I Got Worms! Lloyd Christmas
So, you opened your pantry to pull out the gingerbread mix over the holidays and you saw what you thought were worms in the cake mix. Thankfully, they probably were not worms but more likely Indian Meal Moth (IMM) larvae. There’s no need to freak out! Instead, read this blog post to learn everything you need to know about them and how pest control services can help.
What Are They?
Adult IMMs lay eggs in cracks and crevices of pantries, food packages, and even directly in the food source itself. According to Penn State, a mature female Indian meal moth lays 100 to 300 eggs! When the eggs hatch, larvae that can easily be mistaken for worms usually appear in close proximity to the food source. If allowed to live, these larvae will grow up into Indian meal moths. These moths are tiny and common, but there’s no need to have them as roommates with the right pest protection.
What Can I Do About Them?
What can a homeowner do if they encounter these pantry pests? The first step is identifying the source products and either throwing them away or placing them in the freezer to kill the larvae and other stages of the IMM lifecycle. But don’t just stop with the gingerbread mix or the first infested source you noticed. Be sure to check all other dry goods in the pantry starting with grains like pasta and rice, dried fruits, pet food, powdered/malted milk, and even chocolate! If you need help, a pest control company would be more than happy to aid you.
How Can I Prevent Them?
If you want to prevent these moth larvae from returning, you can try the following: keeping pantries, kitchens, and countertops free of spills; using first-in first-out product rotation; and giving a good old-fashioned spring cleaning to food storage areas in order to identify minor infestations before they become big infestations. Moths can chew through most standard pantry packages, so keeping dry goods in sealed glass, thick plastic, or metal containers can help reduce stored product pest infestations.
If you opened the pantry this holiday season and found unwanted pests like Indian meal moths, roaches, rats, mice, or other stored product pests, then give us a call. Angel Pest Control is one the top pest control companies and has been working to keep kitchens and pantries pest-free since 1987.
