Discussion: moths

I think I read that when you bring new stuff in you should stick it in the freezer for 3 days to kill them. I was never that diligent, but we did get rid of them.

Is it possible that the places you bought them from have the problem? If the jars are airtight (as presumably they are) that's most likely. e.g. are they bulk goods from Whole Foods?

I thought a bit more about it and I think the things that are "newly infested" are actually the things that we kept because they weren't open or showing obvious signs of infestation in the last major throw out. Sooooo....when we decanted them into the containers, if there were eggs on the outside of the packages, we probably decanted them with them. Our problem was really bad before, because we'd never heard of flour moths and didn't figure out the problem until way, way too late, so there were probably eggs and things everywhere.

2 months is apparently the time you'll start to notice them again, so that fits. This time we have thrown out everything with obvious signs, and have moved the rest out of the cupboard and wiped down the outside of the containers. Washed all the tins, vacuumed and sprayed all the crevices, and I'm hoping, really hoping that this will do the trick.

I don't want to believe that every dry good I buy from Trader Joes is already infested! Eurgh...

As for the freezer, it seems that 8 days of freezing is recommended, but may still only force them to be dormant, and not kill them completely. Absolutely insane!

Do you have access to liquid nitrogen? :)

Use gamma rays.

I have the former, and not the latter! Although there is an old UV stick back in the old lab that might also work!

We use Safers brand traps for fluor moths which work great. They are much like the blue hats - attracting the moths and getting them stuck on adhesive patches. They come two per box, about $7 per box. Should be available at hardware or grocery stores. With a heavy infestation like you seem to have, you'll want at least one per cupboard until they have been thinned out. Change them once the stick part is covered.

I like the idea of jerry-rigging a UV stick better. Much more dangerous. or the liquid nitrogen. Critter destruction meets molecular gastronomy.

Sure - or get a flame thrower and cleanse the kitchen quite effectively.

I hear there's a nice apartment going for rent in Peekskill.

Once found evidence that they were thriving on the crumbs in the bottom of my toaster, and on a dog biscuit that got kicked under the fridge.

Never have had much luck eradicating, so now I just eat them along with the grain.

Is it bad to eat moths? or moth eggs or moth larvae? Gross, sure, but will it be bad for you?

No, don't think its bad. Just puts me off my food which is not easy.

Gamma Rays !!!
Are you insane ??
you'll end up with moths that you wouldn't like to get angry - I mean huge green moths the size of eagles, with torn trousers and bulging veins.

Kitch: I am afraid you are incorrect. But maybe, we just haven't irradiated enough creatures, and eventually one of them will turn into the Incredible Moth or the Incredible Paramecium or something.

Kitch, I'm already concerned about the cockroaches behind the fume hood in our lab - long term exposure to ethidium bromide?! What have we done?!