Pest of the Month - Indian Meal Moth

Weevils, Meal Moths, Beetles, OH MY! Have you opened up your oatmeal only to find worms crawling around in it?! Yikes! Many insects have grown to eat stored food intended for humans, creating a huge and disgusting pest problem.

Stored food pests, or "pantry pests," specifically infest stored food products. From grain products, like flour, cornmeal, and oatmeal, to seeds, nuts, chocolate and dried fruit, no stored food that is safe from these invasive pests.

The Indian Meal Moth is a very common pest found in stored food. A female moth lays between 60 and 300 eggs on or near food products and when the eggs hatch, the tiny white larvae are hungry! Inspect carefully and look for food that has been stored for long periods of time. The moths are able to get into surprisingly tight spots, including sealed bags and containers, and you may also notice small holes in the sides of the boxes where they have eaten their way out. They are also notoriously difficult to get rid of, and can crawl on ceilings and travel significant distances, which means the search for the infestation must go beyond the immediate area where they are discovered.

If you have a food pest infestation, call the professionals at Banks Pest Control. We have methods that will locate the infestation and identify if any of food pests have travelled to other areas of your home or office. Give us a call at (661) 323-7858 or request a quote by clicking here.