Mediterranean Flour Moths adults are much darker
than the common Indianmeal Moth and the larvae are whitish or pinkish and leave
a silken webbing trail wherever they crawl. Newly emerged adults measure about
1/2" from top to bottom. This moth will feed on most dried food
goods including flour as as well as nuts, seeds and grains of all types.
Try and locate the source of
infestation before any type of treatment. Examine closets, pantry's and stored goods for larvae,
moths, and damage. Sanitation, Sanitation, Sanitation! Get the idea?!
Infested items should be thrown out,
or placed in a seal tight container and frozen for a couple of days.
Freezing the infested items will kill all lifecycle stages of this pest.
Vacuum and clean all cracks and crevices in
closets and other rooms infested.
Destroy cocoons and larvae that may be found in the cracks between shelves, moldings, and
doorframes, on ceilings of cupboards, or where room walls and ceiling meet.
After vacuuming cracks and crevices in closets and other rooms
infested, an Flour Moth Pheromone Trap can be placed in areas that contain items the larvae feed on. In small areas, we recommend just one trap.
Too many traps will confuse the moths and you won't achieve proper control.
For larger areas such as warehouses and retail stores, place the traps every 25
- 50 feet apart on a grid pattern. The recommended height is eye level.
Pheromone traps provide you with a good way to monitor your population.
Gentrol is not an insecticide, but an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) that provides preventative action, since it disrupts the pests' normal development.
Hydroprene, the active ingredient, prevents the pest from developing and thus
reproducing. Apply Gentrol to areas of infestation. Especially areas
where you see larvae. Areas to consider would be under the bottom side of
shelves in the pantry, cracks and crevices, behind baseboards, behind loose
wallpaper, in floor cracks, cracks in plaster, behind cabinets, under cabinets,
behind the dishwasher, or in existing wall holes.
Place the
Pantry Patrol Pheromone Trap
in infested areas.
This pheromone based trapping system utilizes powerful sex attractant and
aggregation pheromones mixed in a natural grain oil. This food attractant is
designed to lure and capture a variety of beetles and moths that attack your
stored food. Sold in packages of two.
Should you need to take a more aggressive approach to controlling your
infestation, try utilizing some common insecticides.
Use
a dust such as Drione or
Delta Dust to treat cracks, crevices, or inaccessible void areas such as
under cabinets or dish washers. Use the White Crusader to
make your application.
For added control, you may wish to resort to a residual insecticide such as
Tempo SC or Suspend.
Good housekeeping is
critical for preventing or controlling Indian Meal Moths. Never allow
stored products to lie in a neglected pile. Regular use of a strong suction
vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool to remove food products from floor
cracks and baseboards is necessary.
Keep the pantry and kitchen clean!