Kitchen moth get rid once and for all

At that moment, when the unattractive gray moths began to fly in the kitchen, and the cereals began to be covered with cobwebs, the natural question arises - where did it come from? Moth in the kitchen is a frequent occurrence, no one is safe from it, and, what is most annoying, it is difficult to get rid of this muck. But it is possible. There are certain ways to solve the problem that have already been tested by thousands of people and have proven their effectiveness.

Where does the food moth come from?

Many victims of such insects survive: it seems to be always clean in the kitchen, and the products are stored in separate jars and bags. So where does the moth come from in the kitchen? You can’t worry, it’s not at all about you. You could just buy already infected cereals and bring them home. And further on in the heat, the mole laid off the larvae, which began to eat your stocks. These butterflies do not live long enough - a maximum of three weeks. But during this period they manage to acquire huge offspring that can spoil all your cereals, flour, tea, herbs and even spices. Therefore, if you saw that a food moth has started up in your house, do not delay with measures to get rid of it. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get rid of all instances.

Tip

One can often find advice on the Internet: it is enough to rinse the spoiled cereals, calcine in the oven, and again it can be used for its intended purpose. Should not be doing that. There is no guarantee that it will be possible to completely clear the stock of the waste products of insects that can cause an allergy attack. And just the fact that something from the moth is left in your products that you will later eat will hardly improve your appetite. It is better to immediately throw out the spoiled cereals - it will be more reliable.

Moth Control Measures

So, with where the devourers of your products could come from, a little understood. Now it’s worth moving on to the question of how to get rid of food moths. You should immediately prepare for the fact that the battle will be long and exhausting. Cereal (or food) moth so simply settled places where it is warm and there is a lot of food, will not leave. Therefore, we stock up on patience, tools of struggle and begin to get rid of insects.

1. Be sure to have to throw out all the products that may be of interest to the moth. These insects are found not only in cereals or in flour. They love dried fruits, tea, sweets, pharmacy herbs, spices. Unfortunately, you have to throw everything away. Even those packages in which the larvae of food moths are not yet visible. The moth could have time to lay eggs, which are not particularly noticeable, but under favorable conditions, new cubs will hatch from them soon. And it all starts again.
2. The next step to help remove the moth should be to carefully clean the kitchen. You will need to wash all the shelves, drawers and even the doors and side walls of the cabinets with water and vinegar. Be sure to process all the slots and grooves where the larvae could hide. Yes, this is a long and tedious business. But you have a hope to get rid of food moths for a long time, or even forever. After wet cleaning is finished, leave all cabinets open until they are completely dry.
3. You can also treat food storage areas with special chemicals: smoke bombs, sprays, gels. But it should be borne in mind that these are somewhat toxic agents, and animals and children should be removed from the kitchen for the duration of the treatment. You should definitely wear a respirator and gloves. After processing, be sure to ventilate the room, wash the surfaces and only then put the jars and bags of food in place.
4. If you are not sure of the measures taken, a good trap for food moths will help.. You can buy such a thing in any department where pest products are sold. These products are laid out in food storage areas. The trap is completely harmless to humans, but insects attracted by the smell stick to the surface and die. Thanks to these traps, you will know if re-processing of cabinets is required or whether you can no longer be afraid for your supplies. And the second plus - dead insects will definitely not lay eggs.
5. Be sure to rinse with hot water and a good tool all the containers where the products were stored in which the moth was wound. If these were cloth bags, wash in very hot water. You can’t use them right away - only after serious processing.

Folk remedies

These methods are widely known and applied in the first place. If you are not ready to resort to chemicals or want to try something else, test the remedy for food moth from the national arsenal. Numerous reviews confirm that these options are no less effective than vinegar and chemicals.

1. Garlic cloves must be laid out in cabinets where cereal moth lives. You can even put them in bags to the croup for greater effect. But some argue that over time, food moth adapts to this smell. You can also use bay leaf, peppercorns, whole cloves. By no means ground - such spices are eaten by insects no less than flour and millet.
2. Various herbs also help to fight moths: mint, oregano, lavender, clover. Just wrap the twigs of the plant in gauze or put in rag bags. Lay these blanks in cabinets and drawers where the mole is wound. You can even decompose them in dried fruits or cereals, it certainly will not harm them. In this way, you will achieve two goals at once - it will be possible to remove insects and the kitchen will have an unobtrusive pleasant aroma of herbs.
3. Still experts say that food moth does not tolerate the aroma of citrus. They ate an orange - do not throw skins. They can be laid out in the kitchen and easily get rid of uninvited guests. You can lubricate all surfaces with essential oils of orange, lemon or grapefruit. Moth fir oil is also not particularly favored.
4. Geranium. An undeservedly forgotten plant that used to grow on any windowsill. Almost all insects, including edible moths, cannot tolerate this home flower. All you need is to put a pot of plants in the kitchen. You can take on the arsenal and the essential oil of this plant - grease them with all the surfaces and wait until the fruit moth disappears from your home.
5. If you have people in the house who smoke, you can use their bad habit to benefit. That is, in order to get rid of insects, you need to sprinkle tobacco in their habitats.
6. You can still find the opinion that food moth does not like strawberry soap. It is not a fact that the way it is, but you can try and in this way remove malicious insects.

In general, these are the main methods known today and tested by more than one suffering from gluttonous insects. How to deal with food moths and what exactly to choose is up to you, even though you can try everything at once. The main thing is not to get involved, so as not to harm your airways. And after using particularly corrosive substances, be sure to ventilate the kitchen and wash all surfaces thoroughly. Only then can jars of reserves be placed in their rightful place.

How to warn?

Prevention is our everything, because it is always better to find a means that repels pests, and then not throw out cereals and dried fruits in kilograms, trying to get rid of unpleasant insects. Therefore, we arm ourselves with knowledge and try to prevent the appearance of these vile winged in the kitchen.

1. Since the main source of the appearance of the moth is the store, while still there, carefully inspect each package.If you saw even a little web, and even more so larvae, it is better to take not even another package, but cereals of another manufacturer. There is a risk that the entire batch is infected.
   

   Important!

   Some food moth insurance is the price. The cheaper the products, the greater the risk of infection. The manufacturer saves on the processing of raw materials from pests, which allows to reduce the price of the final product. A manufacturer with a well-known name is unlikely to risk his reputation. But, unfortunately, this is not a guarantee.

2. Arriving home, be sure to check again all the packages with products in which kitchen moth can theoretically start. You could look through larvae or just hurry. If you see the first signs of infection in the cereal, return the product to the store - should be taken back. Well, or you have to get rid of stocks and go to the store again for shopping.
3. Store food in linen bags, not in plastic bags. Or it’s good to use glass jars with tight lids for this. Plastic, although affordable, is not suitable for storing products of interest to insects.
4. You can often come across the advice that as a preventive measure you need to stick a metal nail into the products. Naturally, well washed, dried and without signs of rust. Some housewives claim that any metal object is suitable for this purpose.
5. Now we recall all the aromatic methods of getting rid of adversity and begin to use them as a prophylaxis of the appearance of moths in dried fruits, in flour and in other products. That is, you can put bags of herbs, tobacco, peels of oranges in the cabinets, wipe the surface with essential oils.
6. You can use a chemical agent. For example, the same trap for food moths that is harmless to humans, but will signal that unwanted insects have reappeared in the house.
7. Do not forget about geraniums in the kitchen - it’s beautiful, cozy, and insects do not like this plant.
8. Kitchen furniture should be kept clean, periodically arrange wet cleaning with vinegar. And be sure to ventilate the room.
9. Since it is rare, but it happens that flour moth penetrates from neighbors, it is worth protecting ventilation holes. For starters, you can put a fine mesh here, which will serve as a barrier to the penetration of pests into your kitchen. Additionally, you can process the ventilation openings around the perimeter with essential oils or hang bunches of aromatic herbs nearby.

In fact, these are all measures that will help you prevent the re-emergence of flying pests. As you can see, the main "weapon" is mindfulness and cleanliness. Of course, there is always minimal risk that this trouble will come back to you. But now you know well how to get rid of food moths, and you can quickly take the necessary measures.