Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: Red Kell on October 25, 2011, 12:35:43 am
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Does any one know a good (preferably non toxic) way to get rid of moths in the pantry? They seem to have come home with some bird seed I brought from Kmart (never again) and are spreading into my food!!! I want to get rid of them asap to minimize the amount I need to throw out, as replacing everything will blow the budget right out :( What do I do?
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I've never used them myself but the girls swear by this type of Pantry moth trap (http://www.todae.com.au/Products/gardenpetcarepests/envirosafepantrymothtrappackof2/) Kell
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does sound good red :(
take a look at this http://www.your-lifestyleonline.com/how-to-get-rid-of-pantry-moths.htm
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same same but different ;D JD
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put bay leaves (sweet laurel) in every container of grain or flour and similar products. The glue traps are the best solution but take time as subsequent hatchings will occur at intervals so keep them primed. Replace when recommended.
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Thanks guys, also how do I tell what food is already contaminated and what it still good ???
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poor girl I know how you feel. you need to get on top of this asap as they breed like crazy. go through all your flours, rice, nuts, dried fruit and just ditch anything suspicious. You will either see tiny 1cm "worms" or pale yellow eggs the size of a pin prick. They spin a little web for the larvae. If you see a worm pick it up with a tissue and dispose of it outside etc. Look under your pantry shelves, and you will usually see a spot where they are more prevalent. Look especially at packets in this zone. The sticky tents are the best traps, and I have even put double sided tape on them and stuck them high up on cupboards near the ceiling where they tend to fly up. I now keep all my food (as above) in the fridge, and freeze those things for at least 2 hours to kill the eggs before they go into the pantry.
As to how to know, only you can decide and judge (but the good thing is they are protein and won't kill you ;))
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Poor you. I had a massive outbreak earlier in the year that started in bird seed. I ended up throwing out a lot of nuts, seeds etc that I had in the pantry that were infested. I now keep a lot of nuts in the freezer and always have the triangle moth traps in the pantry. I go crazy when I see a moth now. I HATE THEM WITH A VENGEANCE.
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I've had similar problems in my pantry and ditching anything that is infected is the only way to go.
I also keep everything in sealed containers now, although that's not completely foolproof all the time.
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If I put Bay Leaves in the containers will I be able to taste it? Halfway through sorting it out now
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if you have a valcum sealer and a lot of bulk stuff
you could valcum seal them and that will stop the moths getting into the packets
but it does not help you if it is allready infected
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Well it's all done, not as bad as I first thought. I still had to throw alot of stuff out though >:(
At least the cupboard got a good clean :D
So here it is, clean, bug free, bare but more organized than ever before...my new improved pantry ;D ;D
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well done red. i gave my pantry a good clean out 2 ,after ur post :-))
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If I put Bay Leaves in the containers will I be able to taste it? Halfway through sorting it out now
No. I have bay trees in my garden and the leaves dry rapidly so I switch them out every six months or so but I also have them just loose in drawers and cabinets.
I rarely see one of the little moths in the kitchen. I do occasionally find them fluttering around in other parts of the house.
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Arghh - Just sift 'em out - ;) :D I use peppermint, lavender and Eucalyptus oil on cotton balls through out the pantry. :)
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I have had problems also. I now store all pantry items in heavy/thick plastic containers. If there are moths already inside, it keeps them there. To get rid of them, the moth traps are excellent. In our cold climate , we see more in the hot weather.
In the remainder of the house I have little organza bags with a mix of natural herbs. They seem to work.
I will post the mix if anyone is interested.
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yes please a chookwoman when the weather warms up that is when l have a problem
l have to be careful when buying bulk stuff from the heath food shop too and l check for webs
as l have brought them allready infected before its annoying
l have started to valcum seal any extra bits which dont fit into my jars for longer term storage
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When I buy ANY grains, seeds, nuts or flours, I put them into the freezer for at least 48 hours and some I store in the freezer until ready to use them.
Corn grits and corn meal is especially problematic because the eggs of the critters are so tiny that putting the meal through a sieve won't catch them.
I also have a lot of problems with hulled millet if not kept in the freezer. Freezing does not kill the eggs of the moths that infests it and they will hatch a couple of weeks after it has come back to room temp.
I have a freezer just for storing this stuff because I use a lot of grains and nuts and it's better to spend the money on a freezer than to repeatedly toss out grains with bugs or rancid nuts. If you add up and compare the amounts, you will see my rationale.
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My screen on the forum is so TINY I can barely see it. I don't think that it was like this before 3 days ago and think I must have clicked something somehow perhaps late one night when I may have had a glass or two of wine....hmnn.... does anyone have a tip that may increase it?
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Have you checked the zoom size under the View menu? It should be at 100% (or larger if you like).
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Hope you can sort it out CP!
I use glass containers as much as possible in my pantry. I find that moths can get in and under plastic lids. When we had a moth outbreak about 10 years ago, moths even got into the glass of my clock!
I like Nay Nay's idea of the cotton balls with essential oils on them. Cedarwood EO would also be a good addition.
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Have you checked the zoom size under the View menu? It should be at 100% (or larger if you like).
On my laptop everything else is normal, and its set at 100%. When I reset it to 125% it put all my emails etc into a different font (for the blind), but the forum still stayed tiny. If there is a View menu on the forum I can't see it
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If you right click up at the very top above where the address bar is you should be able to selct menu bar etc. If the menu bar is showing then you should have file, edit, view, fabourites, tools and help menus showing. The zoom is under the view menu. I also think the shortcut to change to 100% is Ctrl & 0. Then if you want it larger you use Ctrl + and Ctrl - for smaller. Hope this helps.
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you are a little ripper! Just did the control + 0 and it worked!!! I was beginning to think it was all in my head and that I have been squinting like this all the time - oh I love you, you clever little thing :-* :-* :-*
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Glad that I could help. So many on this forum have helped me, it's nice to be able to give back.