Terre Haute residents don’t want bugs in their pantries and food products. After all, what is more disturbing than opening a bag of chips only to find a multitude of squirming, writhing larvae? Nobody wants to find insects in their food. Unfortunately, Indian meal moths in Terre Haute are a major problem for many homeowners.
Indian meal moths themselves actually don’t do much damage as adults since they don’t have the required mouthparts to feed on the items in your pantry. However, the real problem with these insects rises when they lay their eggs in your stored food products. Indian meal moth eggs and larvae are incredibly small and easy to miss. Many people don’t realize they have a pantry pest problem until they find grown Indian meal moths flying around in their kitchen or pantry.
Damage Indian Meal Moths Cause
Most of the damage Indian meal moths cause occurs when they are in their larval stage. During this stage of life, the Indian meal moth larvae feed on flour, grains, pastas, spices, and cereals. As they feed they contaminate our food with excrement. Food sanitation becomes a major concern during an Indian meal moth infestation. Any food that has potentially been contaminated should not be consumed.
How Indian Meal Moths Get Into Homes
What many people don’t realize is that Indian meal moth infestations most commonly occur when Terre Haute residents bring infested items home from the local grocery store. Pantry pest infestations usually start at the distribution company that provides products for food markets and grocery stores. Infested items are then stored on shelves for customers to purchase and bring home. Once on homeowners shelves that infestation is introduced to other stored products within that customer's home.
How to Keep Indian Meal Moths Out of Your Home
Most Indian meal moth infestations are caused by bringing already infested products into your home, but they do find other ways in. Here are a few things you can do to help keep them out:
- Inspect your home's exterior for holes and cracks, rips or tears in window screens, and for gaps around doors. Seal and repair any openings you find.
- Remove from your home any items that you know are already infested.
- Check foods such as rice, cereal, pasta, and flour before storing them in your pantry.
How to Rid Your Home of Indian Meal Moths
Action Pest Control offers services to identify and eliminate Indian meal moths found in Terre Haute homes. The best preventative step you can take is to contact a professional home pest control expert to handle your pest problems. With any different service options, we are able to take care of any pest problems you are facing. Give us a call to learn more about these options and what you can do to limit your exposure to these pests.