Comments on How to Rid a Home of Pantry Moths or Weevils

I also read that you can clean the affected area as above and make a homemade paste to kill them and keep them away. Take one part water and three parts borax, mix together into a thick paste. Place jar or bottle lids upside down in your cupboards full of this paste and it kills and repells the cupboard moths.

I don't think I will ever be rid of them. They move from room to room. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

OMG...in every hole (over 30 of them) we found nests of eggs. They would lay the eggs, hatch and escape out the back of our pantry ( a layer existed between the pantry and our wall) and fly out from behind the refrigerator. We cleaned every hole, puttied them in and have pulled out the refrigerator every week for the last three weeks. So far, we are moth free. We have three traps on top of the refrigerator...we have not seen a moth yet. I pray we are moth-free.

Now I am not sure what to do. I panicked and took all my food out and sprayed Raid in my pantry. After I go through my food and completely clean my pantry when will it be safe to put my food back in? Also I read that freezing my food to kill the eggs and larva, is that something that should be done? Should I also put my food in sealed containers?

I'm genuinely grossed out by these moths in my pantry.

hoboken frank here still looking for an answer to my question below on where pantry moths can live. many thanks! and dont forget --fly me to the moon baby!

never had pantry noths in 10 years til now. thought we got rid of em last year and now theyre back!!!!can they live w/out food particles?? and can they nest in a corner w/out food... IF i knew this it wld help me get the no gooders!!!thx.

First n my long life I have discovered grain weevils in my pantry!! Now they're gone I discovered plastic is not healthy... for anything. Store grains etc in GLASS containers -left over from a product used. Otherwise, store in refrig or freez. Good luck!

First n my long life I have discovered grain weevils in my pantry!! Now they're gone I discovered plastic is not healthy... for anything. Store grains etc in GLASS containers -left over from a product used. Otherwise, store in refrig or freez. Good luck!

This was useless advice. This should go under "no duh!" I read better advice in the old fogey website. They said to keep matches in the flour b/c the things don't like sulfur.

This was useless advice. This should go under "no duh!" I read better advice in the old fogey website. They said to keep matches in the flour b/c the things don't like sulfur.

Hey, that's me in that picture up there!! It's a stock photo taken 25 years ago at the height of my modeling career!! ;-) Liz

Hey, that's me in that picture up there!! It's a stock photo taken 25 years ago at the height of my modeling career!! ;-) Liz

Put a Rosemary plant in your pantry. The smell clears them in days and it is aromatic to you also.

Put a Rosemary plant in your pantry. The smell clears them in days and it is aromatic to you also.

Wow! Bay leaves & peppermint gum! I was advised by our ag. extension expert (& I tried; it worked) open containers of vinegar; the problem is potential spillage. I have bought bay leaves for cooking in bulk CHEAP at Indian or other ethnic food stores (like $4/quart) so if they work...! I have also recently been told that the bayberry bushes that grow around the USA (wild and landscape - recognized by the small, bluish-grayish waxy berries clustering on the twigs - are the source of bay leaves for cooking. If so, I buy no more! As an aside, I tried what the early settlers supposedly did and boiled a whole bunch of the bayberries, skimmed off the floating melted wax, and made candles. I wonder if these would drive moths away, too?

I am perplexed...I got moths from cereal I bought at a wholesale club. I cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom and threw everything out that wasn't in a jar or can, and then washed the cans and jars, the cabinets and put moth traps in my cabinets. I scrubbed everything down in my cabinets with a clorox cleaner, then put everything in hard plastic containers. When I come home I dont put boxes in the cabinets and I put the food in the plastic containers...I went away again, and just looked in my cereal, there are moths and larva in my cereal after 3 weeks. I'm so grossed out. Any ideas?

I am perplexed...I got moths from cereal I bought at a wholesale club. I cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom and threw everything out that wasn't in a jar or can, and then washed the cans and jars, the cabinets and put moth traps in my cabinets. I scrubbed everything down in my cabinets with a clorox cleaner, then put everything in hard plastic containers. When I come home I dont put boxes in the cabinets and I put the food in the plastic containers...I went away again, and just looked in my cereal, there are moths and larva in my cereal after 3 weeks. I'm so grossed out. Any ideas?

I am currently involved in ridding my pantry of a moth infestation. My kids noticed that a bowl left out overnight was filled with dead moths. In the bowl?? oil..from making a vinegar/oil/garlic salad dressing the night before. They then took a paper plate and smeared it with oil and went into the pantry and swiped and swooped it at the moths. They caught at least 30 + moths! Also, the sticky traps work real well. We suspect our bags of bird and rat food were harboring eggs. They will go into the freezer for a week next time.

I am currently involved in ridding my pantry of a moth infestation. My kids noticed that a bowl left out overnight was filled with dead moths. In the bowl?? oil..from making a vinegar/oil/garlic salad dressing the night before. They then took a paper plate and smeared it with oil and went into the pantry and swiped and swooped it at the moths. They caught at least 30 + moths! Also, the sticky traps work real well. We suspect our bags of bird and rat food were harboring eggs. They will go into the freezer for a week next time.

Mint is not a good deterrent. I have found the larva actually cocooning in a box of mint tea, and in a large, unopened foil bag of organic spearmint. And it isn't only food they are after. After beingcurious of their source, and cleaning my pantry, I have discovered them (the weevils) cocooning in the folds of paper bags, in boxes of non-food items, and even inside a toenail clipper. Seems that any dark, undisturbed niche can be called home! I appreciated all the other comments, as they were helpful, but the mint as a repellant in my experience is totally useless.

Mint is not a good deterrent. I have found the larva actually cocooning in a box of mint tea, and in a large, unopened foil bag of organic spearmint. And it isn't only food they are after. After beingcurious of their source, and cleaning my pantry, I have discovered them (the weevils) cocooning in the folds of paper bags, in boxes of non-food items, and even inside a toenail clipper. Seems that any dark, undisturbed niche can be called home! I appreciated all the other comments, as they were helpful, but the mint as a repellant in my experience is totally useless.