Indian meal moths represent higher pantry pests, their infestation in your home can cause you lots of damages making you fix more to fix.
Are you a newbie to Indian meal moths? Worry less pestclue got you! However, in this article, we will enlighten you on what are Indian meal moths, how to identify, prevent, and get rid of this pest completely. Just read on…
What are Indian Meal Moths?
The Indian meal moth is a pyraloid moth belonging to the Pyralidae family. Similar moths in the family Pyralidae are;
- Weevil moth
- Pantry moth
- Flour moth
- Grain moth
Indian meal moths are higher species of pantry moths. Once they’ve been allowed in larvae, they will eat grains and other dry food, and leave behind massive amounts of webbing droppings and casings.
They can cause up to hundreds of dollars in damage. So, it is important you look for their activity, treat them and prevent future investigations from breaking out.
How to Identify Indian Meal Moth?
You’ll most likely encounter Indian meal moths as larvae or adults. It’s easy to miss identify them. So pay attention to the details.
Indian meal moth larvae are small worms that grow to be about half an inch in length. They have dark brown heads and their bodies are usually light brown.
They are known to be browned or almost green depending on their food source. As larvae, Indian meal moths leave infested foods behind webbing the fecal matter, cast skins, and the shells of their eggs.
The pupa is around a quarter of an inch in length as larvae grow and reach maturity. They develop 5 pairs of prolegs.
If an Indian meal moth larva is not pupating on its food source, it has the capability to travel large distances to find a few patients sites.
You can find Pupa several shelves away from the initial infestation sites, or you can even find them among clothes in your closet.
Their infestation growth depends on how you treat the pupa, adults grow to be about half an inch in length with a wingspan up to three-quarters of an inch.
Since they are away from food sources, you might mistake the Indian meal moth for a clothes moth. Pay attention to the wing pattern, Indian meal moth wings go from light brown to dark brown with a black stripe in the middle.
What do Indian Meal Moths Look Like?
Inspecting for Signs of Indian Meal Moths
When inspecting your home for signs of Indian meal moths, you should begin with;
- Examining all food products, including pet food.
- Inspect anywhere you store food, be it pantry, shelves, cabinets.
- Your garage is not exempted, look along the edges of your garage.
- You’re removing items, look for any larva, pupa, or adult moths.
- Inspect dry foods like grains, cereals, flour, corn, or rice, as they are candidates for moths or other pantry pests.
- Food that is sealed and canned is safe.
How to Get Rid of Indian Meal Moth Naturally
In order to get rid of Indian meal moths naturally, you’ll need to;
- Clean out your pantry first by targeting food sources that have not been infested., you take care of a huge reason.
- As you keep doing this, you will find infested packages. There are others after you’ve done that, just continue clearing out the rest of your pantry.
- You can use a vacuum, and clean the shelves. If the shelves are adjustable, use a toothpick to clear up the holes known to hide moth eggs and other pests.
After you’ve picked up your food package, clean the shelves with mild soap and water. Now that you have a clean pantry, you can begin your chemical if infestation still exists.
How to Get Rid of Indian Meal Moth With Chemicals
Moments before applying treatment, be sure to wear your personal protective equipment or PPE especially before handling any chemicals.
Note: Do not allow people or pets near your treatment sites until all chemicals have dried.
Apply Pyrid Aerosols:
Start your treatment with Pyrid. Pyrid is an insecticide aerosol that delivers a quick knockdown and it’s labeled for a wide variety of flying and crawling pests.
Use this insecticide as a crack and crevice treatment to kill any bugs or eggs that are hiding in your property.
How to use Pyrid Aerosols
- Using pyrid is easy, just remove the white applicator.
- Attach the provided red applicator and make sure the straw is firmly fixed in the spout.
- Shake the can and spray along the length of any cracks and crevices.
Apply Novacide:
Novacide is another insecticide aerosol but this one contains an insect growth regulator or IGR. This will disrupt the moth’s life cycle and prevent eggs larvae and pupae from developing into adults.
Additionally, Novacide has a long-lasting residual, they will work for up to 6 to 7 months.
How to Use Novacide
- Apply Novacide as a spot treatment along the edges of your shelves.
- Shake the can, hold it upside down, and spray.
- It’s two inches of product, every couple of inches can cover a feet
How to Get Rid of Indian Meal Moth With Traps
You can round up your treatment with Allure moth traps, these glue traps are suitable traps for Indian meal moths.
They come with a mafia tracking pheromone. Moths will fly towards the trap, get stuck and eventually die.
How to Set up Allure Moth Traps
Setting up the trap is easy. First;
- Grap the top and bottom tabs.
- Pull the trap opened.
- Fold the perforated lines on the bottom of the trap in word creating housing.
- After peeling the seal off, it included the pheromone package.
- Stick the packet to the top of the trap.
- Be careful not to touch the circular pheromone membrane.
- Finally, hang the trap in your trap with a string or paper clip.
How to Prevent Indian Meal Moth
You can start preventing Indian meal moth by:
- purchasing one-time meals.
- Avoid overstocking your pantry shelves once you’ve spotted this pest.
- The longer your foods stay on your pantry shelves, the more likely a potential infestation can break out.
- Store food in plastic containers, the air-tight seals and plastic containers ensure that bugs won’t crawl inside.
- If an investigation does occur in the future, sealed containers will allow you to isolate a future breakout.
- You can set up Allure moth traps every 3 months to use as a monitor system for your home.
- Set traps where you store food and keep an eye out for any moths. This will let you know if you have pests early and you’ll save plenty of time and energy.
Takeaway
Indian meal moths are destructive pantry pests that cost money and food damage, but you can control them yourself with these professional products and tips.
This product is a guarantee that will help you get control of your Indian meal moth problem. Do well to share this article with friends and family facing this pest infestation.
What are your secrets to keeping your property safe from Indian meal moths? let me know down the comments.
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