How to remove moths from kitchen cabinets. Effective removal of food moths in the kitchen. Prevention from food poisoning

Every housewife takes care of preserving food in her kitchen. But as soon as you give in, a dangerous enemy will appear in your kitchen cabinets - food moths. This harmful insect settles in cereals, flour, dried fruits, bread, making the products unfit for consumption and multiplying rapidly. If you notice food moths within your apartment, immediately start fighting it, and we will help you with this.

Food moth: who is it and how is it different from the usual one?

The food moth looks like a small moth up to 10 mm in size. Its color is inconspicuous, usually gray with splashes or brown with stripes. The pollen on the wings has a pearlescent sheen, but you can only see it on your palms after you swat the insect.

This is what a food moth looks like

The moth moves through the air, and its flight path is so chaotic that it is very difficult to catch it. Surely you have encountered this: a long run around the kitchen and other rooms, and loud “applause” for this flying scourge.

Yes, it is almost impossible to destroy a moth with your hands - it is too fast and resourceful. The moth's activity time is night, when the insect can move freely and unhindered around the room. As soon as you notice her, she tries to fly away or hide in an inaccessible place. Food moths do not live long, from several days to 3 weeks. But for this short period

an adult will produce so many offspring that the food in your kitchen will be in serious danger.

And this is a clothes moth. Don't get confused!

• If you find moths in the kitchen, immediately check the following products:
• pasta;
• buckwheat;
• nuts;
• peas;
• sugar;
• semolina;
• oatmeal;
• coffee;
• cocoa;
• beans;
• cookie;
• pet food;

dried fruits. It is here that the moth settles first, and from here it enters ready meals

. The greatest harm is caused not by the adult, but by the larvae. During the growth period, they eat dry foods, leaving cobwebs, feces, skins that appear after rebirth, and their dead “brothers”. All these consequences of life activity not only look unpleasant, but also, to a certain extent, poison the food.

Reasons for appearance

In addition, nothing prevents moths from entering your territory on their own, through a window, door or ventilation openings. Warm, dry weather is especially conducive to such travel.

In a new place, the moth looks for products that are attractive to itself and penetrates them, even gnawing through cellophane bags if necessary.

Cardboard packaging is not at all a serious obstacle for our heroine. If you find thin cobwebs and light yellow worms in your food, this is the first sign of infection.

Please note: only larvae that hatch from eggs are responsible for spoiling and eating your food. Adult moths drink only water and sit on food only for the purpose of laying eggs.

Let's start destruction

If you do find moths appearing in the kitchen, first try applying temperature to it.

Such methods are only suitable if no more than 20% of your products are contaminated. And it is not a fact that eggs or moth larvae will not remain in cereals processed and sifted in this way. Therefore, it is better, nevertheless, to throw away the affected products and start cleaning the premises from insects and their offspring before going to the store for new supplies of cereals.

Household moth control products

The first thing to do is to do some general cleaning; moths are afraid of light and soap.

Open all kitchen cabinets and wipe down thoroughly soap solution all surfaces. Do this especially carefully in corners and crevices where insect cocoons may be stored. Wash with laundry soap all utensils in which contaminated products were stored.

Wipe all surfaces with vinegar kitchen cabinets. Leave the kitchen to ventilate for a couple of hours.

Place special pheromone traps around the kitchen in the form of oblong pyramids open on both sides. At the bottom of such a trap there is a bait with a pheromone that attracts adult male moths. Moths adhere tightly to the surface and pose no danger. The population gradually declines until it dies completely.

Pheromone glue trap for food moth

Note! Such traps have many advantages, but there is also a significant drawback: pheromones can lure moths from all over the area. To prevent this from happening, tightly close the windows and doors in the room where the trap is used.

Hang it in the rooms adhesive tapes against insects, which are used in the fight against flies. This method will help you significantly reduce the number of adult moths. They work on the same principle sticky traps, which are attached to flat surfaces. They can be placed on the walls and doors of cabinets where you notice the most moths.

There are many chemicals available to control food moths. They are divided into:

• insecticides - liquidation agents containing substances that poison insects;
• repellents are plant-based products that repel insects.

The most popular chemical products for this purpose are Raptor against moths, Armol and Combat aerosol.

1. "Raptor" moth protection is used against adult moths and larvae. It can be sprayed onto any surface, including kitchen furniture. Effective action lasts up to 12 months.
2. The Armol aerosol has an immediate effect against butterflies and a prolonged effect against larvae. Effective action - up to 6 months.
3. Aerosol Combat destroys moths at any stage of development - from eggs to adults. Easily penetrates into any cracks and joints, which increases the range of action of the product. In addition, this aerosol is safe for animals and people.

These products should be used away from food products, that is, before processing, take them out of the kitchen and return them after 1-2 days. In addition, all dry bulk products long-term storage

must be in tightly closed jars or containers. Otherwise, after contact with chemicals, the products become hazardous to health and unsuitable for food.

In addition to the above products, there are also Dezmol and Antimol tablets, Fitocid, Gela, Arsenal, Zitol cassettes, and Prayer plates. You can place these products on or under cabinets, and food moths will avoid your kitchen.

Folk remedies

1. If for some reason you do not trust modern achievements of the chemical industry, take the advice of our grandmothers. Food moths do not tolerate strong odors, and they can become your ally in the fight against insect pests. The smell of lavender. It cannot be tolerated by any moth, which is why lavender has long been used as a in kind , and in the manufacture of chemicals. You can put a few drops of lavender oil on cotton swabs and place them in the corners of the cabinets, or you can put small bouquets fresh flowers

   lavender.

2. Store lavender in your kitchen cabinets Citrus. Lemon and orange peels or essential oils

   these fruits in the corners of kitchen cabinets will easily drive away the adults.

3. Place a few cloves of garlic in containers where you store cereals. A pungent odor will repel moths from food. Garlic will not affect the taste and smell of cereal.

   Place the garlic cloves in the food container

4. Place around the perimeter of the kitchen cabinet bay leaves. They can also be added to containers with foods that attract moths.

   Place bay leaves on kitchen cabinet shelves

5. The spicy smells of plants such as basil, fir, geranium, cloves, tansy, rosemary, and wild rosemary also perfectly repel food moths. Apply to cotton swabs aroma oils with these odors and place them where you store foods that are attractive to moths.

   Moths cannot tolerate spicy, bright odors, so flower essential oils will help you

   Leaves walnut

6. Proven remedy - natural camphor and essential camphor oil. This smell will prevent moths from approaching food cabinets.
7. Place tobacco leaves in drawers and cabinets: moths find the smell of tobacco unpleasant. If there is a smoker in your family, he bad habit can be turned into a benefit. After cleaning the kitchen cabinets, you need to thoroughly “smoke” them from the inside with cigarette smoke. But fresh leaves tobacco is still much more effective.

   Dry tobacco leaves

Prevention

As you know, it is better to prevent a problem than to solve it later. So stick to certain rules so as not to one day discover unpleasant flying neighbors in the kitchen.

This way you can prevent moths from appearing in your apartment, or prevent their reproduction at the very initial stage.

Video “Ways to combat food moths”

We hope our tips will help you not only get rid of food moths in your home, but also prevent them from appearing. Remember that prevention is the most important measure to prevent any troubles. Share with us in the comments your methods of getting rid of food moths. Good luck and comfort to your home!

Moths in the kitchen can ruin all grocery supplies: they penetrate cereals, flour, seasonings, and food contaminated with larvae becomes unfit for consumption. You should get rid of the pest before it multiplies.

Food moth - what is it, causes

Food moth is not a specific type of insect, but a general name for several: flour moth, granary moth and moth. Externally, they appear as small butterflies of gray, light or brown color.

Where do moths come from: pests can enter the kitchen along with food packaging contaminated with insect eggs. The latter are very small and almost impossible to notice. Within a short time, the larvae hatch from them, and then adults emerge. It is difficult to remove food moths, since the butterfly short life lays many eggs, which are not easy to find. It is necessary to destroy not only adult insects, but also their eggs, larvae and pupae.

We are looking for the source of infection, signs of infection

Before getting rid of food moths in the kitchen, you need to carefully inspect all supplies. Insect eggs are very small, round, white. You will have to sort through all the groceries, pour the cereals into another container, and throw away the one that is contaminated. If the products are covered with cobwebs, then you also need to get rid of them.

Important! Everything should be inspected, even sealed packages and boxes: insects can get inside, damaging foil, polyethylene, cellophane, and cardboard.

Pests not only nest in food, they can hide in any secluded corners of the kitchen: cracks between furniture and the wall, on the back walls of furniture, in cabinets, under baseboards, in a chandelier.

How to get rid

Moths that appear in the kitchen are removed using A complex approach. It is not enough to destroy only adult individuals - most likely, they have already laid a lot of eggs, and new pests will soon hatch from them. The pest control process consists of inspecting foods and discarding those that contain larvae or eggs, thoroughly cleaning the entire kitchen, and eliminating moths.

To remove moths from the kitchen, you need to remember that:

1. The pest tolerates relatively low temperatures. If you put a bag of cereal infested with larvae in refrigerator, insects will hibernate, but will quickly return to life after heating to room temperature.
2. Temperatures from +60 to –10-15 are destructive for butterflies and their eggs. Moreover, freezing should last at least several days, and heating should last at least half an hour.
3. Not all cleaning products are afraid of insects - they can even live in a box of washing powder. Laundry soap and vinegar solution have a detrimental effect on the pest. The use of other compositions does not completely guarantee the destruction of moths.

The kitchen should be sanitized only after contaminated food has been disposed of in the trash. If you leave at least 1 bag of cereal containing butterfly eggs, after short term the insects will multiply quickly again.

In addition to the above products, there are also Dezmol and Antimol tablets, Fitocid, Gela, Arsenal, Zitol cassettes, and Prayer plates. You can place these products on or under cabinets, and food moths will avoid your kitchen.

To combat moths, various available means are used. Insects do not tolerate certain strong odors well, and this feature is used to remove the pest.

Vinegar

All cabinets in which groceries are stored are wiped with a vinegar solution and not washed off. The pungent smell will repel insects.

Garlic

Another proven remedy is garlic. Kitchen moths also cannot stand its smell. The cloves can be laid out on shelves and even placed in containers with cereal. Contact with vegetables will not harm the products themselves.

Bay leaf

This type of seasoning is repulsive to adults. The leaves are laid out in cabinets and in jars with cereals, flour and other products of interest to the pest.

Scented bag

You can make sachets by filling fabric bags with fragrant compounds. To combat food moths, use dried wormwood, tansy, basil or cloves as a filler.

Lavender

Some essential oils - lavender, geranium, rosemary and others - are dripped onto cotton pad, and then laid out on the shelves of kitchen cabinets. These odors are harmless to humans and products, and moths cannot tolerate them.

Burnt honey

Place a little on the frying pan natural honey, put it on the fire and wait until it turns brown. They open all the windows, carry dishes throughout the apartment, carefully walking around the perimeter of each room to spread the smell.

Other options

Less commonly used:

1. Walnut leaves. If you suddenly have fresh leaves of this tree at hand, you can arrange them in the same way as laurel leaves.
2. Camphor oil. Soak a cotton pad in it and place it next to containers with cereal.
3. Cigarettes. Nicotine also repels harmful insects, and cigarettes can be placed in cabinets.

Although the listed remedies are effective, they are not advisable to use: food may become saturated with the smell of camphor or nicotine. It is better to use regular garlic or bay - they are harmless, easily accessible, and all these products bring the same result.

Special means

If you need to quickly get rid of the pest, you can use special food moth repellents. They are produced in different forms: powders, aerosols and traps.

The most effective drugs:

1. "Moskitol". Effective against eggs, larvae, pupae and adult insects. The spray is sprayed on kitchen surfaces, avoiding contact with food and protecting the respiratory system with a respirator. Then open the window and ventilate for at least 30 minutes.
2. "Raptor". Glue trap is effective only against adult insects. Installed inside kitchen cabinet, are periodically replaced with a new one.
3. Bros. An aerosol that destroys pests in a few seconds. The room is treated using a respirator, after which the kitchen is thoroughly ventilated, the face and hands are washed, and all surfaces on which the insecticide was sprayed are wiped.
4. Pitethrum. Natural non-toxic powder from which it is prepared water solution and spray on kitchen furniture. Afterwards the room is ventilated.

Sprays are the most effective - they destroy not only adults, but also eggs and larvae. Traps are less toxic and can be safely left in a cupboard next to food, but it makes sense to use them only after thoroughly cleaning the entire room and washing the containers.

Handling contaminated products

It is recommended to immediately throw away food in which larvae were found. It is undesirable to eat it even after heat treatment. If after the inspection there are cereals left in which no eggs or larvae were visible, they need to be processed in order to destroy possible pests that remained unnoticed.

How to deal with food moth larvae in products:

1. Ignite. Pour the cereal, herbs or other product onto a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 60°C. Keep for at least 40 minutes.
2. Freeze. The flour needs to be sifted, the grain sorted, poured into a clean container and placed in the freezer for several days.

Important! Use chemicals should not be used for cleaning products. They may contain toxins that can cause poisoning.

Fighting larvae

Since it is impossible to completely get rid of moths in the kitchen without destroying the eggs and larvae, you should be especially careful in combating the latter. You need to immediately throw away contaminated food and then vacate the room as much as possible. All surfaces, especially hard-to-reach areas, should be thoroughly vacuumed to remove eggs and larvae.

The next thing to do if you have moths is to prepare a soap or vinegar solution. Wet a rag in the liquid and wipe all surfaces: internal, external and back walls furniture, plinth, chandelier. You need to act methodically, without skipping a single section.

After this, wash all containers for storing bulk products: wipe with a sponge soaped with laundry soap and rinse thoroughly. Containers that contained larvae or cobwebs should be placed in the microwave and the device should be turned on. maximum power for a few minutes.

Prevention and food protection

So that you don't have to deal with it again nasty insects, you need to adhere to several rules:

1. Purchase products only from trusted manufacturers. Carefully inspect each package of cereals and flour. If it is not sealed, choose another one. For transparent packages, examine the contents - any lumps or foreign inclusions should be a reason to refuse the purchase.
2. Groceries brought from the store can first be placed in the freezer for a couple of hours, and then poured into a tin or glass jar with a sealed lid. Store cereals and flour in paper or plastic bags It’s not worth it - moths can easily gnaw through these materials.
3. Keep the kitchen clean, periodically sort through food, throwing away those that have expired.

Food moths multiply quickly and spoil food, so they should be dealt with immediately after detection. It’s not just food that needs to be processed, it’s everything kitchen surfaces to destroy the larvae and eggs of the pest.

If in the kitchen you open the door of the cabinet where cereals and other groceries are stored, and a small gray moth flutters out towards you, it means that you have food moth. It’s not much of a pleasure, but if you have the necessary knowledge, you can easily get rid of this household pest.

Name "food moth" unites several species of butterflies of the moth family, whose caterpillars feed on cereals, nuts, dried fruits and other groceries.

Adults different types food moth is enough differ considerably:

• wings flour moth have a characteristic pattern in bright brown tones, lighter at the base and darker towards the corners;
• color mill moth less flashy, gray-brown in color, the upper wings are darker, the lower wings are lighter;
• wings southern barn moth decorated beautiful design, color bright, orange;
• cocoa moth has an inconspicuous faded yellow wing color.

But, despite all the differences, any food moth looks quite inconspicuous, since they all have relatively small sizes- 8-10 mm. And sitting on the surface with folded wings, they become almost invisible. It is not surprising that the average person will not be able to notice the difference between different representatives of this pest.

Food moth. Photo

Developmental stages of food moths

In the process of becoming an adult, the food moth goes through four stages:

• eggs;
• larvae;
• pupae;
• butterflies.

Butterflies

Adults individuals no harm done food products, since they do not have a mouthparts, and they live no more than a week. Soon after emergence, they mate.

Females attract males with pheromones, which are secreted from special glands. The mating process usually takes place in habitats and eggs are laid there. Even in those rare cases when fertilization occurs far from food base, the female necessarily returns to her food environment.

food moth has a fairly short breeding cycle. With sufficient humidity and suitable temperature, it does not exceed two months. The optimal humidity for insect development is 50% humidity and temperature 25 degrees. When the temperature drops, the development of larvae slows down and may be delayed for several months.

Food moths can tolerate short-term heat and cold. However, for reproduction it chooses warm, humid and, most importantly, food-rich places.

Fertilized females lead a sedentary lifestyle. The moths flying around the kitchen are predominantly males.

Eggs

Through 5-6 hours After mating, females lay eggs from 50 to 100 tiny eggs. It is impossible to notice them with the naked eye. The eggs do not exceed 0.5 mm in length. They are usually white in color and oval in shape. To prevent the offspring from suffering from overcrowding and lack of nutrition, the female lays several clutches in different places.

Through 6-7 days emerge from eggs worm-like larvae, no more than 1 mm in size.

Caterpillars

Harm brings our food supplies precisely insect larvae. In order to develop into an adult, it needs to actively feed. During the process of gaining weight, the larvae move little, crawling from place to place only in search of new food.

At this stage of the breeding cycle, insects of different species no different. By appearance larvae it is impossible to determine what type of moth it belongs to. These are small white caterpillars with a yellowish or pinkish tint, with a brown head.

Moth larvae They look like small worms, but this is only a superficial resemblance. True worms have no limbs, but moth caterpillars has six pairs tiny paws. Oral apparatus larvae equipped powerful jaws, thanks to which the larvae can gnaw through the dense shell of the cereals.

Caterpillar goes through several stages molting, before turning into a chrysalis. In about a week and a half, the larvae grow to 1.5 cm in length and gain enough to further development weight.

Pupae

Developed caterpillars weave cocoons, in which they will pupate. Typically this is cases made of threads web-like excrement, stuck together excrement or food debris. For pupation, larvae choose dark and hard to reach places, only some types of caterpillars come out of the closets into the light.

The outer covers of the larvae become more dark and hard. Under the protection of this shell, the insect spends 1-2 weeks, during this time colossal changes occur in her body, turning a larva into a butterfly. The adult individual emerging from the pupa is completely ready to fulfill its duty to nature - to continue its race.

Harm and benefit

Despite its small size, food moth can bring enough big damage, especially if the population of these insects is large enough. As noted earlier, the main damage is caused by the larvae of food moths.

Here sample list products, which a domestic pest may choose to feed its offspring:

• flour;
• cereal;
• buckwheat;
• seeds;
• dried fruits;
• pasta;
• beans;
• candies.

The presence of larvae can be detected by the following characteristic signs::

• grains glued together by cobwebs;
• lumps in small grains or flour;
• eaten away tunnels filled with larval excrement;
• skins of eaten grains.

Cereals spoiled by pests, it is impossible to eat or sell, since it is absolutely impossible to clean it of larvae and their excrement. Flour can be sifted, but in food processing plants this is very problematic and costly.

As strange as it sounds, food moth can also be beneficial:

1. Caterpillars wax moth They feed on honey and wax, which undoubtedly harm beekeeping. However, ethnoscience attributes to the larvae of this insect therapeutic effect. This is justified by the presence in their digestive tract of the enzyme cerrase, which successfully breaks down not only honey and wax, but also the phospholipid membranes of Koch’s bacillus, the main causative agent of tuberculosis. Once in the body of these insects, bee products, combining with the enzyme, form a unique substance that destroys pathogenic bacteria. Over time, the tincture of wax moth larvae began to be considered almost a panacea. It is recommended to be used for the treatment of diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular and urinary - reproductive systems, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. intestinal tract, allergies and even cancer. However official medicine given medicine do not recognize. Certified doctors do not prescribe tincture of wax moth larvae to anyone.
2. Moth caterpillars - excellent bait for winter fishing.
3. Larvae can be used as live food for those kept in terrariums, exotic frogs.

Important. In nature, moths are an essential participant in many biocenoses. Therefore, it should be destroyed only if it poses a danger to our property, supplies and the sanitary condition of the home.

How to get rid of food moths in the kitchen

Buying contaminated cereals– a fairly common occurrence. This occurs due to improper storage of groceries in warehouses and stores.

You need to start fighting the pest in your apartment without delay, immediately after the moth is discovered. This process is better carry out step by step.

Stage 1. Swipe inspection all food supplies. Carefully inspect all bags, jars and containers where foods attractive to food moths are stored. If you find a package in which you notice moths, larvae, threads similar to cobwebs, the most The best decision- throw it away.

Stage 2. Remove all food items from the cabinet and thoroughly treat the shelves and walls with an insecticidal agent.

Stage 3. Adults are also subject to elimination. It can be done mechanically, using bait - traps or sticky tape.

Prevention

An effective remedy preventing pests from entering an apartment is thorough check of purchased food products. The amount of groceries also needs to be controlled. It is advisable to store only a week's supply of food. Even these simple measures This will already be enough to protect your home from harmful butterflies and caterpillars.

Like food, clothes moth- It is the most widespread apartment pest.

Clothes moth by size 2-3 less food mm. Unlike its food relative, it has wings without pattern, yellow-brown in color.

If you look closely at this insect, you will see that it is all sprinkled with pearl pollen. Clothes moth is afraid daylight and hides in wardrobes and dark nooks.

Larvae both types similar as twins. They differ in gastronomic preferences. Caterpillars wardrobe moths spoil cotton and woolen clothes, carpets and carpet products, furs, upholstery upholstered furniture and even felt pads in musical instruments.

In clothes, they are especially attracted to sweaty, stained places, folds, gathers, folds under the collar, cuffs. Moreover, being at this stage of development, clothes moths always spin a thin silky web as it feeds. Subsequently, she uses it for weaving cocoon.

Larval excrement clothes moth can be multi-colored, since they are dyed with dyes from the fibers of the fabric, which are absorbed by insects. So if you notice colored grains of sand in the places where you store your clothes, you won’t be able to wear something similar in color.

Both types and clothing and food usually fly near the site of infection. They are characterized by a peculiar flight pattern - fluttering and a spiral trajectory of movement.

Useful video

How to get rid of food moths in the video below:

Many people date uninvited guest in the kitchen - moth. Getting rid of it is quite difficult, especially if you have no experience in this matter. The main difficulty is that the insect larvae are located in dry bulk products, and the adult flies wherever it wants. Where do moths come from and how to get rid of them 100%?

Where do moths come from in the kitchen and how to get rid of them?

The principle of combating kitchen moths should combine the following actions:

• complete liquidation of affected stocks;
• destruction of flying moths;
• processing of kitchen furniture.

One can immediately conclude that in order to eliminate harmful insect it will be necessary to develop a whole range of measures. It is worth noting that it is simply impossible to withdraw it with one action.

Check the products in the store; they should not contain even a hint of moth larvae or cobwebs. Check the expiration date and general form products.

Very often, when housewives see moths in the kitchen, they begin to wonder whether where did she come from. There is no need to guess - moths always enter the house with affected products from the store. These are mainly cereals, sugar, and less often pasta. Kitchen moths cannot simply fly in from the street; they multiply and spread through larvae. More often, products that have expired and have not been treated for pests are susceptible to damage.

The basis for the fight against moths is constant preventive measures And competent organization storage of products, rather than one-time destruction.

What does a food moth look like from a photo?

The food moth looks like a small butterfly, about 1 cm in size. The color is inconspicuous so that it can be easily hidden in products, from gray to brown with various inclusions.

What does food moth look like - in the photo

How long does a food kitchen moth live? Its lifespan is on average about three to four weeks, during which time it manages to lay great amount larvae.

Organization of food storage

As already noted, moths enter the house with spoiled food in the form of larvae, and only then turn into insects that fly. To combat it, you should follow following rules and recommendations.

• Be sure to look through all food supplies in the cabinets. If any signs of cobwebs, larvae or adult insects are found, the entire stock should be destroyed. You should not buy a huge amount of food in reserve. The maggots may not appear during storage, but if an affected batch is received, the entire stock may be damaged and will have to be thrown out.
• It is better to purchase quality, proven products brands. It's better to pay a little more than just throw everything away.
• When purchasing, you should carefully consider the packaging of the product. The slightest hint of cobwebs or lumps should be a signal that you should not purchase such products.
• After destroying contaminated food, it is imperative to clean the kitchen. Very often, moths begin to multiply further in food spilled on the floor or table.
• When searching for moth breeding sites, you should check every package, especially in the pantry. It is in such forgotten and nondescript packages that the main breeding ground for moths may be located.

It is worth noting that the name “kitchen moth” is a collective name for several species of butterflies belonging to the moth family. At home, the granary or flour moth is mainly found. Distinctive feature the first individual is the presence of a light stripe on the brown wings.

Treating kitchen furniture against food moths

Such an event is simply necessary to destroy the larvae. After all, before the pupation process, they leave the food and spread throughout the entire territory. They can be found on walls, furniture doors and so on. For treatment, you can use various aerosols and means to kill ants and cockroaches. Today you can buy and special means specifically against food moths and their larvae. Before treating furniture with chemicals and some time after, carry out wet cleaning.

After poisoning once, you should not hope that the insect will disappear. The emergence of larvae from food occurs at different times, and they can reappear in the kitchen within a couple of days. There are drugs that have a prolonged effect. They last much longer, but can be used exclusively for furniture, avoiding contact with products.

In the photo - food moth larvae

The use of chemicals alone will not have an effect unless a targeted fight is organized and the damaged products are not disposed of.

Destruction of food moth butterflies

There are other situations when all measures to destroy the larvae have been taken, the food is thrown away, and the moth is still flying. This should not be ignored; butterflies should also be destroyed, as they can lay larvae. Removing adult insects is easy. Chemicals may not be used. A simple fly swatter or even a house slipper will be enough.

The photo shows food moths in the kitchen. Get rid of moths so they don't spread again

To eliminate moths in warehouses and public catering establishments, special professional aerosols are used. Destruction is carried out on a day off, followed by spring cleaning.

Effective remedies for food moths in the kitchen

Help to get rid of food moths and their larvae modern means, which must be used strictly according to the instructions and in conjunction with the cleaning and destruction of contaminated products. On this moment There are such remedies for moths in the kitchen: sticky traps, sections, sprays. Do they all help? Let's consider the effectiveness of these drugs in order.

Food moth traps in the kitchen

The moth trap is sticky sheet with a scent that attracts moths. A butterfly that lands on this surface sticks tightly and dies. These traps are glued to the inside walls of kitchen cabinets.

The effect of such a product is designed to last 4-6 weeks, after which there will either be no space left on the trap, or it will no longer emit an odor and lose its sticky properties. The average cost of such an insecticide is 150 rubles for two Velcro.

The first thought that comes to the housewife when she discovers moths in the kitchen is the lack of order in the house. It is too common for people to think that any insects in the home are caused, first of all, by dirt, and only then are other causes considered. In fact, for food moths it makes no difference where to live, in a barracks or in a villa, the main thing is that there is enough food. In this article we will look at the question of how to get rid of food moths in the kitchen.

Oddly enough, the most common way for food moths to enter a home is by bringing it with food purchased in a store.

Unsealed packaging of cereals, nuts, flour, dried fruits, etc. plus improper storage products in warehouses or right in the store - this is an excellent opportunity for moths to get inside the package, and then into the apartment. In fact, man with my own hands brings a problem into your home.

There is also a possibility that moths will come from neighbors with whom they already “live”, but this happens less frequently: moths fly well, but not over long distances. An insect can get from one apartment to another through ventilation holes or in a simple way- through open window or a door.

If on the ground floor of a residential apartment building there is grocery store, it can also become a source of moths getting into people’s homes.

Causes of infection

As has already become clear, absolutely no one is safe from food moths getting into their homes. Just one fertilized individual flying into an apartment is enough for a whole colony of pests to develop here after a while. And it won’t take much time to reproduce them if certain conditions are met:

• access to food and water (food is spoiled by larvae, but adults do not feed at all, they simply do not have a mouth);
• rarely ventilated room (moths cannot tolerate fresh air);
• tight and long closed cabinets, boxes with food (there, in the dark, in the secluded corners of the moth, it is very comfortable, since she does not like light either);
• absence of repellent aromas;
• open packages of dry products, where it multiplies and dies.

The pest will like such a comfortable home and will be happy to start and live in it.

Some types of moths eat the keratin found in the horns of African antelopes.

Damage caused

A flying adult does not pose much harm to humans; it does not bite or eat food. But she is capable of laying eggs in food products that include open access, and if this is not noticed in a timely manner, larvae will quickly appear there.

Food moth larvae contaminate the food in which they live with their excrement. Also everywhere you can find the corpses of these insects and the chitinous shell that is shed during rebirth.

Of course, this should not be allowed and food moths must be fought.

Struggle

Removing food moths is not an easy task. It is necessary to fight the entire colony at once, for which there are both popular and chemical methods. However, not all of them are good enough, since moths easily adapt and get used to even aggressive chemicals. Therefore, it makes sense to either change the remedy, or use several (at least 2) methods of struggle in parallel at once. But the first thing to do before starting the fight is to throw away all damaged products.

To save money, many try to save cereals and nuts by roasting them in the oven. Yes, in this way it is possible to carry out thermal disinfection of products, and thereby destroy the eggs or moth larvae that were there before processing. But not everyone will then be able to purely psychologically eat foods on which moth larvae had recently crawled.

Traditional methods

While there are not many moths, you can try to lime them at home using several traditional methods:

• Vinegar. It has been used against food moths since ancient times. First, the cabinets are emptied and washed with soapy water. After this, you need to arrange a draft in the kitchen for half an hour. Then everything is treated with vinegar internal corners, walls and shelves of cabinets, drawers and other kitchen furniture, and the windows are closed for an hour. After this time, the room must be ventilated.
• After getting rid of contaminated products, dead wood (or fresh plants) of lavender, mint, and wormwood are placed in the cabinets. Close the doors tightly. You can also use their essential oils.
• Garlic. Open cloves are placed on shelves inside kitchen furniture, but this method should not be abused: the moth, having gotten used to the smell of garlic, begins to eat it too.
• To prevent moths from entering the house through a window, it is useful to grow geraniums on the windowsills, the smell of which the pest does not like so much.

If cereals (or flour products, nuts, etc.) were in the cupboard in open form, and moth larvae have managed to breed there, the placement of repellent plants (for example, lavender) inside such a cabinet can play a cruel joke. The fact is that the larvae from the package with the product will still not be able to escape until they have turned into adult flying individuals. Therefore, they have no choice but to inevitably get used to the unpleasant, but not fatal, smell that envelops them. As a result, you can raise a generation of moths with your own hands that are no longer afraid of in this case lavender, etc.

Application of chemistry

To beat the enemy for sure, together with folk remedies You can use chemicals:

• Insecticides. Among aerosols, you can look for those specifically designed to combat moths. But you shouldn’t use them many times in a row: the moth quickly adapts to them and stops reacting. However, these products can give excellent results if everything is done correctly right away (by following the steps preceding spraying and following the instructions for using aerosols).
• Purchased traps (Raptor, Argus, Delta-250, etc.) work to attract adults with their smell. Having flown into the trap, the insect sticks to a special Velcro and dies. The whole benefit of a trap is that once an individual gets there, it will no longer give birth to offspring. This poses no threat to the larvae.

Prevention

To prevent kitchen moths from appearing at home, you just need to fulfill certain conditions that will destroy the slightest desire of the pest to settle in the apartment or eliminate this possibility altogether:

• inspecting purchases while still in the store for the integrity of the packaging and the presence of larvae;
• periodic “audit” of products at home;
• store bulk and dry products in plastic or glass tightly closed jars;
• at least occasionally place repellent herbs in the kitchen furniture (or use essential oils with these aromas);
• to prevent moths from entering through the ventilation, cover its grille with a dense mesh with small cells;
• frequently ventilate the room;
• wipe shelves and drawers with vinegar solution from time to time;
• do not stock up on food for a long time;
• place dry orange peels on the shelves (moths, any moth, are afraid of them).

Thus, control over products and careful attention to your choice in the store are, perhaps, the main conditions, the fulfillment of which will save your apartment from the invasion of food moths.