The One That Got Away

UGH!!!!

INSECTS!!!

Seems I have a yearly battle with one type or another.

There were armies of ants.

Then there were mosquitoes.

And let's not forget flies. Do you remember my post on the Six Legged Terrorists? No? Then click HERE to read about the disaster that they caused me to create.

Presently, my warfare is with the Indian Meal Moth.

It is a common pantry pest. I have even seen them fly around in grocery stores. They love flour, rice, pasta, grains and nuts. These moths make a mess of stored dried goods.

I had problems with them before. I seemed to have eradicated the little buggers. I have not had a problem with them for a couple years.

NOW THEY ARE BACK!!

It amazes me. I put my goods in sealed plastic bags, or in glass jars with tight lids. Even so, I have at times found an infestation in a glass jar of flour that was put into that jar once I came home from the store. So that tells me that the product had the pest prior to me bringing it home.

Where are they hiding??

I saw a moth flying around one evening. I killed it. Then I saw one on the face of the cupboard. My hand caused its death too. The "good" thing about these moths is that they are stupid. They just sit on a surface until they are squished, not like a fly who seems to enjoy a game of cat and mouse. They just sit and wait to be swatted. When the moths fly, it is another story. They fly in erratic zig-zags that make catching them a challenge. But I have become good at catching them in flight as well.

After seeing a few, I did a quick check to see what item(s) they were infesting, and found none.

The one or two moths found flying and on the inside of cupboard doors over a few days became a regular carnage of 10-12 moths a day. Last night with my nightly moth patrol, one got away. That was enough!!

I can take no more!!

I took everything out of the cupboard they were in. I found a sealed bag of nuts that had the tell tale web and ground up nuts. In the trash it went. I found some rice. Same thing, out it went. I found a jar of pasta that looked suspicious, out it went too.

Cleaning up

I washed the inside of the cupboard, wiped down everything else. It all looked good. Then I bought the moth trap. It is a sticky tent with a piece of material that has moth pheromone that will attract the male moth. I placed that inside the cupboard to help me with the war against the pest.

I think I need to inspect my beads as well. I am sure there are some bead pests. I was looking for some beads that I KNOW I have. I just can't find them. Maybe there is a bead-eating pest that I have to wage war on. Do you have bead-pests that you just know are devouring your beads? I think they are not only the cause of my missing beads, but the horrid mess my "studio" is in. I would never have left it in such a mess. I just know something is causing the disaster it is in.

I think I have a handle on my pantry pest. But I think I need to call an exterminator to help me with my bead pests. Anyone with any suggestions on how to handle bead-pests??