Natural Pantry Moth Control: How I Beat Our Infestation
Get rid of pantry moths naturally with these steps, and keep them from reinfesting your home for good.
Have you noticed small brown moths flying around your kitchen cabinets or places where you keep food? Those are pantry moths and they won’t stay confined to your pantry. After spending weeks battling an infestation, I have kept my home free of these things for years.
As they say, forewarned is forearmed. So read on for the natural pest control steps I took to rid my home of them. Then roll up your sleeves and get to it, because this takes effort but it’ll work.
What Are Pantry Moths?
Pantry moths, also known as “Indian meal moths,” are small gray, tan, or brown flying nuisances. Besides flying around your house, you may also discover their sticky, silky brown cocoons. The good news is that pantry moths don’t bite or carry diseases even when they’re breeding or laying eggs in your food. (Yeah, they’re gross that way.)
How Did Pantry Moths Get into My Home?
Most of the time, pantry moths hitch a ride home with us from the grocery store where they’re already inside dry food packaging. Turns out, I brought our pantry moths home in a large bag of rice I bought at the warehouse club.
But dry goods aren’t the only risk: sometimes, they’ll build a cocoon on jars just under the edge of the lid or under loose labels on jars. They can even fly into your home through gaps in window screens or open doors.
Relax, You Don’t Need Pesticide.
I don’t like to use pesticides in my kitchen, or anywhere in my home for that matter. So, when our pantry moth infestation occurred, I wanted to get rid of them naturally. I did that by combining cleaning with playing detective.
I Got Rid of Pantry Moths Naturally
First, I hunted down their hiding spots so I could get rid of any pantry moth eggs and larvae. Then, I took steps to starve the adults by eliminating their food sources. Here’s how.
Step 1: Freeze Dry Goods.
Dry goods are a common spot for pantry moths to lay eggs since they can chew through paper and plastic in their search for shelter and food.
Flours, bulk grains, sugar, pet food—they’re all risky spots. If it’s in a box, even if it’s in a plastic bag inside a box, it’s a potential breeding spot for pantry moths.
If you discover pantry moth larvae or eggs in your dry goods, you have a decision to make: Are you comfortable eating them? If so, then freeze the food in its package for 3 days and then transfer it to an air-tight container, moth carcasses and all.
But if the thought of dead pantry moths in your food gives you the ick, throw the food out. Then follow the prevention tips to keep the problem from returning.
Step 2: Clean Your Pantry Thoroughly.
To get rid of pantry moths, you need to clean your pantry. As you work, remember to not only clean the top of shelves but their undersides, any ledger board or bracket they rest on, and the holes for shelf supports.
- Empty your pantry, down to the bare walls.
- Vacuum to get rid of hidden eggs and larva.
- Clean the shelves with equal parts white vinegar and a dash of peppermint oil.
Be sure to empty your vacuum outside and tightly double-bag the mess so any live pantry moths can’t escape. Then, clean your vacuum to be safe.
Step 3: Repackage Dry Goods.
Before you restock your pantry, transfer all of your dry goods to air-tight storage containers. The type of container isn’t important as long as it’s air-tight. Be sure to clean everything using that vinegar and water mixture, so you aren’t restocking your shelves with pantry moth eggs just waiting to hatch.
Step 4: Caulk or Seal Gaps.
Fighting an infestation can feel like you’re playing whack-a-mole. The first time I dealt with pantry moths in my home, they returned in a couple of weeks. It turns out, I’d overlooked the space above my cabinets, and they’d just been hanging out until I let my guard down.
So, if you’ve had a bad infestation, look around your kitchen and nearby rooms for cracks or gaps. Readers have reported finding cocoons and moths in the space behind cupboards and trim.
If you find gaps, seal them. I use paintable latex caulk on trim and cabinetry, and silicone caulk around sinks or surfaces likely to get wet.
Bay leaves are said to help repel pantry moths because their strong scent hides the smell of food. Try keeping an open bowl of fresh or dried bay leaves in your pantry and replace them when you can’t smell them at all.
Step 5: Inspect Nearby Rooms.
Pantry moths will spread throughout your home if given the chance. So, play detective and start inspecting rooms adjacent to your kitchen.
If you find any, vacuum the area top to bottom then wipe everything nearby with equal parts vinegar and hot water. (Just keep in mind you shouldn’t use vinegar on natural stone surfaces or anything that’s not washable.)
I’ve heard of people finding pantry moths in the bedroom and bathroom cabinets. When we had them, I found cocoons where the basement ceiling and wall meet, and along the edge of a door frame, too. So be diligent and look closely—use a flashlight if you need to.
Step 6: Use Pantry Moth Traps to Catch The Rest.
After all that cleaning and inspecting, there’s still a tricky period in their life cycle where overlooked eggs may hatch and turn into small moths flying around your home. So, for the next week or two, be on guard.
It’s not a bad idea to set out a few pheromone moth traps, which combine attractants with a sticky surface to lure and kill them. Old-fashioned fly strips and bug zappers can also work, but they’ll take longer since they don’t have attractants to lure the moths in.
The Pantry Moth Traps I Use
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Pantry Moth Prevention
Now, I know this is a lot of work. But once you’ve got the pantry moth infestation under control, you just need to do two things when you come home from the store.
- Freeze new dry goods in their container for 2-3 days then transfer them to airtight storage.
- Wipe the new cans and jars with that vinegar solution before shelving them.
Doing those two things after every grocery trip has kept my home naturally free of pantry moths for years now, and I’m confident it will help you, too.
I emptied my pantry, vacuumed and wiped the shelves and walls down with hot soapy water but haven’t yet sprayed with the 50/50 solution. I have opened my pantry twice and am still seeing moths on the ceiling. Does this mean I haven’t gotten all the cocoons yet? I have a bad feeling there are cocoons in small gaps behind my shelves that I can’t see.
Yes, it probably means there are moth larvae in a box of food or behind the shelves. A vacuum will get the latter out. Good luck!
We have thrown out, dumped out and pretty much done all the suggestions except burn them out. We even painted and siliconed the shelves. I’m at a loss what to do and my frustration is about to get the best of me. HELP what to do now that they have started to return. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I just want them gone.
Yes I am having the same problem for the second time and I think it’s to do with a gap between the back of pantry cupboard and wall
I too have recently had problems with Almond moths. I found them in my flour & infesting all my other grains in my lazy Susan. I tried everything & nothing worked. I finally bought diatomaceous earth ( not the one for swimming pools). I threw this everywhere with a dry paint brush. And I mean everywhere! ( wear a mask) I then put out Pheromone traps & closed the cabinet. This looks to be eliminating the larvae & the traps are catching any moths that hatch. Not seeing anything for awhile. Just leaving as is to be sure for awhile.
Hope this can help someone else!
I had to throw away hundreds of dollars worth of food, last year, which I absolutely HATE to do! I have shelves in my garage that I was keeping cans on, but also some closed things, like boxes of oatmeal. They were still sealed, so I didn’t think there was any way the moths could get into them. I was wrong. I went through everything and brought everything I thought was safe, inside. This resulted in them getting into everything in the kitchen, as there were obviously eggs in things I thought were safe. I eventually realized that the moths can lay their eggs in anything cardboard, if there is only one layer. They don’t need to get inside the container to lay eggs in it. I started keeping everything either in plastic ice cream containers with tight fitting lids, canning jars, or in plastic bags, over the boxes. I also cleaned every crack and crevice in my kitchen. For a while, there were moths flying in my kitchen. I was diligent with a fly swatter and eventually got them under control. I kill anything that even looks like it might be a meal moth. I haven’t found any in food in a long time, but I will keep doing like I have been, to protect against any future infestations.
I’ve been fighting with meal moths for over a year and they are not getting any better. I’ve used 2 exterminators and different chemicals cedar oil seem to work the best but I am inundated again With the moths. The only items I have in my kitchen are jars or bottles that have been washed. Worst area is above my microwave in the cabinet which has been empty for months and months. I don’t know what to do anymore. I have traps throughout the house and I keep catching numerous moths but unfortunately they only catch the males I finally bought a bunch of Laurel Bay leaves and have them in bowls throughout the house. I keep purchasing new traps when my old ones are too full. I am considering getting a handyman to come and remove the microwave and the vent above it. I would love any other suggestions you might have. The moths are now in my dining room, living room guest bedroom and in the kitchen on top of my oven , refrigerator and microwave oven cabinet are the worst areas. They also show up in other areas sometimes inside the cabinet where they’re only dishes. Any suggestions you have would be welcome. Thank you. I’ve also plac d cedar blocks in the kitchen cabinets and not sure if they are helping.
I have been dealing with the same problem started last spring so did a good spring cleaning. Now for this past few days I’ve cleaned out closet wash room kitchen cabinets through out all stuff that even though it may have them but this time I’m going yo put spices in freezer the few I did keep will use the peppermint and bay leaves ? and lots of prayers
Yes, I have been doing the same but unfortunately they keep coming after 2 or 3 days that traps are empty, I am about to lose my mind
I open box that have even been open yet and there are moths. Even boxes with plastic bags in them sealed and they will have moths. I just threw out 4 boxes of rice, I had to get rid of all my boxes of cereal and biscuit mix. UGH! darn moths, itty bitty light brown moths thru out my house and in my cabinets….
I have the moths in bedroom,bathroom and living r oom.
For Ellen who seems to have been struggling with moths for awhile, they can also lay eggs / live on / under contact paper and any sort of cardboard or paper product. They are annoying little buggers, if you can figure out how to pull the shelves out and get behind them you might have a better chance of eradicating them.
I don’t know if they’re anything like roaches (I’ve dealt with roaches living in California and am currently fighting an infestation in my damn car after using it to haul some garbage to the dump, fml) but I’d wonder if they’re in the back of the fridge somewhere. I don’t envy you, they sound as bad as roaches…they fly?
Been dealing with this annoying pest for about a month, swatting about 50 a day in one corner of my kitchen. We just moved in and seems like we brought it home when we went shopping for catfood. I have found the main source (catfood) bit have also thrown out anything that MIGHT be infested). I wiped everthing down with vinegar/water mix with eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender and tea tree oil in it. Also bought pheromone traps, cedar mothballs and am dying from the stench in here myself. I haven’t seen larvae for a couple of days and only a few months that I hunt down and swat with a string of cursewords in about 5 different languages that could make a sailor blush ( I know it doesn’t help but sure makes me fe el better).
My question, how long until I can put the dishes back in the cupboard? I washed EVERTHING (thank goodness for my dishwasher )
Stay strong my fellow mothfighters!!!!
You can put the dishes back in the cupboard right away after cleaning the cupboards and dishes. Put everything else, like cat food and other dry goods, in plastic bags or airtight containers before returning them to the cupboard, too. That makes it easy to figure out where they’ve laid eggs: you’ll find dead moths in that particular container.
CONCERNING PANTRY MOTHS: i HAVE KEPT LITTLE BAGS OF BAY LEAVES IN MY CUPBOARDS FOR YEARS – THAT CURES THE PROBLEM.
honestly the worst place that you probably wouldnt suspect is the toaster .thats where I found the cocoons they were behind the insulated walls I had to get a new one but that seems to be great breeding ground for them ,so please check your toasters use a vaccumm on reverse power blow out in between hard all the elements and clean the crumb tray often
I found them in a cabinet..there wasnt alot really. I tossed everything! Should i be concerned anout the other cabinets? I havent noticed any in the others, but am paranoid. Gross
If you haven’t seen any since purging that cabinet you’re probably fine. If you do notice more, then I’d go through with purging and cleaning the other cabinets, too, Mandy. But I hope you don’t have to!
I’ve not seen a moth in weeks. YAY! After “purging” my pantry to the bare walls including removing the despised wire shelves, is there any treatment i.e. an insect repellent that I can use prior to installation of my new pantry shelving system?
I just make a point to add peppermint oil to my homemade cleaning mixes since that goes a long way to deter most pests. You can also leave bay leaves on the shelves.
We find the moths all over the house, not just next to their food source. We are grinding them down, but it is a real chore.
Omg these are disgusting! Few weeks ago I saw one flying moth, didn’t understand where it came from, didn’t know anything about them, but once in a week start finding worm kind of creature on kitchen sealing… after getting information in internet, found the source, it was in loose tea packet! Throwed out all opened packets of food, everything. Cleaned. And today out of nowhere find one learwe… don’t know what to do anymore. All shelves are cleaned. Can’t see any more worms or moths. I hate them so much!!! 🙁 what else can I do? Ordered some moth trap so waiting for it to come.
Daiva, the same thing happened to me! My in-laws have them BAD, and we sometimes take food from their place. Since my short-lived infestation, I’ve gotten really picky about anything I take from them, and immediately switch it to another container or wash it. Anything buggy in my house gives me the creeps, so I threw out anything I wasn´t totally sure of, and froze anything that I thought might be okay for about 2 weeks. I scrubbed down my entire kitchen (even the ceiling!) and then vinegared it and put some bay leaves in the cupboard, as suggested above. Luckily, my kitchen is small, so I can’t keep a lot of excess food. I now store everything in plastic containers with lids. It’s been a year and I haven´t seen any more, but I’m still paranoid that they’ll come back!
Do you use dry bay leaves? Do they sell fresh bay leaves in the grocery store?
I use dry bay leaves, yes. You can sometimes find fresh bay leaves in the grocery store. Fresh are no better than dry for this purpose, though.
I bought some dry bay leaves for my cabinets due to those nasty moths. Just wondering, when I sniffed bay leaves, I couldn’t detect much of any smell. I’m thinking maybe the moths could smell them better than a human. You think maybe I should buy a better brand of bay leaves? Thanks, especially since this moth break-out is driving me crazy.
If you don’t smell a noticeable scent then, yes, they’re old and should be replaced.
Thought I’d taken care of the pantry moths last summer. Nope. Just saw one of the little buggers on the kitchen ceiling! ACK! I can only blame myself-was not perfectly scrupulous in storage of newly purchased things like-brown sugar and did not have the white sugar in a proper jar. Yes, I got lazy. Not looking forward to cleaning out everything and doing this all over again-but, since I didn’t learn the lessons the first time-guess this will keep me on point from now on. Like the idea of wiping down the jars with anti-septic cloths. Hope others will learn (as I will) from my mistakes, and do not let your guard down with these bugs-they do not go away. Ever.
We had an infestation last year when i went out of town for 3 weeks and did not have on air conditioning in August. When I got back, i saw many of the worm crawling up my wasll. They do not appear in my pantry anymore because we cleaned it and have not put food in there. But, they would show up in traps in every area of our house.
We were down to maybe 2 every couple nights flying around (we killed those) and were hoping for the best. Now it is spring and we killed one last night and one 2 nights ago. We have looked everywhere and have cleaned all rooms and closets. We can not figure out where they are gettinf food from.
Will chemicals work to kill them? If we put bay leaves out, everywhere in the house…will that help?
The vacuum cleaner is a quick and easy way to get any moths or cocoons you find. If you’re skilled, you can even catch the buggers with the vacuum cleaner when they’re flying around! (Make it a game!) The wand attachment is particularly useful for capturing them up near the ceiling, and for getting into those hard-to-reach corners. I go on a vacuum hunt about four times a day, and we’re down from many dozens of them flying around to seeing maybe one or two per day, or some days none. Due to the size of our pantry and the amount of stuff in it, we’re sort of trying a piece-meal approach to keeping them under control until we reach the point where I’ll be ripping out all the shelving in the pantry and basically remodeling it. At that point is when it’ll be convenient to take the more intensive (and more effective) steps. But until then, the vacuum cleaner is quite useful and effective.
Thanks for the article – have been dealing with these pesky things and am taking the over reaction approach and followed all your advice plus even sprinkled diatomaceous earth in nooks and crannies of pantry to ensure death of these things. I am also wiping down EVERYTHING that will be going back into area and even delaying and rearranging zones in kitchen.
But to my questions — I have found they like the bedroom closet directly across from kitchen area (small house) and am concerned about them being in clothing or having little nest thingys in there!! Has anyone had any experience with this at all or come across this? IF so, any suggestions other than obviously laundrying everything in site? Any help is appreciated!
We have them in the kitchen and pantry area but also in the back bedroom closet. Can’t figure out why they keep showing up so far form the kitchen.
Thanks for the article; think we will remove and clean with the 50/50 solution. It’s been two years fighting these buggers.
We had infestation of pantry moths -started with bird seed stored in our garage but some got into our house. Cleaned everything- found eggs on chamois and leaf bags! Found that hanging those sticky fly paper rolls helped better than the pricier traps.
I have spent the entire summer trying to get rid of indian meal moths in my basement boiler room. This pest has gotten the better of me and I feel like they are laughing at my futile attempts to get rid of them. I have used over 50 or so of those pheremone traps only to see how badly they have infested the basement. Do they eat wood because there is no food source available and I have only seen them there. Please someone help I’m losing my mind.
Thanks for this thorough and helpful posting! I’ve been researching pantry pests all day, after finding larvae in my spaghetti. Here’s what I’m still confused about – to keep the problem gone once I solve it, I’m supposed to freeze items from the store before putting them in the pantry. Ok, rice, spaghetti, cereal… but sugar (?)… tea? cookies? crackers? spices in original plastic containers? I can’t find a list and unfortunately “dry goods” is too vague for my clueless brain 🙂 Thanks for any advice!
You’re right, it is an imprecise term, isn’t it? My general rule is to freeze anything that only has a paper wrapping: flour, white sugar, dry pasta, oats, sometimes rice. If it’s sold in airtight plastic bags within a box — cereal, cookies, crackers — it probably hasn’t attracted moths so it’s safe to skip freezing. Tea has tannins which repel moths, anyway, so I don’t bother with that. I hope that helps to clarify!
Yes,they get into everything!!! If you have enough freezer space just leave them in there!
We battled these buggers for 3 long years. Took all the advice: cleaned, threw out food, swept daily, kept NO food in our cupboards, even caulked around all the cabinets. They would disappear for a few months, and then come back. We finally laid plastic in our kitchen and took all of our cupboards off the wall. Guess where they were hiding? Took them all outside, scrubbed them with a wire brush, bleached them and let them dry in the sunlight. Hung them back up and we have been moth free for over 1 year now. My guess is that they were actually breaking through the caulk every few months, after making us think they were gone, but finally pulling the cupboards off the wall let us find and get rid of the real nest.
The problem that people do not realize is that these things string their webs in all adjoining areas IE other rooms, hallways etc…. They especially seem to love anything that makes a right angle. Take a high powered flashlight and scan along the ceiling line, door tops, windows of all areas near your kitchen. You will see the little webs as well as their eggs that look like little white dots. If you DO NOT do this…, all of your cleaning will be in vein as they will continue to reproduce. I basically wiped down all walls where they adjoin the ceiling with 75/25 vinegar solution in addition to everything everyone has already mentioned
Excellent advice, Tim.
I am putting everything outside in backyard while it’s cold & completely cleaning pantry! I just cleaned out Cabinet sprinkled bay leaves put spaghetti into plastic containers.
I find consolation in that someone else is spending there days the same way as me.
I am handicapped and cannot stand for long, cannot get on ladders and in general my housekeeping has gone to pot since I got this cancer 4 years ago. We had the moths, seemed to get rid of them with some traps, but I know all my shelves are not clean and haven’t been for awhile. I have hired housekeeping a few times a year but cannot afford much of that. Here in the Dallas area cleaning services are real expensive. So just today, I opened my pantry in the utility room and I see 50-75 moths around a cracker box. Dumped the box quickly into a plastic trash bag, sealed it and out it went but I am left with MANY visible adult moths. OH me, I just don’t have the energy to do all the cleaning involved, and that is just one pantry, not talking about my kitchen, all those shelves and the rest of the house. Feeling overwhelmed.
Oh boy! I had NO IDEA what these things were… UNTIL I GOT THEM LAST NOVEMBER! I’m practically insane now, because of those disgusting creatures ????. I wish I would’ve read these articles at first. I now have them ALL OVER the house & garage. I’ve did practically everything listed except the peppermint oil & bay leaves. They’ve taken to the main bathroom too…in ALL stages, so I’m not sure where they’re coming from now. I’d like to burn the house down & start over…that’s how bad it is. Any help or suggestions?
Ok just moved into the house and pantry moths are not bad, but I need to rid them now. So you are saying wash all shelf’s and walls with soapy hot water with peppermint in the vinegar 50 and water 50 then wash down all cans, bags, plastic containers etc. I just bought groceries, but have not opened anything as of now so can I wipe all down and be ok? I have chips, plastic bags of sealed rice and boxes of rice in sealed boxes. I have sprayed witha potent bug spray and killed 4 moths and a larvae. I do not think I am invested with them, but need to stop them now!!! Then do I put out bay leaves?
Thank you,
Frustrated!!!
Also, I can see them in the crevaces of the roof above the pantry, does that mean they are likely to be coming from the pantry? So frustrating, I have thoroughly cleaned and thrown out open items so many times but they keep coming back, these things are relentless!!!
I and my neighbours have been battling them for years so thanks for all the tips.I even often find them between pages of books or reports in my office. Finally its an incentive for purging. My moth traps are filled up very quickly and I am constantly killing them. Found they like to hang from the stipple ceiling as well as underneath the kitchen cabinets. They even manage to chew through plastic wrap to get into new foodstuffs and lay eggs and webs.
I’m going to try your home made cleaner on my larder cupboard – with peppermint oil. Your site has helped me deal with an infestation of pantry moths, but I still see odd ones emerging and sticking to my trap inside the empty cupboard every day or so, two weeks after clearing and cleaning the cupboard following your advice. Threw out so much dry food that it hurt and everything is going into Kilner jars now, but the jars and cans are all piled on my kitchen table as I don’t want to put anything back in the cupboard until that moth trap stays empty!
So these moths are still emerging – but what on earth are the larvae living in or on? There’s nothing left in there! And I can’t see anything moving except dying moths!
I have had these buffers for over a year now. I’ve emptied out cabinets multiple times, wiped cabinets down with 50/50 solution bleach/water and then I’ll see them in the ceiling of my kitchen.there is a 3\4 gap between the cabinets and the ceiling. I put both traps on top of cabinet between that gap and in a bout 3 months it was filled.
Other than jamming bay leaves in the gap all around cabinets, is there any way to get them if they are out of reach?
I am at the verge of a nervous breakdown, because I seem not to be able to get rid of indian meal moths!!!! I don’t know what to do anymore; I wiped all my cabinets, pantry (I even painted the pantry); and they seem to be still there; pantry is shared with our laundry/furnace room and they seem to be still somewhere in the laudry; they get caught everyday in the traps (ocasionally i kill 1-2 around the house, even upstairs in the bedrooms-is this normal ?) I vacuumed the walls, I put some peppermint oil in different spots!!!! I don’t have any food in the house whatsoever, everything is out, except for spices that are in glass or plastic jars!!!! what should I do???!!!! please help!!
Another problem I think might be our garage!!!! We seem to have a lot of the moths there!!!! (could it be in the birds food? )I am affraid i am bringing them back to the house!!! also i removed all my clothes from closets and put in the garage in the plastic bins (i thought I have clothes moths too, which after a research i don’t think I do); I bring clothes slowly home, wash and dry them in hot temperatures!!! We fogged the garage already and i used some spray inside home in the corners and crevices but it doesn’t seem to help, they still get caught in traps!!! please advice what else can I do?
Sorry for a very long msg but i don’t what to do anymore; thank you
Another culprit is birdseed. My mom used to spread newly-bought birdseed on a shear pan and bake it at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or so to kill off any larva. A side benefit is that any seed that lands on the grass under your feeders will not sprout.
Hello please help 911 I just killed 40 moth maggots and moths from the ceiling of my kitchen all over next I’m cleaning my pantry it’s just a lot of work , but the ones from my kitchen ceiling keep coming back what do I do ???
After reading this blog and stripping the pantry bare I called an entomologist at a pest control company and he said it’s fairly easy…and it is! 1. Buy a gallon of white vinegar at the grocery, a large spray bottle, and several rolls of paper towels. While stripping the pantry bare, 2) Spray generously each bag, can, spice, bottle with FULL STRENGTH white vinegar making sure to spray into the caps and threads of bottles and around edges of storage containers. 3 While spraying, closely examine every package and look for the source (we found ours in an acrylic canister with a rubber gasket. and a tight metal locking device). 4) Discard all open packages and put them in a garbage bag — be sure to seal the garbage bag(s) and take it / them out of the house. 5) GENEROUSLY spray any straw baskets, etc. several times at different intervals (the eggs are very small and can get between the weaves). 4) If you have room in your freezer, store unopened tea boxes, etc. in the freezer for 2-3 days. 6) Fortunately the gestation period for meal moths is short but it can vary with the temperature — if the weather is warm, the gestation period is shorter. 7). Generously spray the shelves, walls and ceiling of the pantry SEVERAL times and wipe them down each time you spray. 8) Keep the pantry doors closed to contain the moths in a viewable area. 9) Repeat #5 several times for 2-3 days, each time squishing moths and larvae as you encounter them. By the end of the first day you should see fewer moths flying around and by the second day you should finally be nearly free of moths. To be sure you’ve killed all the eggs, larvae and moths, wait a few days (depending on the temperature) after seeing the last moth before restocking the pantry.
We did our pantry on Sunday, by Sunday night we saw fewer moths, on Monday even fewer, on Tuesday fewer still, and this morning, Wednesday, I killed one moth. I sprayed several times a day Monday & Tuesday and if I don’t see any moths tomorrow, we’ll put everything back.
The best part??? We took the opportunity to clean out the pantry of “stuff” we’ve accumulated over the years and got rid of “stuff” we only used once several years ago.
Have fun!.
The larvae are like little tan worms that seem to like crawling across your ceiling. For months I was swatting the moths (they are especially active at night when lights are out), but I never noticed the larvae until I found one hanging by a thread of web. Then I noticed a lot of them! Almost the same color as my ceiling but they slither out from the pantries across the ceiling. They seem to like the corners where they wrap themselves into a cacoon. Now I am swatting both moths and larvae and will dispatch whatever dry goods may be infested. Thanks for the tip on vinegar and bay leaves, I will toss and clean this week!
Just wondering – plastic wrap,foil wrap and other wraps – do these need to be tossed?
Are closed boses ok to keep?
We have been fighting these pests for over a year now. At first, it was mistaken identity, I didn’t know what they were. Then we figured it out, and cleaned the baking cabinet, but my husband never got any pantry traps (I was away). By then, they were in all food areas of the kitchen. We cleaned everything and threw out lots of food, securing the rest in plastic bags and air-tight containers. CAUTION, that solution will not stop them. The moths can even get into factory sealed plastic! They also love the cardboard boxes that cereal and mixes come in. PULL OUT the drawers, I’ve found many cocoons right in the slider mechanisms. Also, a wet Q-tip can clear out the “shelf supporting” holes in cupboards. I’ve found cocoons there, too. Thanks, Katie for this site, now that all food areas (and ceiling/wall corners) have been cleaned, I will use the 50/50 solution, bay leaves, and peppermint oil. SUGGESTION: Place a pantry moth trap in all enclosed, previously infested, areas as a sign that either they are gone!!! or to catch any remaining ones.
We have been dealing with these guys for over a year now. By time we figured out that they were what they were and not just bugs comming in since the installation of a doggy door. I have cleaned and taken care of any food sources but they seemed to have moved onto new areas of my house even a completely different floor. I’m not sure what to do now since this has gone way beyond the normal since they have no access to food. I even found them making their cacoon webs in the dry products in my craft room. Any suggestions on what could be keeping them around without access to food sources. I keep everything not bottled or canned in a separate refrigerator for this exact reason.
Hi
I have an infestation of pantry moths and little worms ? my concern is… my pantry is used on one side to store a whole lot of unused kitchen goods that are in cardboard boxes and on the other side is food…
I had a bad infestation about a year ago but thought it was ok u til bam I start seeing a million moths and worms on the ceiling and in cupboard…
Do I have to chuck out the cardboard boxes or can I just wipe over them with vinegar… as silly as it sounds there is a sentimental meaning with all the stuff in boxes and wasn’t quite ready to discard the boxes yet as they are all new (not food items, things like kitchen ware gifts)
These moths love to breed in cardboard boxes, as do many other household pests. If you absolutely can’t discard the boxes yet, you might want to put them into plastic tubs with lids.
I have these moths. I just took everything out of the pantry and have an exterminator coming tomorrow, Do I need to discard spices that are in bottles or tin cans? I have seen a couple in the cat’s fountain out on the lanai. There is no food there. So how do I get rid of these moths? Maybe once a week I’ll see one buzz through.
Your exterminator can make recommendations appropriate to your situation and the actual pest involved. In general, though, if something is in a bottle or tin can it’s almost impossible for moths to lay eggs in there, so you should be okay.
SOOOOO helpful. Been fighting these for 6 months and losing my dang mind. Appreciate the help!! Before I found this, I was ready to throw a match in the pantry. God Bless You.
My daughter just moved into an apartment and the moths were there already. The kitchen was filthy so I am going to assume thats part of the problem. We did clean it but just with soap and water. I will go back through it and use the 50/50 solution and then a bit of bleach. The small amount of food we put in there came from my house so I know its ok. It has been there for two days so do you think we need to throw that all away now too?
Don’t combine bleach with the 50/50 vinegar solution, please! It creates chlorine gas, and while that might kill pantry moths it could harm your daughter, too. As for the food, I’d suggest putting it into air-tight containers right away.
My kitchen became infested with pantry moths and larvae about a month ago. I got 2 traps that are working. However, I continue to see the worms every couple of days, usually three or four. They are travelling across my kitchen. Today I took everything out the shelves, washed glass items in soapy scalding water. I wiped down the inside of the shelves with pure vinegar. I also just now put a few things in the freezer–thanks for that suggestion. I actually am out of bay leaves so am going to the store to buy a bunch plus peppermint oil. I washed the walls I could reach. I’m just hoping those awful worms will be gone. I especially do not want them going to any other part of the house. I’m buying more vinegar and will keep washing down the kitchen and hope for the best. This is the first time in my life that I’ve had this problem. This is awful! Thank you for all the great tips. I will try as many as possible.
Hi Jennifer,
These things are so frustrating, aren’t they? I hope to hear back that you’ve got them under control.
Best,
Katie
This is an update from my previous comment. I have made an important discovery. Last weekend when I was cleaning I noticed that several worms appeared after wiping down the counters with pure vinegar. This included wiping the face of the electrical outlets in my kitchen. I was wondering where those worms suddenly came from and realized that the only common thing regarding their locations were the electrical outlets. I decided to go with my theory that the worms had come out of the outlets. I do not keep small appliances on my counter tops. They are stored in cupboards. Therefore, the outlets are open and available for something to go inside. Since you cannot spray or stuff anything into an outlet, I decided to cover all of them with outlet covers. I used clear plastic singles. I covered every electrical outlet in my kitchen including the spare where the exhaust fan is plugged in inside the cabinet above my stove. That was a week ago and since then I have not seen any worms at all. I truly believe the moths were laying eggs in the outlets and the worms were in there. I strongly suggest that you go to the hardware store and get the electrical outlet covers and install them as soon as possible. Wipe the front of the outlet with a cloth dampened with pure white vinegar first and then insert the plugs. I hope this helps others with this horrible problem.
Thanks for the update, Jennifer. I’d never have thought of that solution!
Bought dried chili peppers and corn husk to make tamales. Started seeing moths and discovered larve in my pantry yesterday. Cleaned and threw away all grain products. Found where they hatched in both peppers and husks. Worked all day. This morning adult moth walking around like he owns the pantry! Thanks for the info!
For all still suffering after numerous treatments. Try shopping at a different grocery store. Or if u shop several try to narrow or use only 1.
Keep in mind that ‘dry goods’ includes nuts and seeds. When I cleaned out my pantry I found the worst infestation in an open bag of walnuts.
From the info/questions posted it sounds like they start From a food item or container but also will invade cabinets that don’t have food in them. I’m in the process of getting rid of them. I didn’t think I needed to worry about the cabinets that don’t have any type of food product in it but sounds like I need to?
If you find moths in other rooms, does that mean they are laying eggs in those rooms too? Or, are the eggs just really in the kitchen area?
We have been fighting the infestation for over a year now. At first it was constant moths, then we had a lull and then for the past months, only worms, but lots of them. Sometimes 10 or more a day. Why would there be only worms and no moths? You mention that freezing kills the moths and larvae – do you know if it kills the eggs too? With it being winter, it will be easy for us to move ALL our food outside to freeze and kill everything, so I can be sure that none of those things have living moths or larvae in/on them, but what about the eggs? Also, you make many references to putting things in “air-tight containers”. Honestly, at this point, I don’t even know what that means to these beasts. It seems they can get into EVERYTHING! I have things with silicone seals and are water-tight and they seem to get in. Screw caps are no match. Zip bags are gotten through. Clamp-top jars. There does not seem to be any container that I can find that they cannot get into, including new packaging. I don’t believe all these things came with the bugs already in them from the store. I have been around more years than I care to say and have NEVER had an issue like this. We must have brought in one thing at one time and it has caused this infestation that now can’t be gotten rid of. Unfortunately, I am considering resorting to chemical warfare next, coupled with all your great suggestions. I previously covered all the shelf peg holes with masking tape (still there after a year!) as they had been laying eggs there. I like the idea of covering the outlets too – that may be next. The good news is that so far (fingers crossed), they have only been spotted in the kitchen, and we do store some overflow food in the basement. I find they prefer items that are sweetened the best (granola, cookies, tea with sweet things in it, even chocolate). I thought grain-type items were their favorite? I’m going crazy and really sick of all the food I’ve thrown away and wasted.
I agree with your details , wonderful post.
Hi, I desperately need help. I found larvae about 6 weeks ago in my pantry and did a full scale clean with everything mentioned. I threw everything away, rejoined everything after freezer quarantine into plastic oxo containers and mason jars. After about 4 weeks of no larvae or anything, I started to see moths. Immediately bought traps and started killing the suckers. Here’s the catch, the moths have been in our upstairs bathroom (far away from the pantry), and our mud room. I’ve now done another full scale clean expanding it to all mentioned areas and am still seeing them. I’ve thrown out everything and am spiraling out of control. Any ideas?
Please let people know they will also bore into sauce, seasoning, gravy, taco packets. They like the spices & gluten so Beware to safeguard those envelopes ( none of the articles even mention those). Good luck.
Hello to all,
I had a massive infestation last summer – was “rewarded” with moths for buying dry food with eco packaging in efforts to reduce plastic. Throwing out tons of food hurts on so many levels but even I cleaned EVERYTHING I still keep killing at least one or two of the flying buggers each day! I can’t find anything in the places you suggested and going out of my mind trying to find their new nesting places. I did notice that garlic prevented them from entering the food places again – so leaving that all around the kitchen now. One question though: I started seeing small white moths and started having panic attacks about my clothes – are these perhaps “young” kitchen moths or an I now faced with the “closet problem”? Didn’t notice anything in the closet area though and considering it’s winter – contemplating taking cotes and other woolen things for a few h outside in the -C … Any advice please? Thank you!
Are you using garlic cloves,bulbs,or powdered garlic? Wanting to try.Thanks!
They took me forever to get rid of. I discovered them in the worst way. Reading while I eat. Cheerios in the morning. Eyes on my book while I ate the bowl until I got to so few I had to look at the bowl to get the last few Cheerios into my spoon. And was like….uhhhhhh…….while I stared paralyzed at my cereal bowl. Based on what was in the bowl, who knows what I ate that I wasn’t looking at. I’ll testify they won’t kill you if you ingest them, but it sure will remove your appetite. I did all the purging, cleaning and had Terminex out a few times plus traps, but it was still a while.
To those people that cannot find a source for the moths not in the kitchen I want to share my experience.
I have neck problems so I used to buy those little rice filled cloth bags that you can heat up in the microwave to put around my neck when it was sore. I used to store a couple of those little bags in my sock drawer until I noticed moths. Sure enough, I had to clean out my sock drawer after I threw away the rice bags. They worked so well on my neck and now I just pass them when I visit boutiques, which is where I would buy them.
The real pearl is to check all the holes for the shelf supports including the ones the supports are in. That’s where they lay their eggs. You might see webbing over the opening, a sure sign there is large inside unless the moth has escaped. I had tried everything without success until I read this on another site. Sure enough we found tons. I made up this spray and dipped a small brush I use for my hummer feeders in it and started cleaning out every hole. I washed and sprayed everything again and got hole plugs for shelving on Amazon. No more moths!
Hi! I just bought my first house in June and sadly the house had pantry moths and we did not notice them during inspection. We aren’t seeing handfuls of pantry moths daily but I would say 4-8 a day. Is this normal? We have had two exterminators come and they have drilled holes in the walls. We haven’t had any food in the house for 3 months it was a completely empty house and we still have them! In July we discovered the two lazy susans in the cabinet were filled with cocoons and we removed that and threw it out. We have cleaned every inch of the house. We re did our hardwood floors and have painted every inch of the house. We are capping and cleaning our fireplace tomorrow as that seems to be where they are now coming from. I am loosing hope and this problem doesn’t seem to be going away. Any and all suggestions are welcomed. I am at the point in wanting to sell the house.
Hi, Thanks for all the info I have an infestation in my basement, where I have open shelving. I found the source which was a rotting bag of chocolate chips, but have since found larva and webbing in other foods. I have done a thorough cleaning with a %10 vinegar solution. and hung the traps. I’m still finding moths. The issue is the house is old and the electric wiring was completely redone so there are a ton of wires going in and out of the ceiling and and endless amount of crevices in the basement. Do they lay eggs in the wall? Will spraying everything down with bleach of vinegar work? Any other ideas?
I have a second home that i leave for a week or two at a time and have never had this issue until now…came home and found a few of these pests and immediately researched what these pests could be and came upon this site. Cleaned my pantry, didn’t see any sings of the pests there but now have a very clean pantry and unfortunately threw out food that didn’t need to be thrown out. As I was cleaning, noticed several in the living room area, as I was dusting I noticed several of these moths coming our of a dried flower arrangement. A week or two ago I purchased some dried wheat stalks to add to a dried flower arrangement I had made, turns out the decorative wheat stalks were infested with the moths or larva, didn’t look too closely as I immediately got a plastic bag, wrapped the entire arrangement including the vase and took it outside, the vase had hundreds of moths inside of it. I was so grossed out. Now i am on the lookout for stray moths and killing them and hoping they haven’t laid eggs yet. Lesson learned, it is not just food items, in this case I brought then into the house in dried flowers/wheat stalks.
Thanks for all your suggestions. I have a huge walk in pantry which my husband built for me. Unfortunately the walls are exposed brickwork. Would have lined them if I knew about the moth problem. Had a big problem with them over this summer. I followed your suggestions on cleaning, which has taken me a week and a half to perform, as the area is so large. I used soapy water, scrubbing brush, then sprayed neat vinegar on the shelves, walls etc. Then sprayed neat eucalyptus oil on the areas. The oil cost me $100 to cover the area, but am so determined to get rid of these enemies. Washed and dunked all my baskets in water and then sprayed with vinegar. Now is the waiting game. Had 3 of the horrors on the sticky pad after a few days. Nothing today – so far. I would say something which hasn’t been mentioned before. We have an electric bug catcher in the kitchen, which I completely forgot about turning on this season. Initially, purchased to catch mossies and flies, which ended up being virtually useless, BUT it does catch moths. This prompted me to purchase a cheaper item which consists of two lights and apparently deters moths. That’s in the pantry also. Good luck with you all, we need it !!
You have definitely been working hard! Just a note of caution, though: eucalyptus oil is one of the essential oils that aren’t safe around pets, so I hope you don’t have any. But your bug catcher sounds like a brilliant solution. I bet it’s super rewarding seeing all the ones you’ve zapped!
For the lady saying “help!” about pantry moths. Do not have wooden panels in your pantry if you have them on the walls, as they will find a way into the lines between the wood. Smooth finish flat wall. If you have wooden shelves, remove them if you have age old sticky back plastic contact sheeting on them, and get new ones or old wood with no infestation, like old fence wood, and have narrower shelving and less of it, you do not need really deep shelving where you cannot see the back of the wall. Keep brackets for your shelving simple if metal or if wood, and put peppermint oil on everything with a cloth, including the wall before you mount the boards. Get some moth strips which are revolting but you have to get these as well if you are going to get rid of them, which means they stick to these strips, Ew! But not to your food. The amount of them will very soon drop drastically and be none!!!!
Thanks Katie – I do have a dog, but she never goes into the pantry and have doors also on the pantry which I am ensuring are always closed now. Thanks for the suggestion though. Have made a note of this.
You’re welcome!
I have pantry moths in my basement. I believe they came in from some birdseed I stored there. I mostly find them among my Christmas ornaments, which I am working on eradicating by disposing of the boxes, washing ornaments in vinegar solution or freezing some for four days, or baking them in plastic storage containers in the hot sun. Then I store them in a detached garage. I have never seen any in my kitchen, which is on a different level and the opposite area of where I find the moths. But I did throw out all my food anyway (and keep new food in containers), and cleaned the cabinets by vacuuming and wiping down with vinegar, just in case. I find 1 to 4 moths daily in a trap in the basement. My question is do you think I need to keep concentrating on areas where I do not find moths – or am I a OK concentrating on the basement? By the way, I find most of the cocoons and larvae in styrofoam and corrugated cardboard.
I have them in my basement. I can’t find a food source but have been trapping moths for two years. They have to be eating something. I have opened every container stored down there, washed the wall with vinegar solution, vacuumed etc. but can’t figure out what is keeping them alive. I am preparing to go through it all again, and there is a lot! So frustrating!
Thank you so much. We just moved to Texas from vegas, never experienced this before. Its alot of them for months now will try this tomorrow and let you know how it worked …cant wait.
You’re so welcome! Just remember, it takes consistency and patience to deal with pantry moths so stick with it. You’ve got this!
Hello I have been having the same problem for months now and I’m just now like right this second finding out what they are called i couldn’t figure out what they were to save my life and then I ran across this page ong I’m so happy to finally know what I’m dealing with now comes the hard part of getting rid of them but I have a question does these moths also Bring maggots because they are in my pantry like crazy I have checked for rotted food and everything else that would bring about maggots and nothing and I only started seeing the maggots when I started seeing the moth things please help I’m at a loss they are getting on my ceilings and its pretty nasty I don’t know how to get rid of the maggots. Please Help and Thank You
Hi Michelle,
I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with these, but very glad you’ve found my page. If you have pantry moths, then the maggots you mentioned may be their larvae. Pantry moths lay them in dry food, crevices, and all the other places I mentioned. So, check there and follow the steps I laid out — including freezing dried foods and then putting them in air-tight containers. That should have the problem under control in a week or so, then stick with the steps I described to keep new ones from entering your home. 🙂
I found a bugs net and an electric tennis racket shaped zapper to be a great way to have fun with the moths. Then I found a fairly easy way without equipment. Since I would never be able to clean everything in this hoarders kitchen. Forget that.
And I got rid of them except for the ones that found the bedroom.
From 25-30 moths and larvae crawling up the walls, to zero. The finishing blows to the population came from slapping them downward with my hand- (it’s not that hard but a Rolled newspaper would work because their instinct is to DROP, and stay low for a few seconds). Then STOMP them with a foot!!!
I almost wish they came back, it was fun.
I did also try the pheromones but made my own trap using a tiny portion. I suspended it inside a jar smeared with a sticky syrup. When the sides were covered I just smeared more syrup over the stuck ones. (Yup it looked gross).
And please do consider learning to eat bugs like mealworms and other favored critters – it took me awhile to like shrimp what’s the difference?