Pantry Moths: Prevention and How to Deal with Them

Have you ever had pantry moths? Consider yourself lucky if you haven't. Those little suckers will not only leave you with less food, but you'll also end up losing a day in cleaning up after them.

Speaking from experience, prevention is the key to maintaining your sanity and your food supply. Now that I'm a few months older and wiser, I've learned how incredibly easy it is to prevent them! These are especially an issue for anyone avoiding highly processed food. So, if you eat real food, you need to take note.

Preventing Pantry Moths

There are a few easy steps to take in preventing pantry moths:

Pantry moths: the offenders

• Every time you bring new dry food into the house, pop it in the freezer overnight. This will kill any moths regardless of life stage.
• Always freeze nuts or other bulk items overnight.
• The next day, or whenever you get around to it, pour the food into glass containers. I keep all of my dry food in either glass jars or canning jars.
• Clean your cabinets from top to bottom, in every nook and cranny as soon as possible. Pay close attention to the upper inside of the cabinet. Soap and water works just fine.

It seems rather simple, and it is!

Getting Rid of Pantry Moths

Already seeing these pests? Be prepared to spend some time cleaning up.

• Completely empty all cupboards in which food is stored.
• Clean every nook and cranny inside the cupboards. Again, play very close attention to the upper inside of the cabinet. Soap and water is your friend.
• Spray with vinegar. You want every part of the surface of the cabinet wet with vinegar.
• Let the vinegar dry, but close the cabinet while the vinegar is drying. While it may take longer to dry, this way you know a wayward moth won't fly back into the cabinet while your eyes are elsewhere.
• Go through all the food you removed from the cabinet. Throw away anything that may be suspicious. Personally, I thought I was doing a good thing putting things into glass jars when I brought them home. But, I made the mistake of not freezing one bag of nuts, and (of course) the jar wasn't sealed perfectly and I hadn't made the transition to placing everything in sealed jars.
• Note: Do not open any containers or bags that look suspicious inside your home! Take them outside and dump the contents out then. 
• Transfer any salvageable food into glass containers.
• Wash the outside of any containers and freeze overnight. 
• Restock your pantry.
• Add a few Pantry Moth Traps for good measure. The traps I am linking to are reasonably priced (less than $9 for a set of two) and are non-toxic. You don't want anything potentially toxic around your food.

As you can see, a little prevention goes a long way with these pests, but you can deal with them in a way the keeps your household free of toxic chemicals. I've had to deal with them once, and certainly don't plan to ever again!