With summer comes the inevitable presence of bugs. Indian meal moths and grain beetles can infest New England kitchens and pantries. This can happen because of moisture getting into food products, bird seed sitting around too long, or you might even be bringing them home from the grocery store.
Indian Meal Moths
Indian meal moths are small brown moths that feed on cornmeal, flour, nuts, bird seed, dog food, and other similar foods. While they are disgusting to find in your food, they do not pose any direct health risk. They can cost you a small fortune in having to throw food away though. Once they get into your pantry, you will most likely have to discard anything in boxes, bags, and cellophane, etc. A mature female Indian meal moth lays between 100-300 eggs at a time. The eggs can hatch in 2 to 14 days. Which means one female can quickly infest your pantry in less than a week!
Buying in bulk isn’t necessarily a good thing. For example, buying large bags of birdseed may be cheaper per ounce and may help you feel like you’re taking care of your neighborhood birds, but it also means it may take longer to go through the entire bag and you may inadvertently get Indian meal moths breeding inside the bag. If you store bird seed in the garage, your garage can become infested which can lead to them getting inside your home and infesting your pantry.
Saw-Toothed Grain Beetles
Saw-toothed grain beetles also enjoy feeding on grain products, including cereal, pasta, and other things they might find in your pantry. Both types of these pests can chew through plastic, cardboard, and cellophane. Adult female saw-toothed grain beetles lay up to 300 eggs. The eggs hatch in around eight days.
One way to spot an infestation is to inspect open products for clumps which are formed from them webbing groups of larvae. Should you notice your product is contaminated with an infestation, you should dispose of the product in an outside trash container. Because their eggs are small and can look like grains of sawdust, you may not spot them until they have hatched and start flying around.
What to Look for When You Shop
Avoid choosing packages that look like they may be open, are out of date, or have any other suspicious signs. You can often spot signs of larva, which may look like tiny specks of sawdust, around the sealed part of boxes or flour bags and other foods you purchase. Inspecting things before you buy them will help reduce your risk of bringing unwanted pests into your home.
Pantry pests are hard to get rid of once you get them, which is why it is better to have your home professionally protected beforehand. If you are already having a problem with pantry pests, call or contact our pest specialists here at Big Blue Bug Solutions. Our professional pest control technicians have the right tools and knowledge to eliminate these pests from your home.
We’re experts at dealing with the pests that bug you!