Pest Control Questions Answered

QUESTION:

I have indian meal moths flying around.  I spot the majority of them in the living room.  I've also seen the little worms crawling up the wall in the fall.  CaN i CONclude that the food source is in the carpet from the kids leaving food around and it getting stomped on??

ANSWER: Dave---

I answered your questions the other day and was ready to send an answer when someone distracted me in my office, and I inadvertently erased my response.  I am sorry to have delayed your inquiry.

On my roster of past answers, I have written much about Indian Meal Moth(IMM).  

Don't be too sure that the moths are related to the food that falls to the rug by your youngsters.  There must be a reliable and constant food supply or other attractive substance that is drawing moths to sites within the home.  For instance, long shelved items may be developing webbing over their packaged contents.  You may have items left over from Halloween(nuts, chocolates gumballs, candy, etc), spices, cereals, flour, sugar, cookies, even bonemeal, and the binding in books can be a location for reproduction.  If you have pet birds, or just keep bird seed for wild birds, you could have transported IMM to the home.  These moths could have arrived on dried flower arrangements too.

When the larvae mature to the point that they move away from the feeding spots, they can be seen walking up walls.  They like to settle at the junction of wall/ceiling, top interior corners of cabinets, etc.  There they will spin a cocoon and go through pupation, after which they will emerge and start the process all over again.

You say that this condition has been present since Fall.  By now, you are experiencing the exponential growth of these nasty prolific pests.

Examine all food boxes.  Throw out the contaminated items, or when in doubt, place items in the refrigerator or even the freezer.  Purchase containers with tight fitting lids in which to sore your staples.  If these show larvae in time, you will know that the food stuffs were already contaminated.

Using a pyrethrum aerosol directly in cabinets that show contamination is allowable.  The pyrethrins leave no residual on surfaces that will endanger consumption of items stored.  I would be important to keep packaging closed while treating these locations.

The purchase of pheromone traps to catch moths will be useful only after you have initiated the kill program.

You are welcome to re-contact me when you have completed your clean-up program, and I can guide you further.

Best wishes Dave,

George Manning
Consulting Entomologist
www.pestproblemssolved.com
American Pest Solutions