The Great Pantry Moth War.

[the_great_she_elephant]

For the last few weeks we've been having a problem with pantry moths, so a couple of nights ago. We had a blitz on the pantry to try to get rid of them.

OMG what a shock!  I know I'm not the world's most organised housewife, and  with only the two of us living here now, half used packets of rice, cornflour etc tend to get forgotten and migrate to the hidden corners of the pantry, but, those little suckers were absolutely everywhere! They'd somehow squeezed themselves into a takeaway food container full of sultanas, they'd munched their way through several sachets of porridge oats and even managed to get into an unopened packet of tea bags - chewed through the plastic wrap, through the cardboard, and even through the paper on the teabags themselves! 

It took us hours to sort through everything  but I think we finally emerged from the fray victorious.We chucked out anything that looked even slightly suss and I went out and bought a heap of sealable plastic containers with clip on lids. Mr Elephant got busy with the label maker number 4 son gave him for  Christmas present and the pantry has never looked so neat and organised.

I've put a moth trap on every shelf and so far no corpses, so fingers crossed.

[polksaladallie]

Keep the flour (and some other things which are prone to weevils) in the fridge, and you will have no more trouble.

[polksaladallie]

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-get-rid-of-pantry-moths-109729

[vampire-teddy]

freezing flour etc before putting it in the cupboard also helps as it kills any eggs

[dskracing]

I'm tiered..... I read PANTY moth.

ahhh the life of a FIFO wife, can't sleep when he's not here....don't get any rest when he is! 

Stop laughing at me Elly night night!

I read panty moth too, Muggs....had to come in and see who had moths in their panties!

[channys_mum]

What do pantry moths look like?  How do they act?  We've got some creatures that live behind the sink and come out at night.  They're grey in colour and move quickly and don't like the light ... and they get into the cupboards, but are more likely to be on the benchtops. 

Cockroaches no doubt. They like damp warm areas for nesting

In the electric mat for a cordless kettle is a favourite place  behind sinks etc

You need a centurian tank and a bren gun to get rid of them:_| 

[katydidthat]

Thanks, CM.  They don't LOOK like cockroaches ... but everything that you said sounds right.

The THINGS ate lemons which threw me, as lemon juice is supposed to repel them.  

Now, where do I get the tank and the bren gun?  😉

[catsnknots]

Yes Katy I too think you have cockroaches... 

I have some house spiders that live in my pantry.. I leave them there as I don't then get the moths... BUT.. I have gotten these tiny little thrip looking things. they were in everything.. even in sealed glass jars and plastic containers.. 

I threw out half my pantry... 

[**meep**]

What type of cockroaches are grey?

[katydidthat]

Thanks, Cats (well kinda 😉 ... it's not great or should I say greyt news.  

Meep, if you're not squeamish, have a look here:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=image+cockroaches&qpvt=image+cockroaches&FORM=IQFRML

Some of them look dark without the brown bits that I usually identify cockroaches by.  Most of them are very small (the ones in my kitchen) and they're mainly active at night and my eyes are getting old ... and they move fast.  

Oh, and I worked out they couldn't be pantry moths because they don't fly.  But, they look more like them.  

Oh, the joys of spending part of a day identifying these horrid little insects :^O

[cherry*135]

You don't usually see many cockroaches inside in the winter though. (At least not here in South Coast NSW).