Food moth – how to get rid of quickly in the kitchen

The content of the article

• What is a mole?
• Harm food moth
• Where does the mole in foods come from?
• How to get rid of food moth
• Pest Control Rules
• Food Moth Remedies
• Folk remedies against moths in the kitchen
• Prevention of the appearance of moths in foods

Many housewives are faced with the fact that flying insects start up in products that have been stored outside the refrigerator for a long time. This is a food moth, which is difficult to remove because you need to get rid of adult moths, as well as larvae and eggs. The parasite multiplies intensively and spoils products, making them harmful to human health.

What is a mole?

The pest belongs to the family of Lepidoptera butterflies. The breeding cycle of the moth is very short. Adults are painted in beige or pale brown. Moth larvae resemble small caterpillars or worms with black or brown heads, maximum length is 1 cm.

They are considered the most dangerous to humans, destroy products, entangle them with a web..

Adults – butterflies, live a maximum of several days, and then lay eggs of a light shade and die. The breeding period lasts up to 6 days, during which the pest spoils food. The process proceeds more actively in a humid warm environment. Food moth is divided into several types. As a rule, firepots live in dwellings – flour, cocoa, southern barn. The last is the hardest to fight.

Common Habitats:

1. Loose foods.
2. The spaces behind the cabinets, wall cabinets, under the windows. The parasite can settle even in long-used household appliances.
3. Carton boxes. Kitchen moth can live in packaged or open packs of tea, porridge.
4. Spaces under the ceiling.

Harm food moth

The opinion that an insect cannot harm a person is wrong. During the life cycle, an adult flour moth lays about half a thousand eggs. They become larvae that drop skin several times and infect food products with waste products – feces and particles of the skin. Harm of eating moth-affected food:

1. High risk of food poisoning with severe intoxication.
2. Immune System Dysfunctions.
3. Severe allergic reactions, including Quincke’s edema.

Where does the mole in foods come from?

In most cases, parasites are found in all loose: cereals, spices, nuts, flour, etc. It is worth noting that the most common reason for its appearance is the storage at home of products brought from the store already infected. One of the most effective preventive measures is to buy goods in trusted locations and carefully examine the packaging for leaks..

The second reason for the appearance of the house of the moth is the penetration of parasites from neighbors. In search of a more nutritious environment, they can migrate from one apartment to another, for example, through ventilation. Theoretically, a mole can fly into a house through a window and settle there, but in practice the probability of this is extremely small. It often starts up in such products:

1. Salt, soda. Their food pest does not eat, but chooses to inhabit.
2. Cereals. Moth “loves” rice, pasta, oatmeal, oatmeal, buckwheat, any cereal.
3. Nuts. Food pests attract shells, peeled peanuts.
4. Dried fruits. Parasites settle in containers with these products and envelop them with something like a web.

How to get rid of food moth

Parasites spoil food and multiply rapidly. Adults lay eggs, which then become larvae.

Sometimes, to eliminate food pests, one has to turn to radical measures – throw away absolutely all stored products and call the pest control service.

The process of controlling parasites can be divided into several stages:

• detection of sources of infection;
• stripping;
• the destruction of adult moths;
• elimination of eggs and larvae;
• spring-cleaning;
• preventative measures.

Pest Control Rules

Getting rid of moths at home is difficult. The main stages of pest control:

1. Sort bulk foods. Throw away those where the larvae are found, and process the rest in a microwave oven or freezer. Another method of disinfection is steaming in the oven for 20 minutes. For maximum safety, it is better to throw away absolutely everything if you find moth in the cereal.
2. Wash storage containers thoroughly, dry, wipe with vinegar.
3. Tidy the lockers. Vacuum them and ceiling joints, chandeliers. Often the parasite lays the larvae there, because when cooking it gets hot and humid.
4. Wipe furniture and other surfaces with a solution of vinegar or laundry soap.
5. Treat the premises with a chemical agent against parasites.

Food Moth Remedies

In the fight against food pests, many chemicals help: aerosols, traps, pencils, powders. The funds can be divided into 2 groups:

1. Insecticides. Poison adults, eggs, larvae. Effective, but after using such products, products from the treated premises must be thrown away.
2. Repellents. Contain natural ingredients that repel food pests. Repellents do not kill the moth, but force it to leave the home. Completely safe for humans, but their effectiveness is debatable.

Types of preparations for moths by release form:

1. Aerosols, sprays. Sprayed on the surface, quickly destroy parasites. Contain components that are unsafe for human health. They require caution in use..
2. Traps and Velcro. Lure the mole and poison it. The lack of funds is that moths can fly into it, not only from yours, but also from neighboring apartments.
3. Fumigators. They act more slowly than aerosols, but also destroy parasites. Applying them, you do not need to ventilate the premises, as when using a spray.
4. Sections. Scare away adult food butterflies. Do not affect larvae and eggs in any way; they are an additional preventive measure.

Chemical insecticides

The most effective remedies:

1. Aerosol Mosquitall. Universal insecticide-acaricide containing permethrin, transflutrin. It kills adult food pests and larvae, having a nerve-paralytic effect. The product is sprayed onto the inner surfaces of kitchen cabinets from a distance of 20-30 cm. The average cost of a bottle of 150 ml is 200 rubles.
2. Spray Bros. Effective insecticide instant action, protecting against parasites for 4 months maximum. It is sprayed on the internal surfaces of furniture from a distance of 25-30 cm. The approximate price of a bottle of 150 ml is 250 r.
3. Armol plates. Impregnated with pyrethroid insecticide. The plates are laid out on the surfaces. Impregnation evaporates from top to bottom, poisoning adult moths, larvae. A package with 10 plates costs about 30-50 rubles.

Repellents

Effective repellent drugs:

1. Greenfield Tablets. Long-acting talcum powder balls impregnated with essential oils and synthetic substances. They are laid out in furniture compartments to deter food pests. Valid up to six months. In the package 7 tablets of white color. Average price – 40 r.
2. Glorus Records. Contain only natural ingredients, essential oils, safe for humans. Moths are scared away, but they are not destroyed. It is recommended to lay them on surfaces in a room with food pests. A package with 10 plates costs 40-70 rubles.

Folk remedies against moths in the kitchen

If you can’t control parasites with chemicals, try these methods:

1. Arrange the peels of the orange and lemon in the cupboards. Moth does not tolerate the smell of citrus. Lavender scent also helps..
2. Carefully clean surfaces, cabinets, crevices and other hard-to-reach places with a vacuum cleaner, wash with soapy water. Then wipe everything with vinegar.
3. Lay out bay leaves around the perimeters of the cabinets and in each jar of bulk product. Its smell repels parasites.
4. Place fabric pads soaked in essential oils in cloves, cloves, basil, geranium, rosemary, rosemary, fir or tansy.

Prevention of the appearance of moths in foods

To get rid of parasites is much more difficult than to prevent infection. To do this, observe the following preventive measures:

1. Buy long-term products in trusted stores.
2. Try to avoid acquiring cereals, flour and other loose stocks. Often they are declared for goods that were stored in violation of the conditions.
3. Check packaging integrity carefully.
4. Periodically review products already purchased. Not only butterflies and larvae present there should alert, but also lumps, there may be moth eggs. Loose, which look suspicious, it is better to throw it away.
5. On the forums on the Internet, many housewives recommend that products brought from the store be cleaned for a couple of hours in the freezer for disinfection.
6. Another prevention method is microwave processing. Pour cereal or other product into a dry bowl and microwave for half a minute at maximum capacity.
7. Do not store food in paper or plastic bags. Buy special sealed containers or glass jars for them. Make sure nothing is crumbling.
8. Clean your kitchen cabinets regularly. If something wakes up, quickly clean.
9. Moth is afraid of a pungent smell. Put dried cloves, or pieces of cloth soaked in essential oils of lavender, rosemary, bergamot, in cabinets.