Unexpected "guests" appear in every kitchen from time to time. When you open a bag of cereals, you may discover to your displeasure that small bugs or white caterpillars have settled in it. This is a food moth. Despite its small size, the insect can cause a lot of trouble to humans. At first glance, it's okay - they threw out the infected product and that's it. In fact, it is not easy to deal with this pest. It starts up even in those kitchens where exemplary order reigns. So the opinion is completely unfair that only bad housewives get moths in the croup. How to get rid of an uninvited guest, we'll talk today.
You need to know the enemy by sight
What does a food moth look like? This is a nondescript butterfly about one centimeter in size. Her wings can be light gray or brown. If you saw that such a creature is circling around the kitchen, then you urgently need to check all yourstocks.
Adult insect is harmless because it does not eat anything. However, water is needed, so you can often find a butterfly right next to the kitchen sink. She lives for about two weeks. And everything would be fine, but during this time the insect is able to lay up to 400 eggs in hard-to-reach places, behind kitchen furniture.
After 10-15 days, many larvae will hatch from them, which go to conquer the vastness of your kitchen. There are different types of these pests: barn, cereal, nut, mill moth. But all of them are characterized by high gluttony. If you notice a butterfly in the kitchen, then you will definitely find a mole in the cereal. How to get rid of this neighborhood, we will consider below.
What does the pest eat
This question worries many housewives, as it is the key to answering which products you need to pay special attention to. Most often, moths start in cereals and flour, dry foods. It can be nuts and chocolate, dried fruits, tea and spices. Even pet food is quite suitable as a breeding ground for voracious caterpillars. But most often there is a mole in the croup. How to get rid of it, we'll talk now, but for now, let's decide how this insect gets into the house.
Routes of infection
The best solution to a problem is prevention. This is an indisputable fact, which is why it is important to know where the mole comes from in the croup. How to get rid of an insect, this is the second question, it is better not to allow it into your home at all. Unfortunately, this is more difficult thanseems at first glance. The fact is that many food products become infected during production. This is due to improper processing, storage violations, etc. In the warehouse and in the store, the temperature conditions may not be suitable for the development of larvae, so they wait in the wings.
At home, we usually store dry food in closed cabinets. It is dark and warm there - ideal conditions for insects to actively multiply. The population is increasing dramatically. The larvae gnaw through the bags and infect everything that is within reach. Sometimes moths can fly from neighbors, but this is extremely rare. Therefore, you should not think badly about the people who live nearby. Now you know where the mole in cereals comes from. How to get rid of it, we have yet to find out.
Can I eat contaminated food
Absolutely not. If you notice that a butterfly is flying around the apartment, then somewhere there is its offspring. It must be found and thrown away along with the cereal in which it was hatched. The faster this is done, the more likely it is that the rest of the food will remain intact. Moth larvae gnaw through the bags and greedily eat the contents. But it's not only that. In parallel, caterpillars infect them with waste products, feces, discarded skins and dead larvae. Experts recommend not taking risks and throwing away such products without any regret.
Adults are less dangerous, but also annoying with their presence. They flash before my eyessit on food and drown in vases of jam. Most importantly, however, these pesky creatures lay hundreds of eggs and give birth to new hordes of hungry caterpillars.
Let's fight
So, a moth was found in cereals. How to get rid of the pest, now we will understand. This will require a whole range of measures that together will help restore purity:
- Full inspection and sanitation. If a cereal pest was found in the kitchen, then you will have to come to grips with cleaning. Open all lockers, get products from the most hidden shelves. This is a chance to kill three birds with one stone: do a general cleaning, check expiration dates and find moths in cereals. How to get rid (see photo in our article) of it as soon as possible? Throw away any spoiled food that has been found to contain maggots.
- Doubt is caused by those bags of cereals that at first glance look uncontaminated, but were kept unhermetically sealed. In this case, it is better to throw them away too. They may contain insect eggs that you cannot see with the naked eye.
- Now, since the products have left their places anyway, you can sanitize the kitchen. All remaining cereals must again be packed in a hermetically sealed container, and cabinets and shelves should be washed. After such cleaning, it is a pleasure to enter the kitchen.
The best hygiene products
And what do you use if you start up in the groatsmoth? How to get rid of this uninvited guest with maximum effect and in a short time? Experts recommend washing all surfaces with soap and vinegar solutions. However, not all soaps will work. Put the scented toilet aside. The ideal choice would be alkaline household, which has mild insecticidal and disinfecting properties. That is, in addition, you can perform the prevention of the appearance of the fungus.
Preparing a soapy solution is not difficult. Take three liters of warm water and dissolve the cob in it until the water becomes noticeably soapy. All surfaces must be thoroughly rinsed with this composition, and then treated with clean water. After complete drying, you can put the products in their places.
Vinegar solution
Each housewife has her own recipes that she uses if moths appear in cereals. How to get rid (reviews emphasize that this method works flawlessly) from insects if the soap solution did not do its job? Mistresses agree that this is only the first stage of processing. To be completely sure of the effectiveness, after drying the shelves, wipe them with a cloth moistened with 5% or 9% vinegar. Now you can count on your cabinets to be completely decontaminated from larvae and eggs.
Experience of our grandmothers
Remember how you visited the village as a child. Grandma always smelled absolutely amazing and pleasant in the cupboard with cereals. The fact is that they knew perfectly well that if it startedmoth in cereals, then the products will have to be thrown away, and being practical people, they did not want to allow such waste. Therefore, they widely used the means that nature gives us.
Lavender and mint, black pepper and garlic are good at repelling moths. Citrus fruits and tobacco do a good job with these duties. Therefore, feel free to put the skins of oranges and tangerines, garlic cloves in the lockers. Flours and grains do not absorb odors, so your meals will be flawless.
Home plants against pests
It's good to have two flowers in the kitchen. The first of these is chlorophytum. It gives a large amount of oxygen, is unpretentious and calmly tolerates poor lighting, tightness and drafts, which are inherent in kitchens. The second is geranium. The smell of this plant is not tolerated by many insects, including food moths. Therefore, you can be calm for the safety of food in the kitchen.
Chemistry in your home
Talking about what to do if the moth is wound up in cereals, many immediately imagine going to the store and choosing an insecticide. In fact, their use in the kitchen is highly undesirable, as it can result in poisoning. Therefore, it is better to focus on safe means that remove moths mechanically. These are sticky tapes. They are treated with a special substance that attracts moths. They are usually hung in the corners of food storage cabinets.
If you want a quick effect, then buy a Raid aerosol. It is highly toxic, so use shouldbe extremely careful. Remove flowers and an aquarium, all utensils from the room. Take family members and pets outside. After that, you can process the room and ventilate well.
Storage Tips
It used to be that plastic bags were impregnable for moth larvae. However, it is not. She quite calmly gnaws through the material and spoils the products. Therefore, canvas bags with good drawstrings are ideal for storage. However, it is even more convenient to pour cereals into plastic or glass containers with tight-fitting lids. If you use our tips, then most likely you will be able to avoid the appearance of a pest in your kitchen. Now you know what to do if moths start up in cereals.
