Massacre of the Moths

[rachelmanija]

I hope so, anyway. Cut for the usual reason, though not quite as gross and horrifying as my last two posts on the subject. And to think that before, if I heard the word "moth," I pictured something pretty and appealing, like a Luna moth.


Yesterday I swept the ceilings and corners for pupae, then mopped the cupboard and kitchen floor, walls, and ceiling with soap and bleach. I also threw out the entire contents of my pantry. I dithered over some expensive medications and supplements, then tossed them too when I discovered pupae inside sealed, never-opened bottles aieeeee!

I also set out those pheromonal traps. To my amazement, moths descended from the four corners of my apartment to swarm them. Quite disgusting, yet clearly the things work.

I haven't yet scrubbed all my pots and pans, but will later as even if the moths didn't contaminate them, the bleach probably did. I'll wait and see if this works before resorting to more extreme measures.

I am now recovering in Santa Barbara. I note that the same project has now been put off due to 1) my trip to Japan, 2) death of laptop, 3) editor on vacation, 4) emergency rewrite of something else last week, 5) moths! I'm hoping I can polish it off today and tomorrow.

Comments

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww. At least the traps work.

[megancrane.livejournal.com]

Moths are so gross. I've had them too, though not this badly. The traps really do work!

[ebenstone.livejournal.com]

I have a terrifying and hilarious, to others, fear of moths.

[larryhammer]

So you're saying my moth fairy heroine isn't likely to work for you -- even if she's a luna moth.

---L.

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

I don't blame you for being wigged!

Not only do I know people who have had pantry moths in Somerville, there's reports of people finding bedbugs, of late. So... it could be worse?

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Bedbugs in Somerville!? Multiple reports?

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, evidently there's been some incidents where people have picked up curbside furniture and 'inherited' them. Evidently there's a regional mini-epidemic of them.....

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

Hope the projects goes smooth. Am now wondering whether I can buy those pheromone traps in Britain...

Hope you get the little blighters.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I hate moths. They try to kill my plants outside.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I frequently hve moth lagues, and they're always eliminated by getting rid of any cereal products--rice, flour, bird seed, dry pet food, pancake mix, etc., etc. They even live in ground or flaked red pepper!

Good luck.

[badgerbag.livejournal.com]

They seem to like chocolate, too.

[eredien]

We have had moths too. We threw out all our infected food about two months ago then had to do it again last weekend. We just set up three pantry traps and already the cats are less interested in sitting in their own little hunting preserve (the pantry) than they were before.

Does anyone have any idea how the moths get into things? It's really annoying. I too keep finding them inside sealed packages.

[eredien]

PS - I too am in Somverville. Some kind of plague?

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

One of my friends two blocks away got pantry moths last year, so yes. :-(

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

The adult moths generally infest the mill that produces the product causing the initial infestation. The mill then either packages live larvae or eggs in with your pancake mix or dog food. The larvae feed and grow, emerge in the darkness of your pantry to form pupae in protected corners, and become adults.

Once you have adult moths, that's when things become problematic. The moths lay their eggs on just about anything that smells like grain, or in the vicinity of things that smell like grain. The first stage larvae are very small, and can easily chew pin-sized holes in plastic and cardboard packaging that allows them ingress into "sealed" containers. I have seen larvae that have chewed through the thick freezer-safe Ziplocks, crawled through the threads on glass jars, and gotten inside the sealed caps of ketchup and corn syrup bottles. About the only packaging that seems to stymie them are sealed canned goods and the airtight tupperware. The caterpillars may get under the lip of the plastic, but they generally won't get into the contents.

Like many moths, both species of common pantry moths have extraordinary potential for population growth. Given adequate food sources and no disturbances, just a few original moths can generate 100+ new moths in only a few weeks.

[chomiji]

The main problem with the pots and pans will be if they were stacked in a way that provided tempting crevices for the larvae to spin their little cocoons.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this!