Be sure and check ALL your closets ! They eat holes in cotton and wool especially...very very upsetting. I have had to deal with them in the distant past when I had a food coop in my home. Now I store almost everything in my freezer. We are in the South and the possibility of the moths being in the products you bring home from the store is very very high. Sorry you are having to deal with this but check your closets ! c

My sympathies! I cannot get rid of my pantry moths. I have had them for over a year. I threw everything out and cleaned the cabinets. Everything I have bought new is put in sealed containers. I have used Aunt Norma's pantry moth spray. Now, I just keep pantry moth traps in the cabinet, and that seems to keep them under control--although the traps are consistently filled.

I have heard that it is extremely hard to get rid of them once you have them :( Especially since we always have a ready food source for them in the cat food.

So far they haven't made it upstairs (to the closets). But I am living in fear!!

Living in the North you get a little complacent about bugs - even though the house is heated year round they seem to disappear in the winter.

Pantry Pest Traps worked well for me.

I ordered the pheremone traps on Amazon last night...did I mention I HATE BUGS? UGH! My husband asked if he could do anything to help (he's at cottage painting and assembling furniture) and I asked if he knew a good arsonist. And of course my lazy bum cats that normally eat anything that moves are completely ignoring these moths.

Also in the South and have to be very diligent about pantry pests (Hello again, c!). I found some a few years back from a package of panko crumbs I forgot about - Ugh!

If I bring home anything like flour, etc I put it in the freezer for a couple of days before it goes into the sealed canister. Supposed to kill anything that might be inside from the store. After the panko incident, I periodically go through my shelves and double check, just so I don't have to do what you're doing right now, robo.

It was that stupid birdseed! And of course my husband has now forgotten all about the birdfeeder and the birdseed is forgotten on the deck.

Oh that is awful! So sorry!! :c( I had those years ago and it was a nightmare...so much money lost in tossed food. I don't recall using any sprays or pesticides, but I did mix some boric acid powder which you can buy on Amazon in with things like corn meal and left it out in an open dish to attract them. I also spent a fortune in air tight containers for everything from the dog and cat food to all of my baking stuff.

I was talking to our Vet the other day and he suggested I rebag our dog and cat kibble in zip locks and freeze them because it will kill mites. It's been really humid here too and I guess the mites are causing a lot of problems. When I had birds, I'd freeze their food to avoid moths so it makes sense. I have to say too since I've purchased these for the kibble I haven't had any problems. I love that they have wheels, come in a variety of sizes too.

Put it all in the freezer to kill the eggs. Sorry you are dealing with this. I dealt withit every couple of months back in Texas!

And Trailrunner, great to see your name!!

We had an infestation a few years back - it started in our walk-in coat closet with a bag of birdseed that was stored in there. I don't think the pantry moths eat holes in clothes (that's a whole different kind of moth) but they did nest and lay eggs on all the coats - I found worms in the coats, mittens, etc. I washed and/or drycleaned everything. Then, while it was all out of the closet, we decided to do some painting and install storage shelving in the closet - we took the light switch plate off and there were worms behind there. They were also beneath the light fixture - we had to take it down and get the larvae from behind there and up inside the junction box. So I would look in every crevice of your pantry -- behind switchplates, under baseboards, etc. Take your shelves down and look behind them. See if there is some food-safe pesticide you can use in things like the crack between the baseboard and the floor. We did eventually get rid of ours, but they hadn't full infested all the food yet -- it was mostly in the coat closet. As others have suggested, I dropped about $200 on plastic storage containers and pretty much everything goes in plastic now as soon as I bring it home. Good luck!

Wow! You all have such great tips. glad to know I'm not completely alone in this fight. I would never have thought to look behind switch plates, for example. tomorrow I have hired a friend to come over and spend a good four hours scrubbing down all the shelves with me. this is a good excuse to clear out the pantry anyway. I have put a lot of the dry goods in the freezer in order to kill the moths

in other good news the heat and humidity have already broken and we can look forward to much cooler weather this week. makes it a lot easier to persuade myself to work around the house.

lkplatow...I could see the moths flying from the food bags to the clothes I had hung in the same room on my drying rack and the holes were all over them and when I picked up the shirts etc the moths would fly off . I too found the worms all over and the web like stuff that was attached...ugh...gives me the willies thinking about it. So I imagine there are numerous moths and these like the natural fibers of cotton and wool as well as seeds and beans. Oh and they were in my spices too !! c ( thanks spring and outside:) )

Always thought pantry moths and clothes moths were different. I have an ongoing battle with clothes moths. One time I emptied my closet, tossed everything with any sign of damage, washed, cleaned and froze the rest. I keep pheromone traps in my closet and I still catch the little buggers. I found a cashmere turtleneck sweater with a hole right smack in the front. Guess it is getting tossed. Now after I freeze my sweaters, I put them in a plastic box. So far, so good. I have had to toss hundreds of dollars worth of ruined clothes. It is a nightmare.

When I had pantry moths, I found the nest in a box of cake mix. I tossed all grain products and scrubbed and that was the end of them.

My poor mom is dealing with a fruit fly invasion like I have never seen. We've tried everything, including the vinegar trap. We've tried every method on the Internet. I just can't figure it out. They are driving her crazy. I feel bad for her.

I'm south of you and have been enjoying that break in the weather too, it's it heaven!?! That's a nice friend to come help you Robo. Hope it's not too bad though.

will link below...never thought to look it up but here you go ! They love natural fibers...I forgot they also ate my silk shirt...ugh !https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=do%20pantry%20moths%20eat%20wool

I know I've brought this up several times, but I've used Boric Acid to keep the critters at bay in my home for years and it works wonders. It's a salt based product that comes in either powder or tablet form. I use the tablets in the backs of cabinets and shelves. The powder in door jams, window sills, carpets and under cushions. Some bugs eat it, some walk in it, when they do the salt dehydrates them. You can buy an off brand on Amazon which I do but it's also what FleaBuster's uses and you can buy their product on their website. I'm sure it would help your mother with the fruit flies Dedtired as well as others with the moths in their clothing. Oh and it's safe for people and animals except during the time you are putting it around the house or sweeping the powder into your carpet. I don't use it normally in the carpet but when I have, I've only applied it around the baseboards.

I actually have quite a little collection of boric acid for different reasons- it makes a great yeast infection remedy, much more powerful than anything over the counter. I will try to remember to sprinkle in the bottom of the pantry once we are done scrubbing it down. Thanks for all these great suggestions.

Hmm, I have used Borax mixed with peanut butter and jelly to kill ants. It works well. I'll try it with the fruit flies. We are to the point where we will try anything. She has dozens and dozens in her kitchen. Thanks.

You guys are freaking me out!!!! I live in the South, but I've never had pantry moths. KNOCK ON WOOD!! I can remember my mom getting something she called mealy bugs in cornmeal or flour, but they were tiny little hard bugs. I hate pesticides, etc. inside the house. We have termite treatment and the perimeter of the property treated. We have very few bugs and I really think it must be the perimeter treatment. BUT NOW I am going to look in everything in my pantry!!! LOL I keep several items in the fridge since I don't bake often, but I have quite a bit in my pantry too. And the dog kibble!!! Will definitely check that. We don't freeze it first (but will in the future). It is however, in a plastic container that has a screw on type lid. Our house doesn't get humid, so maybe that is what is helping us. It's super insulated, but also we run our AC probably 8 months out of the year. Thanks Lukki for the tip about the boric acid - if I need to use something I would not mind that in the window sills. Having a little dog, we are very careful what chemicals, etc. we have out where she would be exposed. In the house and the yard both. Bugs do not generally bother me that much - but the thought of them in food - really creeps me out. LOL

I do think they love humidity, and it has been almost tropical here over the past two weeks which is when their population must have exploded.

Those meal bugs are gnarly to get rid of too. They love seasoned bread crumbs and cornmeal.

Tina, as long as the container for the kibble is air tight, you should be good. The Vet said that basically all kibble has mites, its from sitting in humid warehouses, and our dog is allergic to them to boot!

I hope it helps with the fruit flies, that would make me nuts.

The two times I've had pantry moths were in late September/early October. So not humid here. I have tried the traps but I wonder if they are actually attracting moths that wouldn't be there otherwise. Like Japanese beetle attractants do. I've heard it said you should put the Japanese beetle traps in your neighbors' yards. lol