Little mothy things?

[loella]

Help,. I've been finding flying tiny mothy things in my larder for a few months now and have tried to get rid of them with the 'mite' cards you stand on the shelves in a triangle ...but oh no..still some there. Yesterday I had a blitz and cleared everything out and to my horror even found little maggots (no bigger than 1cm) in the dried prunes, mixed fruit and the whole almonds (which were in a plastic sealed container)...how do they get there? Hopefully thats it and I've hoovered, cleaned and chucked stuff away..but not sure how to avoid another infestation...what are the rules? Never had this in the UK.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Use the sticky pheromone sheets rather than the little triangles and

change them regularly. What you have already done will have cleared the

infestation. These moths are of the same family that eat clothes, so

check your woolies too.

[Lori]

Hi Annie:  yes, to try to keep these lovely creatures to a minimum, I freeze ALL nuts and dried fruits.  I have found that it doesn't take long for them to go bad with these creatures if left in the pantry.  I keep a close eye on all oats and cereals too.  Always keep them in zip locks upon opening, but that will not be a SURE thing.  Does help though.  Bread crumbs can also quickly get infested.  I also never buy large sized containers of things.  The longer they sit in the pantry, the more likely they are to get infested. 

I also keep the anti-mite devices in the pantry and change them regularly.

 

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="annie"]even found little maggots (no bigger than 1cm) in the dried prunes, mixed fruit and the whole almonds (which were in a plastic sealed container[/quote]

If your fridge is big enough, you can keep all these things in the fridge, less chance of the moths getting in there.

They do seem to be more common in France than in the UK.  It's not your fault.

I'd never had moth-eaten clothes till I moved here!   But if you use the little mothballs (anti-mites) in your clothes, remember that they evaporate, so you'll need to replace them.  You'll know, because the little packets will be empty. 

 

 

[Russethouse]

Buy lots of tupperware - stops mites getting in!

[SaligoBay]

But......but......but that means you'd have to go to a........... TUPPERWARE PARTY!  [8-)]

[Innocents Abroad]

Oo, is someone having one?  Can I come ... pleeeese!  After Lakeland's Lock & Lock, you just can't beat a bit of Tupperware.  Oh the fun of all that 'burping'! [:$]

Lynda

 

[Missy]

[quote user="SaligoBay"]  But......but......but that means you'd have to go to a........... TUPPERWARE PARTY!  [8-)][/quote]

 

I was once invited to a Tupperware party. As I didn't fancy the idea at all on my own I asked my friend to come along.... She declined as she had an invitation for an 'Ann Summers' party on the same day and for a laugh I joined her... As we arrived at the address where this was held, I realised that it was the same venue for the Tupperware Party!.... [:-))]

I never had SO MUCH [6] [:D] FUN!!

[JayJay]

Depending on what foodstuffs it is, putting them in an airtight container makes no difference, as the critters are in the food already.[+o(] I had a jar of  little biscuits, totally sealed & when I got them out of the cupboard, there was a micro pet centre in the jar & not an awful lot of biscuit. Yeuk!

A friend had this with a sack of dog food too, slightly different I know, but not nice to find these insects have hatched & eaten their way out.

Missy, a bit more exciting than the combined party I went too, Tupperware & Pippa-Dee! Whatever happened to them?

[Lori]

JayJay is right.  Sealed containers will not stop the critters.  Been there, done that.  I've only had luck with the freezer..

 

[JSA Aude]

I've also had the same problem.  Mostly loose rice from Thailand, (3 times now so don't buy!) breadcrumbs, rabbit and guinea pig food and dog bikkies.  Binned everything and started again from scratch, this time decanting into the wonderful world of tupperware. Seems (touch wood) to have worked so far.