Get Rid of Pantry Moths… For Good!
Psssst… this post *might* contain affiliate links: see my disclosure here.
Today’s post is about perseverance and persistence. Determination and grit. Basically all the words in the thesaurus: diligence… resolve… stick to-it-iveness. Like Sir Edmund Hillary summiting Everest, I have conquered. Like Lewis and Clark crossing the west, I have pioneered. After a summer of battle, I have DEFEATED THE PANTRY MOTH, folks.
Do you even know what I’m talking about?! You know those awful little moths that look all innocent and simple until you go to open your oatmeal and discover a nasty mix of webs and worms and wings and ick? Those little expletives.
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After emptying my pantry a dozen times and searching high and low for the culprits, I finally took to google and compiled as many termination tactics as I could fit in my bookmarks menu. And now, like any good blogger, I’m going to share my arsenal with you!
Step 1.
Take out EVERYTHING in your pantry. This is inordinately annoying, but it HAS to be done. No cheating since that ONE container you leave in the far corner is OBVIOUSLY the one where all the damn moths are having their frat party.
Step 2.
Inspect every inch of every thing. Opened and unopened. The opened stuff is easy… peek inside and look for evidence of moths. And by evidence I mean, small worms, webs, remnants of webs… basically imposters in your Craisins or visitors in your couscous.
Note: Pantry moths are sneaky mofos… they can find a way into food items THAT AREN’T EVEN OPENED. Yep… EVERY. THING. Open boxes and inspect the corners. Pull out envelopes and look around the seams. To be EXTRA sure… place these unopened items into the freezer for a few days to guarantee annihilation.
Step 3.
Go to Homegoods. (You’re welcome.) Buy every single glass canister you can get your moth-hating mitts on. These are like kryptonite to pantry moths. They will protect you and your dry goods.
Step 4.
Before you load up your glass container armada, clean the CRAP out of your pantry with white vinegar. I don’t mean give it a little spritz, wipe down every inch of every corner of every shelf of every cabinet. Then do it again. For extra protection, use eucalyptus or lavender or peppermint essential oil (affiliate links) as an added barrier.
Step 5.
If your super DUPER thorough, throw down a few of these pantry moth traps (affiliate). Swap out every couple of months.
Step 6.
Load everything back into the space. Admire how pretty all the glass cannisters look and wonder why it took a pantry moth invasion to get you this organized and Pinterest-worthy. Then Snap yourself saying something witty like, “Hasta la vista, baby.”
I hate these little floating infiltraters. HATE. They can be SO hard to get rid of because of how sneaky they can be, but… KNOCK ON WOOD (seriously… knock on wood NOW), I’ve sent them packing for good!
Pantry moths! I didn’t even know this was a thing! But I found something that looks a lot like one in my cornstarch the other day and was horrified (and had to go to the store to buy more cornstarch). So you’re saying that I pretty much HAVE to go to Homegoods and buy a whole bunch of pretty glass containers now? 😉
YES! A MUST! My favorite type of problem solving. 🙂
I HATE these things too. They were brought into our home with some dog food. I cleaned my pantry but I am going to do it again with the vinegar. Thanks for the info.
They are the sneakiest!!! I thought I’d conquered them three other times… the vinegar and glass containers seem to be the trick!
Thank you thank you thank you!!! We have had infestations of these moths for a couple of years. We have traps and i did wipe down wverything but i had no idea about using VINEGAR and essential oils! So helpful:)
They are SO frustrating!!!! They can truly live in ANYthing… I opened metal bags and found them in there… Gah! I feel your pain! 🙂
Can it be plastic contaIners ??
Hi there! So sorry for the delay… I’ve found that they can still creep into plastic somehow, but if there’s a tight seal it’s certainly better than nothing!!
What does a person who is on a very low fixed income DO about pantry moths if they can’t afford to buy all the glass jars to protect their food?
Hi Debbie! I’d reused glass jars that maybe had pasta sauce or pickles or something!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and solutions! We had those blasted things creep into our pantry, and I’ve been tackling them for a month; finally, we followed your advice – even took apart our cupboards… those little buggers had made a nice big happy colony between the cupboard side panels! A few hours of vacuuming and vinegar later, I’m hopeful; I’ll be doing everything but eating foods as I put them back into the cupboards (in every glass jar I can scrounge up)…
They’re the worst! They hide away everywhere! Good luck!
Thanks for the tips. I will try them, although i have found them in my glass riCe cOntainer as well!! 😫😫 They are very Persist t!!
SO persistent!!! Ha!
They are the worst!
I also wipe down with a touch of peppermint oil, leave out bay leaves and lavender. Pantry moths detest them.
GREAT idea!! Thanks!
They can nest in the little holes for rhe shelf supports. Ask me how i know this.
Haha! I always suspected that’s where they were hanging out! So frustrating!
I live in michigan and grew up in the country i totally forgot about these pests,my mom and grandma used to do the viniger all the time. I had read that they do not like the cold hence the reason for the freezer. my pantry has a wind0w so i cleared my pantry out washed with viniger and water,got some traps then opened the window and sealed the room off it got pretty cold this winter and after a week i went in and rewashed with viniger and peppermint oil. i seen a couple of them but killed them ans sprayed the walls and cracks with water and peppermint oil so far so good. ill keep ya posted. good luck all.
That’s a great idea! They really work themselves in everywhere!!!
I have had pantry moths for 5 years.
I have cleaned my shelves and put everything in hard plastic containers with silicone seals. There is not one food item that is in a bag I have not seen any moths near my food. I believe they are in the wall behind my stove and ovens. They come out from that area can go behind the wall into my living room where my fireplace is. My exterminator sprays, toxic solution for pantry moths, but it doesn’t illuminate, them only cuts down the amount that I see in the traps.
Also, the spray does not illuminate. The larvae only kills the flying months I have spent thousands on those traps and hundreds on the exterminator. Two problems that is I cannot get behind the wall and we are stumped as to their food source. Does anyone have any info I can use?
I laughed at your description of these annoyances & your step by step to get them out of the cupboards. Thank you🙏💕🌎💝
Haha. They are the worst!
I’ve done the jar thing. Hasn’t worked. I have six pet birds. The moths have found their way to my kitchen on the second floor. There are certain kinds of uncooked pasta that they like……spaghetti and rigatoni. They seem not to care for shells or orzo. Little bastards.
Haha! I know what you mean!