Pantry moths - anyone with experience?

[Wallflower]

So, I have pantry moths in my garage, with my birdseed.

• I've cleaned out the birdseed and washed, with bleach, the stainless steel cans I keep the seed in. Most of the moths seemed to have moved on by the time I got that done.
  
• I've put moth traps out - two for two weeks - and they caught several moths (15, maybe?) with most of them caught within the first few hours. Two fresh ones out there to see what I catch.
• My garage shares a wall with the house but does not have direct access, so while I'm aware, I'm not yet in a panic for my living space. I have had a trap in my pantry for several months as a precaution and it caught two.  A fresh one put out two weeks ago has not caught anything.

So, should I be doing more? How long do I wait before I consider bringing birdseed back into the garage? (I love my birds, so it's just killing me not to be feeding them.)

[tacokick]

It sounds like you are on the right track. I would put unopened flour and pasta in containers if you are worried. I have just put them all in the same Rubbermaid container together until the problem seemed resolved.

I think you could move the birdseed out again. They are probably gone from that and if it is in an air tight container they won’t get back in.

[Wallflower]

Oct 9, 2021 8:41:24 GMT -5 tacokick said:

It sounds like you are on the right track. I would put unopened flour and pasta in containers if you are worried. I have just put them all in the same Rubbermaid container together until the problem seemed resolved.

I think you could move the birdseed out again. They are probably gone from that and if it is in an air tight container they won’t get back in.

The containers are stainless steel garbage cans, small ones, and unfortunately not as air tight as I'd like.

Thanks for responding!

How long until the problem resolved itself for you?

[tacokick]

Oct 9, 2021 11:56:44 GMT -5 Wallflower said:

Oct 9, 2021 8:41:24 GMT -5 tacokick said:

It sounds like you are on the right track. I would put unopened flour and pasta in containers if you are worried. I have just put them all in the same Rubbermaid container together until the problem seemed resolved.

I think you could move the birdseed out again. They are probably gone from that and if it is in an air tight container they won’t get back in.

The containers are stainless steel garbage cans, small ones, and unfortunately not as air tight as I'd like.

Thanks for responding!

How long until the problem resolved itself for you?

Only a week or so! Once things are sealed up, they lose interest pretty quickly. Maybe you could put a temporary layer of plastic under the garbage can lids? That might help.

[simpsongal]

I just keep traps out all the time. Sounds like you did enough to bring back the seed. I had them in my pantry a couple years ago. They’re the worst!

[dr.girlfriend]

I have a big plastic dog food thing that seals like a vault -- it has a big screw-on lid with a rubber seal. It was a little pricey at HomeGoods but maybe that's a better long-term solution for the birdseed? It's animal and pest-proof.  Looks like it's called the "Vittles Vault" and you can buy it lots of places.

[nicolewi]

We had them, in our actual pantry, and it was such a pain in the butt!!!! I found the source--an UNOPENED bag of rice that they were living in and getting out somehow from a tiny hole.

You are doing the right thing. I'd wait a couple weeks before returning the seed just in case any are still hatching.

We had to take everything out of the pantry, check everything, wipe everything. I put a lot more foods into air-tight plastic containers. I also bought the moth traps online and I do think those help a bit.

[Wallflower]

Thanks for all the comments, folks - I really appreciate it!!

I think I'll leave the new traps out for at least a few more days, just to make sure nothing new shows up. And I'll leave them out regularly, now, like my mouse traps.