, you need to find the habitats of pests.... The first step is to carefully examine all packages with cereals, dried herbs and fruits. It is there that the moth prefers to settle. Particular attention should be paid to semolina and dried fruits.

Having found products with moth larvae in your stocks, you need to get rid of them immediately. Storage areas of products must be disinfected. After that, you need to clean the room, because the larvae can be found not only in containers with food. After wet cleaning, the room needs to be ventilated.

Fighting an adult moth is more difficult, because such pests are active and can fly from place to place. There are several ways to do this at home. Most people prefer to get rid of pests with proven folk remedies.

• Citrus... Cooking moths react negatively to citrus aromas. Therefore, you can remove this pest by spreading the peels of lemons and oranges on all working surfaces. Over time, the smell of citrus becomes less intense, so the crusts must be replaced periodically with new ones.

• Lavender... The lingering lavender smell of the moth is also not pleasant. Both dry branches and aromatic oil can be used to combat this pest. Lavender bouquets or oil-soaked cotton pads just need to be laid out in the kitchen.

• Vinegar... Another effective remedy that can be used to combat kitchen moths is regular vinegar. Before using it, the cabinets in which the food is stored must be washed with soapy water and dried. After that, all surfaces must be wiped with a rag dipped in vinegar.

• Garlic... This product also helps in pest control. Peeled garlic cloves can be easily arranged on the shelves between containers and bags. Their smell will scare away pests. The taste of products from such a neighborhood will not change. Chives, like lemon peels, need to be replaced from time to time with new ones.

• Bay leaf. Many people find this to be the best moth control. Bay leaves smell better than garlic. At the same time, the mole is very afraid of its aroma. Bay leaves can be laid out on shelves or added to cereal containers.

• Aroma oils... You can scare off moths with products that smell like rosemary, basil, cloves, fir or geraniums. You can buy such aromatic oils at any pharmacy. Products should be applied to cotton pads and then laid out on cabinet shelves and other surfaces.

• Tobacco... Tobacco also helps in the fight against kitchen moths. It is laid out dry on the shelves. Walnut leaves can also be used instead. They must be fresh. In this case, their smell will be more intense.

• Honey... This method helps to get rid of adult fruit moths. Add a few tablespoons of natural honey to the pan. It needs to be warmed up. When the food turns brown, remove the pan from heat. With her, you need to walk around the apartment several times. The rich smell of honey will scare away the moth, and it will leave the house.

There are other methods of dealing with kitchen moths.

Adult butterflies can be killed with a fly swatter or old newspaper. It is most convenient to do this in the evening, because it is at this time of day that the home moth flies out of its hiding places. This method is suitable if there are not very many pests in the house.

You can get rid of adult moths with regular fly sticks. They are cheap and efficient. To control pests, it is enough to buy several of these traps and hang them in places where insects have been seen. Striped butterflies will bump into them in flight.Velcro is good because it helps to get rid of not only kitchen and clothing moths, but also other insects.

The disadvantage of this pest control method is the unattractive appearance of the traps. In addition, if you hang Velcro in the kitchen or in the hallway, households will constantly bump into them. Such traps work for 3-4 weeks.

You can quickly get rid of moths by treating the area special aerosol... Such funds are widespread, so it will not be difficult to find them on sale. You need to use aerosols following the instructions. It is important to remove all food from the kitchen before processing. The room should also be free of animals and children. A few hours after treatment, the room must be thoroughly ventilated.

You can use to combat adult moths and fumigators... Small plates are inserted into such a device. When turned on, they heat up and release a substance into the air that negatively affects the mole. Such devices are used with caution.

This method of pest control is considered safer.... Special tablets and balls are placed in small cloth bags and laid out on the shelves with food. They scare away moths with their smell, so it leaves the kitchen. Moth balls can be laid out on shelves and for prophylaxis.

You can find special pheromone traps for moths on the market. They are impregnated with female pheromones that attract males. Males react quickly to this smell. Attracted by him, they fly into a trap and can no longer get out of it. The main advantage of such traps is that they are absolutely safe for people and pets. They are also cheap.

Having found a moth in your kitchen, you should not hope that you will be able to get rid of it quickly. Pest control must be approached responsibly. It is necessary to destroy both adult butterflies and their clutches. If some remedy used to combat moths does not work, it is worth trying to replace it with another.

Preventive measures will help prevent the appearance of a kitchen moth in the house. Here's what to do on a regular basis.

• Carefully inspect all purchased products... It should be well packed. Especially carefully it is necessary to check the products for which there are discounts. Sometimes, carrying out various promotions, the store tries to get rid of goods that have expired, as well as from improperly stored products.
• Store cereals in small containers... This also applies to nuts and dried fruits. After purchase, it is recommended to pour them from bags into convenient containers that are tightly closed with lids. These can be glass or cans, as well as plastic containers. The mole will not be able to get into closed containers.
• Dispose of expired products on time... Do not buy too many cereals and flour. They only last for a few months. Expired products should be discarded immediately.
• Keep your home clean. The moth prefers to settle in hard-to-reach and dark places. Therefore, during cleaning, you must carefully inspect all corners, baseboards and crevices. Also, do not leave food debris on tables and other surfaces.
• Treat shelves with fragrant products. From time to time, the shelves of the cabinets can be wiped with vinegar or treated with water and aromatic oils. Shelves with tightly sealed containers can also be used to store soap or other richly scented foods.
• Check your stocks regularly. If larvae or cobwebs are seen in containers, then spoiled food should be thrown away immediately.
• Process cereals... Some housewives recommend processing purchased cereals after coming home. You can prevent the appearance of cereal moths by roasting the cereal in the oven. You can also pour it into a bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds. In this case, the power must be set to the maximum. After such processing, the food must be cooled and then placed in a container.
• Ventilate the room... The moth is afraid of drafts. Therefore, the kitchen must be regularly ventilated. It is also important to always dry the table and sink. In this case, the insects will not have a source of drinking.

If you follow all these rules, as well as get rid of larvae and adult moths in time, then all products stored in the house will be safe.