Food moths – where do they come from and how to get rid of them? Home remedies for food moths

Proven content

Food moths feed on dry food products such as groats, flour, grains, and sugar, where the larvae reproduce. Food contamination can affect all dry produce as food moths reproduce very quickly. How can we deal with food moths? What are some home remedies for getting rid of food moles? Are moth larvae dangerous to humans?

1. Food moths lay eggs in powdery products. The larvae hatch after eight days
2. The most trouble with food larvae is in the summer. In warm seasons, food moths look for places to hatch
3. Pests like nuts, so they can often be found in products containing this ingredient
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

What is worth knowing about food moths?

Food moth and European food moth, colloquially known as food moth, are brown-gray insects that feed on dry food such as flour, sugar and cereal seeds. Food moths look like moths. The wingspan of insects is approx. 1,5 cm. Pests live in kitchens because the food products there are conducive to their hatching.

Food moths lay eggs in powdery products. The larvae hatch after eight days. Initially, they are in the form of a caterpillar. Food donkeys are brown in color, while granary nymphs have only brown heads and white torsos. The presence of food moths is indicated by the presence of a thin cobweb appearing inside the above-mentioned loose products. Stuck up lumps of e.g. flour or rice are food for moth larvae.

The female food moth can lay about 170 eggs. Food moth caterpillars are so strong that they can even gnaw through the foil to get to the food. In the larval stage, moles are light cream or yellow in color. They live in drawers, especially in their backs, or behind cupboards. They have the conditions to pupate there. Interestingly, the European granola and mklilk food are only two out of over 10 thousand. species of food moths!

Further part below the video.

How do food moths get into homes?

Moths often get into the kitchen through shopping for their eggs. They are often found in food products on store shelves. There is no rule in this case, so we can find them both in large hypermarkets and local shops. The presence of food moles in products found in stores results, among others, from due to an oversight on the part of employees.

Insect larvae can get into a given product while still at the production stage. Pests like nuts, so they can often be found in products containing this ingredient. To avoid the spread of food moths, it is always worthwhile to carefully review the purchased products after shopping before storing them in the cupboard. The most trouble with food larvae is in the summer. In warm seasons, food moths look for places to hatch.

Pests can also fly into the apartment through an open window. If their eggs are in the neighbor’s apartment, then there is a high probability that the moths will be looking for new spaces to live in. Nevertheless, mkliks and fingertips most often find their way into the kitchen through shopping. Food moths are constantly looking for access to food in order to lay their eggs there.

1. Find out more about insects in your home

Where to start the fight against food moths?

Before using one of the moth-fighting preparations, first discard any food contaminated with eggs. Food moths especially like groats, flours and rice. As soon as the first fittings appear in the packaging, it is necessary to throw away the products in question. It is not recommended to remove only the thread, because the eggs are in the entire contents of the package.

In order to avoid the spread of food moths, it is also worth prophylactically removing products that come into contact with infected groats, rice, etc. The next stage is washing the cabinets. Most attention should be paid to their horns, as food moths like to “live” especially there. You can use warm soapy water and vacuum the back of the wardrobe after drying.

The food moth’s greatest enemy is high temperature. Cabinets containing infected food can therefore be dried with a hair dryer. To effectively remove both adults and their eggs, the dryer should be set to the highest possible temperature. Garbage bags containing infected food should be thrown away as soon as possible.

1. Find out more about effective cleaning

What are home remedies for food moths?

Food moths dislike certain essential oils and vinegar very much. It is worth using potions that include these liquids. For the production of one of them, you will need lavender oil, clove oil and eucalyptus oil (a few drops of each). The oils should be mixed, poured into an atomizer, sprayed on the cabinets and let dry.

The group of foods hated by food moths also includes bay leaf and citrus. In cabinets and containers where pests are located, you should put a bay leaf, the smell of which will effectively scare away moths. The dried orange or lemon peel will also protect the kitchen from insect attacks. What’s more, you can also put a linen tobacco bag in the cupboard.

The group of natural moth repellants also includes vanilla, cloves, allspice and lavender. They can also be scattered in cabinets inhabited by moths. However, in order not to make a mess in the cupboard unnecessarily, you can create small sachets containing the above-mentioned spices. Thanks to this, you will also get rid of unpleasant odors from the cabinet faster.

How to protect food from moths?

Moth traps in the form of patches containing glue on the outside are very popular. It is enough to stick the patch on, for example, a cupboard or other place where insects are present. The trap can also be glued to the inside of a given space. The moles will stick to it and will not be able to move anymore. Some of the traps are sprinkled with pheromones, which additionally attract insects.

To protect your food from moths, you will need to purchase food storage containers. It is worth buying glass containers, because moths will not be able to bite through the wall. The container should be equipped with a tight lid and a gasket. The glass vessel will certainly fit into the style of any kitchen.

To better protect loose food from moths, store them in the freezer for a few days after purchase. Low temperature is not conducive to the development of eggs and larvae. In addition, it is worth installing mosquito nets in the windows, thanks to which moths will not get into the apartment.

Before buying any mothproofing product, be sure to check that it is not a product dedicated to clothing moths!

Do moths harm your health?

Opinions on this subject are divided. In most cases, moths do not cause gastrointestinal disease or other ailments, but that does not make them harmless. In the larvae of adult individuals, mold fungi and microorganisms occur. Therefore, eating moth-infected food may or may not cause an infection. People with lowered immunity are most at risk of falling ill.

Food moths can transmit pathogenic bacteria, which include, among others faecal streptococci, which is bacteria that can cause abscesses, endocarditis and diseases of the bile ducts. Faecal streptococci are found in large numbers in soil and water and are harmful to the respiratory tract. Germs cause severe diarrhea in both children and adults.

How to prevent food moth larvae from breeding?

First of all, you should take care of hygiene in the kitchen. It is advisable to ventilate it regularly and wash kitchen cabinets, e.g. with water and vinegar. Groats, flours, sugar and salt should be stored in glass containers and periodically check whether food moth larvae have entered them – it is worth buying containers with transparent walls.

Food and clothing moth larvae – what are the differences?

The reproduction of food moths is similar to that of clothing moths. Both species are very similar in appearance, but not identical. Slightly smaller insects develop from food moth larvae. Clothing moths are yellowish with finer wings, reaching a size of no more than 11 mm. The larvae of these pests are white-gray in color.