Indian Meal Moths

indian meal moth

Indian Meal Moths are probably the most common pantry pest found in kitchens and pantries.

Adults of Indian meal moths have a wingspan of about 3/4" when at rest, the wings are folded together-held tightly together by the body .

The wing is a blend of two colors: front half of the wings-pale grey-pale tan, bottom half of the wings: a rust-bronze color

Larvae size: is 1/2", a dirty white-off white color, it can have green or pink hues.

They are nocturnal, flying a night...if disturbed during the flying, they will zig zag. They rest during the day in dark places.

They lay their eggs in food stuffs like: grains, grain products, dried food, dried fruit, powder milk, seeds, candy, chocolates, and specially dry pet foods.

Indian meal moths can take from 25-135 days for moths egg-egg development cycle to occur.

One moth can lay 100-400 eggs over 1-18 day period. Almost any thing in your pantry that is not in a "tin can" is suspect.

The larvae is what does the damage-feeding on these different food items, forming an extensive web type of substance over the food items that they infest.

Abundant webbing in infested materials is characteristic Of infestations by the Indian meal moth. Its larvae are often found far from infested foods because they usually crawl away from their foods to construct silken cocoons in which to pupate. The Clothes moth is a little different in that they have no distinctive markings, and the wing span is only 1/4th".

Recommended Treatmensts for Indian Meal Moths

Propest Pheronet Pantry Pest Trap:

A distinctive trap in that it not only is designed to capture the pantry moths, like the Indian Meal Moth,but also Cigarette Beetles.

Click on image to enlarge
Propest Pheronet Pantry/Beetle Pest Trap

Pre baited triangular trap with pheromones to attract :
Plodia, Ephestia, & Lasioderma: Indian Meal Moth, Almond, Raisin, Tobacco & Mediterranean Flour Moths, and Cigarette Beetles

Simply remove the release paper to expose the glue, fold into triangle shape and it's ready to use(Pre-baited with pheromones).This advanced technology is Pherogel .
Pherogel is an advanced gel matrix formulation which protects the pheromone(s).

May be hung or secured to any surface with the 3/4'' double stick tape on the back of the trap.

Trap Size: Trap Size: 4-3/4'' x 12" (Flat -unfolded)

Active Life: 4-6 weeks

Revenge Moth Pantry Pest Trap
*This powerful trap attracts and captures pantry pests (Indian meal moth, Mediterranean flour moth, almond moth and raisin moth). These moths are found in flour, rice, crackers, dog food, bird seed and cereals. The traps are odorless and not-toxic so they can be safely placed next to foodstuffs.

Each trap comes with a pheromone packet, and a sticky interior area to trap the adults.

For large pantry moth infestations, we suggest using a a residual crack and crevice aerosol such as Alpine PT Aerosols

Alpine PT Aerosol

Alpine PT is a reduced risk insecticide, a residual aerosol ,with a crack and crevice tip , sprayed in the cracks and crevices, to kill the adult beetles and moths.
You will need 2-4 treatments spaced about 3 weeks apart, due to the nature of their cycles.

Prevention and Sanitation:

Place exposed food in containers with tight-fitting lids .
Periodic cleaning of the shelves helps to prevent infestation of stored food products by pantry pests.
Broken packages should not be purchased, or should be exchanged for unbroken packages when discovered, for the chance of these being infested is greater than for perfectly sealed ones.
Do not mix old and new lots of foodstuffs. If the old material is infested, the pest will quickly invade the new.
If you are unsure about an item being infested, place it in a plastic bag where you will be able to catch anything that emerges. If you find the pantry pest accumulating in the bag, you know the foodstuff is contaminated and needs to be discarded. To insure any item is pest free, store it in these clear bags for at least a month. Sometimes it takes even longer for the adults to emerge.
Infestations are most likely to occur in packages that have been opened for the removal of a portion of the contents and then left unsealed for long periods.
Clean old containers before filling them with fresh food. They may be contaminated and cause a new infestation.
Make sure that cabinets and storage units are tight and can be cleaned easily.
Keep storage units dry. This is important because moisture favors the development of pantry pests; dryness discourages them.
Some pantry insects breed in the nests of rodents and insects and may migrate from these into homes. Eliminate any nests found in or near the home.
Pantry pests can also breed in rodent baits. Be sure to frequently check and discard infested baits.

Controlling Temperature:

When packages of food are found to be infested with moths or beetles, either low or high temperatures may be used to control the infestation. Insects are cold-blooded; their body temperatures closely follow that of their environment.

The most favorable temperature for most pantry pest is about 80°F. Above 95°F or below 60°F, reproduction and survival is greatly reduced.

When temperatures are lowered, insect activity decreases until all activity stops. The quicker the drop in temperature, the quicker the kill.

Although insects will be killed, their bodies will remain in the food unless sieved out.

An exposure of 2 to 3 days to temperatures of 5°F or lower kills the more susceptible stages (larvae and adults), but eggs require longer to kill (3 weeks).

An alternative is to freeze the food for a week, remove it from the freezer for a few days, and then refreeze it for another week.