I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

OK, I am thoroughly disgusted!

We had seen these tiny flying bugs here and there the past couple of months, but really didn't think anything of it. UNTIL...I went to make rice the other day and there in the unopened package was one of these moths along with the larvae or whatever! I guess they chew their way in...yuck!

So, I don't even want to examine my food; I'm about to throw out anything not in a can from my pantry. Is this unreasonable?

Has anyone else had these? What did you do? What was the outcome?

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

I would throw away all grains/rice unsealed items (not in a bag) and clean everything (including cans and the pantry area) with a light solution of mixed water and bleach and then for at least a few months if you have boxes of pasta/rice you should place them in zip lock bags. Nothing that is open unsealed should be left out.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

my parents went through this. You need the "pantry pest" traps. They work well.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

I had these when I lived in an apartment. I threw everything out and cleaned the shelves with bleach. Thankfully the apartment kitchen didn't hold much, but it was still a few hundred dollars worth.

Start fresh and invest in vacuum sealed containers. Transfer anything that's not sealed in a bag into the containers.

The exterminator said that they are common and you can bring them in right from the supermarkets.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

Thanks girls!

I threw out almost all of my dry goods yesterday and will be cleaning the pantry thoroughly this weekend. My parents are currently going through the same thing--except worse--and those traps collect/kill a lot of moths, but only the males. So they're continuing to regenerate (I guess because the larvae was already "conceived" or whatever. ). They're actually having an exterminator come in, but it almost seems like more trouble than it's worth. You need to get rid of every SINGLE thing in your kitchen!!

AHHHHHH...this sucks! But, eh, at least it's a good chance to reorganize.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

This happened to us also so I threw everything out. When I rebought flour and those sorts of items I bought sealed plastic cannisters to store everything in.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

happened to us too. now I only buy pasta in the bag, and buy flour and sugar in the smaller, 1lb packages.

I keep 2 of those pantry pest traps in the pantry year-round, and the problem seems to be gone.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

this happened to my family when i was a kid living at home. horrible. it got out of hand and we had to clean out more than just the kitchen. you can invest in some plastic containers to put your dry goods in so you can get rid of boxes (sometimes the moths cling to them in the supermarket and you bring them home). i also refrigerate things unconventionally as a precaution (like flour, sugar, etc). i remember the moth tents being good (they look like little cardboard tents).

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

Ugh. I had the same issue.. and it wasn't just in our big pantry - they were in another cabinet as well.. evidently they fly and have a friggin' field day.

We threw EVERYTHING out - even the stuff that I had stored in plastic bags. Now we have everything in OXO airtight containers. It was the most VILE thing ever. So gross that Rob did all the cleaning because I was too disgusted to get involved.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

ugghh that stinks!! sorry, what a waste!

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

We had this - we threw out anything open, mostly rice, cereals, etc. - sorry to hear you had this probllem -its such a pain.

Re: I'm about to throw out hundreds of dollars of food...Pantry moths: have you dealt with this?

Just throw everything out! When you buy anything with grains from now on, freeze them for 3-4 days and then move them into plastic bags or tupperware. Freezing kills any eggs that are in the food from the store.