The food moth is a real thunderstorm of food stocks. Insect larvae can be found in jars of cereals and flour, in bags of nuts or packs of pasta.
Pests spoil the products, besides they are very tenacious.
You can get rid of uninvited guests with the help of modern deterring agents and proven folk methods.
The topic of today's article is food moth: how to get rid of moths in the kitchen in cereals?
How to recognize the enemy in person?
The food moth is the household name for several species of butterfly moths (flour, cocoa, fruit, and others). These small brown-beige insects they are happy to settle in food depots, in stores and other places where groceries accumulate.
They are attracted by the extensive food reserves in the apartments. Adult insects are not dangerousThe butterfly's life cycle is very short. But the caterpillars live longer (up to one and a half weeks) and are remarkable for their amazing voracity.
Adult butterfly easily confused with moth dress. She is very inconspicuous, has a patronizing color with brown, beige, silver-cream colors. The color of the wings of the insect depends on the species. Learn more about where the mole comes from in the apartment?
Caterpillars are whitish, with dark dots on the head. Insects prefer secluded dark corners, they can be detected by sorting out food stocks.
Where to look for pests?
Food moth and its larvae live in places of food concentration: storerooms, cupboards, chests. Pests eat a variety of groceries: cereals, whole and crushed grains, flour, pasta, dried fruits, cookies, bread crumbs, cereals, sugar, cocoa, tea, bread, various spices.
A clear preference is dry products. Insects easily penetrate any untight packagings, from cardboard boxes to plastic bags.
You can detect pests by going through groceries. In boxes and food cans, bare white caterpillars, small worm nests, silky threads of cocoons resembling web are found.
TIP! Having found extraneous inclusions in one of the products, it is necessary to revise all the packages standing nearby. Most likely, there will be pests there.
Moths and moth eggs get into the house with contaminated products. A weak insect cannot fly into the apartment from the street. The butterfly that entered the house begins to multiply rapidly.
The more parasites in certain products, the harder it is to bring them. Each adult butterfly can lay up to 160 eggs, new caterpillars from them are displayed within a week.
Features of the fight
The mole can be destroyed with the help of toxic repellents and other potent agents. With food pests more difficult. It is impossible to process grain and flour with toxic chemicals.It is also undesirable to use a moth cleaner near kitchen surfaces, dishes and household heating appliances.
That is why universal preparations for room moth, leather and other pests will not work. Then how to deal with the kitchen moth?
How to get rid of food moths in the kitchen?
The most important thing is to get rid of the larvae in time. First, the affected products are sorted out. If too many pests are found in the grocery bags, it is better to destroy the affected cereals or flour. The remaining products are poured into clean containers.
The interior of cabinets, shelves and doors are treated with non-toxic products. from food moths. These can be aerosols or gels diluted in the proportion indicated on the package. Instead of ready repellents you can use an aqueous solution of the bite. They are grooved with the grooves of the drawers, hinges of doors and other secluded places.
Next to the food packaging are placed special food moth traps that attract insects.
The most common and effective option - Aerox traps. They contain non-toxic, pest-killing substances and are not harmful to food, children and pets.
Adult butterflies can be destroyed with adhesive tape from flies. It is placed inside the cabinets and hung next to them. This simple measure will help prevent the emergence of new insects.
Preventive measures
Having destroyed an existing mole, it is important to do everything so that it does not reappear in the apartment.
Do not buy bulk products in markets and questionable outlets.especially if they are sold suspiciously cheap. There is a high risk of acquiring contaminated and unfit edible cereals, flour, or nuts. Prefer goods in sealed packages with a normal shelf life.
Do not accumulate strategic food stocks. The more cereals and pasta in the pantry, the more favorable conditions are created for the moth. It is better to pour food into containers with tight-fitting lids.
Freshly bought bags of cereal or nuts can be placed in the freezer for 6-10 hours. Freezing kills existing insects. After the procedure, the grits need to be sorted and poured into clean, dry containers.
Before cooking porridge, it is better to sort the cereal. Flour before use sift, it will not only remove the insect larvae, but also make baking air. Some cooks recommend sifting flour immediately after purchase, before pouring it into a storage tank.
Worth trying popular recipes. In jars of flour and cereal, put on a clove garlic. As it dries, replace the garlic with fresh. Scare away pests help spread out next to the supplies citrus peels, bags of dried lavender, horse chestnut, bunches of strong-smelling herbs: rosemary, wormwood, tansy.
Have a similar effect natural essential oils of lemon, orange, rosemary, lavender, and household or strawberry soap. It is worth remembering that groceries actively absorb odors.
Scare away the mole will help strong smell: cloves, allspice, cinnamon, oregano, mint. A small amount of spices poured into saucers, which are placed inside the cabinets.
The food moth is an annoying and long-lived pest, the fight against it must be persistent and planned. Applying preventive measures and immediately destroying the detected insects, you can not worry about the safety of products and the health of family members.
So, we talked about the food moth: how to bring cereal, fruit butterfly in the kitchen? Found out what the mole is afraid of, they brought some folk remedies to combat the pest.
