Mole in walnuts: what kind of animal is it and how to destroy it

What does a nut moth look like (photo)

Description of the pest

Name: Skinny nut moth
Latin:Caloptilia roscipennella

Class: Insects - Insecta
Squad: Lepidoptera - Lepidoptera
Family: Triosides - Triozidae

	Habitats:	warehouses with products
	Dangerous for:	nuts
	Means of destruction:	chemicals, folk

Nut moth is an insect, somewhat similar to a small butterfly. The insect has a pair of antennae on its head.

Moth damage

An adult butterfly cannot do any harm to nuts, since its jaw apparatus is poorly developed. The only thing she does is find a suitable place and lay her eggs. When the larvae hatch on the surface of the nuts, they pollute it with the remnants of the cocoon and their waste products.

If the fruits are in the shell - they can be saved, not - then such products are hopelessly spoiled, and their use in food threatens the following complications for the human body:

Spoiled nuts.

• intoxication;
• lowered immunity;
• poisoning.

Causes and signs of appearance

In nature, there are many different types of moths. They feed on various fruits, feathers or down of animals.

However, such a diet is considered rather meager for them, and, in combination with seasonal weather changes and temperature fluctuations, it seriously inhibits reproduction.

The situation is completely different in human housing, where there is a huge abundance of various food and ideal temperature. It is not surprising that the insect tries in any way to enter the house where all the products are collected - the kitchen.

Moth can appear in the kitchen for many reasons, among which:

• the entry into the premises of products that have already been infected with a pest;
• storage of nuts and other products in places with high humidity;
• poor ventilation of the room;
• getting into the apartment on the body of pets;
• the absence of protective nets on the windows, through which butterflies easily fly inside.

Moth caterpillars.

In the early stages, it is quite difficult to determine if a pest is present in the kitchen.

However, after a certain period of time, the characteristic features of the presence of insects become apparent:

• in the evening, you can find single butterflies that fly near light sources;
• some slight movements are noticeable in nuts or cereals;
• the presence of adult larvae in the products;
• small white caterpillars crawl along the walls near food.

What to do if moths start up in walnuts

Moth in products.

If a moth in nuts has been noticed, you should not wait until it damages all the products in the house, since under favorable conditions its reproduction proceeds much faster, and changing one food source to another is not a problem for it.

It is necessary to begin the fight against the parasite immediately. In order to get rid of the entire insect population, the first step is to throw out all the infected products and process everything around the places where they were.

You can fight in two ways:

• chemical agents;
• folk methods.

Chemicals

With the help of chemicals, you can get rid of moths not only in products, but also on carpets or clothes. The most effective drugs include:

1. Raptor - applied to the surface of the furniture, its smell repels insects.
   

   Sprays and aerosols from moths.

2. Armol - an aerosol, which also applies to surface treatment.
3. Combat - a spray intended for use in hard-to-reach places where a pest or its larvae can hide.
4. Antimol - used to spray fabrics or clothing that were near the source of infection.

If moths have started up in the nuts, they should never be processed, unless they are thrown away. You can save the fruits only if the moth was found in the initial stages, and they are in the shell. In this case, the nuts must be washed with warm water and calcined in the oven at a temperature above 100 degrees.

The use of folk methods

No matter how good chemicals are, there are people who do not have access to them or simply refuse in the direction of folk methods. They are based on the experience of our ancestors, who had no means other than improvised ones. The best recipes that have proven their effectiveness in practice are the following:

1. Spread the bay leaf in places where the appearance of the pest has appeared or is undesirable. This method is not only a fight, but also a prevention.
2. Prepare traps from flour and boric acid, which are mixed in proportions of 1 to 3, then poured into a small container and placed in a cupboard or on a kitchen shelf.
   

   Lavender repels moths.

3. The walls of the furniture, where the moth wound up, can be smeared with lavender or fir oil.
4. As experience shows, an effective means of control is the smell of tobacco, which repels parasites well.
5. A good effect is the orange peel, which, after cleaning, is laid out inside the furniture.
6. Ammonia helps to destroy the eggs and at the same time disinfect the place of their vital activity.

Prevention of the appearance

An apartment or house is an ideal habitat for moths. Everyone is subject to penetration hazards, no one is immune from damage to furniture, food or clothing. But there are some ways to protect yourself a little. To prevent infection, follow these simple tips:

1. 2 times a year, you can wipe the walls of places of potential infection with moths with a solution of water and food vinegar. The pungent odor repels insects.
2. Do not store a large amount of food stocks in one place, keep them clean and tidy. If something expires, immediately throw it away, do not hoard old things.
3. Store nuts in a closed plastic or glass container, sort them out from time to time.
4. Products that are intended for long-term storage should be calcined once a year in an oven at a temperature of 100 degrees.
5. Lay out products that can scare away moths in cabinets and on shelves.

Hack and predictor Aviator

Moth is widespread everywhere and can get into any dwelling, no one is safe from this. However, if you follow the recommendations of prevention, this risk can be reduced to almost zero. If insects appeared in your kitchen or anywhere else and began to multiply, you must not delay this problem, but immediately take emergency measures.

Not only the integrity of products or clothing, but also your health depends on the speed of response.