Easy and Effective Ways to Control Pantry Bugs

Pantry bugs are common insect pests that invade pantries and other food storage areas in search of their next meal, It is estimated that these bugs cost ” millions of damages in store brought food each year”.  Some food items that pantry bugs are attracted to are rice, flour, grains, cereals, and other dried foods. It’s also a known fact that pantry bugs contaminate food items making them unfit to consume because of their eggs, larvae, and cast skins. If you discover that these uninvited guests have taken up residence in your home not to mention taking over your pantry the good news is you can rid your home of these bugs and send them packing. Why should your store-bought food items be a free meal ticket to these bugs when you can stamp them out?

How Do Pantry Bugs Get into Homes

You may be wondering how pantry bugs get into our homes, entry points for these bugs can be either through an open door, window, or cracks in the wall. Pantry bugs are also introduced indoors by infested grains or infested grain products that are purchased and brought home.

What are Some Pantry Bug Species

There are many species of pantry bugs here are the names of a few of them.

• Granary Weevils.
• Rice Weevils.
• Pantry Months
• Cockroaches.
• Drugstore  Weevils
• Sawtoothed Grain Beetles.
• Merchant Grain Beetles.
• Cigarette  Beetles
• Flour Beetles.
• Indian Meal Moths.

Signs that you have Pantry Bugs

• Small beetles in dried food products.
• Beetles are visibly seen around windows.
• Beetles in cupboards and on countertops.
• Caterpillars and silk webbing inside infested food packages.
• Indianmeal moths flying around kitchens and other rooms in the home.
• Caterpillars on ceilings and walls in rooms next to infestations.

Non-Chemical Control of Pantry Bugs

There are several ways to control panty bugs without pesticides.

• Seal cracks or holes around water pipes and stove pipes.
• Regularly dispose of garbage in sealed receptacles.
• Visually inspect items that were already open before adding to your food recipes.
• Keep sinks, floors, cabinets, shelves, and pantry clean because crumbs from bread, pastries, and spills will attract pests.
• Foods should only be purchased in sealed packages that aren’t damaged.
• Check expiration dates on baking ingredients before using.
• The odor of bay leaves will keep bugs at bay so add a bay leaf to canisters of dry foods.
• Eliminate all moisture by drying up spills, unclogging drains that are clogged, and repairing leaky pipes
• Once packages are open secure them by placing ingredients in Tupperware containers or tightly sealed jars to maintain their freshness and to discourage pantry bugs.
• Empty your pantry and remove all food items, next vacuum out the shelves corners, and floors. Use soapy water to wash spaces down, next allow the shelves to dry or dry the shelves with a piece of dry clean cloth.  Now return each food item but before you do that check each package to ensure they are not damaged or contaminated.
• Keep the storage area dry.
• Clean old containers before filling them with fresh foods.

Note: The longer food items sit in your pantry the more they are to be infested with pantry bugs, only purchase small packages of foods that can be consumed in 2-4 months. Avoid the purchase of packages that have holes, dents, or scratches. Don’t mix old and new foods.

Using Traps and Insecticides to Control Pantry Bugs

Under heavy infestation besides introducing natural ways here are other ways to control pantry bugs.

Glue Boards: These boards have sex pheromones. Pantry Pest Traps are made of cardboard or paper lined on the inside with pheromone-impregnated glue strips. The insect sex pheromones powerfully attract the moth or beetle pests, luring them to the trap where they get stuck on the glue strip and are unable to escape. But word of caution only use 2 glue boards per home and overuse of these boards can confuse pantry bugs.

A Crack and Crevice Insecticide Spray: For this treatment move all stored food items and other items from your pantry, vacuum the shelves followed by cleaning them, next apply (D-FENSE NXT)  insecticide to walls, along corners, the edges of shelves, under and behind cabinets and appliances and other areas where the pests and larvae are likely to be found.

Aerosol Insecticide: Novacide Areosol, Novacide has a long-time residual and a built-in insect growth regulator killing not only the adults but stopping juveniles from reaching adulthood. To use this insecticide spot treat the back and the sides of the shelves round. Once the pantry is dried off the spray and the vapors you can now return the items.

Conclusion

Pantry pests can become a real issue if avoided or left unchecked, these bugs can do huge damage to food items that can cost you hundreds of dollars. The good news is you can put these steps in place to avoid pantry bugs or you can strike back by eliminating these bugs by following this guide or contact us and let us help you to put a plan in place because pantry bugs are unvited guest that must be stopped in their tracks.