Pantry moths a major problem for some households

Wiggling, white larvae and pantry moths are infesting kitchen cupboards across the Western Bay.

They burrow into sealed, packaged foods , lay their eggs and days later, larvae emerge. The cycle continues and they're almost impossible to remove.

Pest controller Duncan Kerr, one of the directors of Bugs Or Us, said a number of people had called for assistance with pantry moths.

"People notice them if they have poor food rotation. If the food stays on the shelf for a long enough time, you'll see a full cycle if you don't clean the pantry out quickly enough."

Pantry moths come into households through the food we buy from the supermarket. Mr Kerr said the larvae were "already in the packaging" and once they were introduced into the pantry, they would pupate and morph into moths.

Bugs @ Bay Pest Control owner Stuart Marshall said pantry moths and larvae were harmless to eat but it would not be pleasant to find wiggling things in your cereal.

"The only way to get rid of them is to completely empty out your pantry, clean it and start again."

As well as a spike in pantry moths, the number of other pests like rats, mice, spiders, ants and cockroaches, had "certainly multiplied" in recent months. Mr Marshall said he believed this was a result of the mild summer.

"Particularly down Papamoa way, they're having real problems with ants," he said.

Mr Kerr said ants, particularly Argentine ants, were "a huge nuisance" and "really tricky" to treat.

On a good note, flies had not been as prevalent this year because of the lack of heat.

Warren Arthur of Fly Busters and Anti Ants said Argentine ants were invasive and could give "a bit of a bite".

As the temperature dropped Mr Kerr said bugs, pests and other creepy crawlies were expected to come inside and find a new home. Already he had noticed unusually high numbers of cockroaches and rodents moving indoors.

"Pests are a pretty good barometer on what the winter will be like. If they start heading indoors to look for nesting sites it's a pretty good indication it will be wet and cold but just how wet and cold it will be, we're not sure."

On the Bay of Plenty Times Facebook page, Tauranga's Sarah Manwell said moths in the pantry were the biggest problem in her house.

"I use mainly airtight containers but they still manage to get in. Gets very expensive when they spoil so much food. We do have a cockroach problem, too. Bombed the house [which] brought heaps of them out but we seem to have them back again."

Lydia James said she once had pantry moths but got rid of them by laying whole, dried bay leaves throughout the pantry.

Pantry Moth Control

• 
  Buy smaller packs of dried food, especially if not used that often.
• 
  Once packs are open, store all the leftover contents in glass jars with air-tight lids.
• 
  When you notice webbing in a packet, do a thorough search through all pantry items. Once moths appear the problem is more serious. Act immediately.
• 
  Clean up dry food spills immediately.
• 
  Freeze infested items for two days to kill the weevils.
• 
  Rotate foods.
• 
  Vacuum all the shelf edges and corners to remove pupating moths.

- www.flybusters.co.nz

 

Email: news@bayofplentytimes.co.nz