Pests of Stored Food Control
© Frances Michaels
These include grain moths, flour moths, meal moths, almond moths, raisin moths, beetles and weevils. For
problems with ants
check for information under
Suggested Organic Strategies
Household Pest Pack
Orange Guard Crawling Insect Spray
Pantry Moth Trap
- Check all purchased foodstuffs for possible infestation at the time of purchase. Telltale signs to look
for include clumping or lumps in what should be a free-flowing product. However if the infestation is only
in the egg stage there may be no visible clues.
- Suspect foods can be frozen for 4-7 days to kill most common food storage pests. You can store grains
etc. long term in the freezer if there is room.
- Use pheromone traps such as the
Pantry Moth Trap to detect
the presence of these pests.
- Store all food in airtight jars. Lids that clip down or seal tightly are more effective at keeping
pests out than screw-top jars.
- Try hanging small cloth sacks of black pepper in food storage cupboards as a repellent.
- Wipe all internal wood surfaces in cupboards with lavender oil.
- Regularly vacuum the interior of food cupboards to clean up any pupating insects.
- When an infested product is to be disposed of, first of all treat it by freezing. This will prevent
the adult pests escaping from a rubbish bin to infest other stored foods.