Food moth: where does the pest come from and 5 ways to survive it
Watching the fluttering butterflies is a beautiful sight. But when they fly out of the kitchen cabinet or table, it means that they spoil food supplies. Everyone has seen such little butterflies in the kitchen. This is a food moth.
Content
What does food moth look like (photo)
Type and lifespan
Name: food moth
Latin: Sitotroga cerealellaClass: Insects - Insecta
Squad: Lepidoptera - Lepidoptera
Family: Notched-winged - Gelechiidae
 | Habitats: | kitchen cabinets |
 | Dangerous for: | groceries, fruit |
 | Means of destruction: | chemicals, folk remedies |
Food moth caterpillar.
Many people know what a food moth looks like. Most often, the so-called flour moth starts up in the kitchen. It looks like a small butterfly, reaches a length of up to 10 mm, its color is discreet, its wings are with a silvery coating, the caterpillar is pink or light yellow.
Ideal conditions for development + 20-25 degrees and humidity 50%. All stages of development from egg laying to the appearance of a moth take about 1,5 months.
What does he eat and what is he afraid of?
Moth traces.
The moth feeds on flour, cereals, bran, pasta, dried fruits, nuts, dried mushrooms in the kitchen. You can notice it by grains stuck together, something like a web.
Plastic bags for moth larvae are not a hindrance, they easily gnaw holes in them and easily wander from one bag to another if they lack food.
Butterflies do not tolerate specific smells, for example, fresh orange peels, garlic cloves, bay leaves, lavender, mint, tansy. But these methods are applicable only against butterflies, aromas do not affect larvae and eggs.
To destroy the larvae of a food pest, there are household chemicals.
Lifespan
Moth life cycle.
The kitchen moth, after mating, looks for a moist, warm place where it will lay eggs. For fertilization and laying, she needs 5-7 hours, after which she dies.
From the maturation of eggs to the appearance of larvae, 5-7 days pass. At one time, the female lays 50-100 eggs, they are very small, and it is almost impossible to notice their presence on the products.
After the appearance, the larva begins to eat food and throw waste products into them. The formation of a cocoon is the final stage when a web or balls appear in the products.
The life cycle from egg to mating of adults lasts 6-8 weeks.
What harm does
Moth in groats.
Unlike ordinary butterflies that breed in the summer, a food variety in an apartment can breed all year round. This is one of the reasons why the food moth is dangerous and why it needs to be removed as quickly as possible.
It usually starts in products with an expired shelf life or in violation of sanitary rules. She wanders around the kitchen cabinet and eats everything that comes her way. Especially the pest loves products from cereals, pasta, flour, nuts, dried fruits, sweets. All products that enter cabinets infected with moths and their larvae will be spoiled.
The question may arise whether the food moth eats clothes. The answer is clear: it is not dangerous to fur and wool products.
Causes of appearance
Groats infected with moths.
At home, moths can appear in products brought from the supermarket that are infected with eggs, but invisible to the eye. Most of the larvae appear food moth in flour, cereals, dried fruits and nuts. Therefore, to avoid this problem, buy products in trusted stores and carefully check the tightness and appearance of the package.
Moths can fly over from neighbors if they have such a problem. Through a window or vent, she can travel in search of food.
Signs of appearance
The first thing that catches your eye is butterflies fluttering around the kitchen.
In containers with cereals, lumps stuck together or grains glued together with a cobweb. On the walls of the jar or in bags are small worms with brown heads or white cocoons in the corners of the cabinet.
Methods of struggle
If you do not fight the insect, then it multiplies rapidly and infects a large number of food products. Stopping the process will be much more difficult than at an early stage. Therefore, it is important to carry out some measures to detect and eliminate parasites. So, here's how to deal with food moths.
We carry out an audit
Products in the kitchen cabinet need to be carefully reviewed, the presence of lumps or cobwebs indicates a pest infection. For reliability, it is better to process all cereals before storage: place them in the freezer for 2-3 hours or in the microwave for 30 seconds at maximum power.
Proper storage of cereals is the key to their purity.
Treatment and cleaning of kitchen furniture
How to get rid of food moths in the kitchen, such methods will help.
- First of all, you need to vacuum in all the corners and crevices of cabinets and throughout the kitchen.
- Wash everything with soapy water and wipe the shelves with vinegar.
- Wash curtains, tablecloths, towels.
- Ventilate the room after cleaning.
Pheromone traps for adults
Pheromone traps.
Mostly male moths migrate. Traps with the addition of pheromones attract females. Sitting on the sticky parts of the traps, they die.
According to this principle, Velcro is also made for the destruction of adults. This kind of bait should be used with care so as not to lure even more male moths to the scent of the female.
Household chemicals
There is no shortage of household chemicals, so you can choose a drug that is ideal for a particular situation.
Folk remedies
Lavender and mint repel moths.
Get rid of help folk remedies for food moths in the closet or closet. This is more of a preventive measure, but the smell of some plants repels moths. If fresh orange peels, unpeeled garlic cloves, bay leaves, lavender, wormwood, mint are laid out after harvesting, adult butterflies will leave their home.
Herbs can be replaced with cotton pads soaked in essential oils. You can use sachets with mixtures of herbs from moths, which need to be laid out in the kitchen in food storage areas.
The article at the link suggests 20 effective ways to get rid of moths.
The impact of pests on human health
Products contaminated with moth larvae or cocoons and their waste products are hazardous to health. Cooked foods can cause food poisoning or allergies. Calcining cereals affected by larvae, or exposure to temperature does not eliminate the danger of poisoning.
It is better to get rid of infected cereals than to harm health.
preventive measures
When replenishing your food supply, it is important to remember some preventive measures:
- Pay attention to groceries at low prices, check the expiration date and the condition of the package.
- Refrigerate or heat before storage.
- Store all products in airtight containers.
- Use moth repellents.
- Do not make large food stocks.
- Monitor the condition of kitchen cabinets, wash and air them regularly.
- Conduct inventory inspections.
Adhering to preventive practices will help preserve food.
Conclusion
Food moth is a dangerous pest. Under favorable conditions for her, she can settle in the kitchen and bring a lot of harm. Methods of control and prevention show that it is possible to get rid of these parasites. When butterflies appear, moths immediately begin to revise the products and inspect the kitchen. Timely detection of a problem is the key to success in dealing with it.
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