Watch Out Tennessee, Indian Meal Moths Want Your Food!

Many of us dread that weekly trip to the grocery store. Not only is it time-consuming and expensive, but there’s so much to consider when choosing each item. Questions run through our minds like:

• Is this a good price?

• Is this tasty?

• Is this healthy?

• What’s the sell by or use by date?

• Will anyone in my house actually eat this?

• Is this local?

• Can I get this in an organic option?

Not many of us are concerned about pests being in our food when we purchase it. Here in America, we are fortunate because we live in a country that integrates pest control management into its food supply industry, so it doesn’t usually cross our minds. Of course, if we have a negative experience with pests being in our food, we will certainly make changes to our behavior so that it doesn’t happen again. We would surely go back to the place where we purchased the food and expect our money back; and the next time that we either shopped there or purchased that same item elsewhere, we would definitely be vigilant about checking for pests - that’s if we are brave enough to purchase the same product again, ever. Once we get our food home, we need to be as vigilant about its storage as we expect the grocery stores to be because food infesting pests don’t only happen in the commercial food supply industry settings; they can happen in homes as well.

Indian meal moths are the most common food infesting pest that we deal with here at All-American Pest Control. These small moths can create big issues in dried pantry items like flour, cereal, grains, pasta, dry pet food, and dried fruit. These ½” to 5/8” moths are a grayish color with colorful wings that are either bronze, dark gray, or copper on the rear half with a yellow front half and a black band that separates the two halves. Their tiny cream colored larvae hatch from eggs that are laid in food items.

The majority of residential Indian meal moth infestations are from contaminated food products being brought into a home. This means that when you purchased that box of cereal, the moths were most in it, and most likely they were in egg or larvae form. It only takes one infested product to begin a pantry full of issues. If you suspect that you have an Indian meal moth issue at your home, contact our professional team today and schedule your free home evaluation. The longer you wait to address these pantry pests, the more products they will damage.

Here are a few prevention tips that can aid you in keeping Indian meal moths out of your home:

• Inspect the packaging of all food products prior to purchasing. Any small hole, crack, tear, or opening is a possible entry point for Indian meal moths.

• Store your dry goods in airtight sealed containers.

• Regularly check and rotate all your stored dry goods.

• Participate in a year-round pest control program from All-American Pest Control, and our team will help keep your home monitored and protected from food infesting pests and many others!

You expect your food to be free from pests when you purchase it; expect the same from it while it’s stored at your home. Have a pest-free pantry with help from the expert pest control team here at All-American Pest Control. Contact us today and schedule your free home evaluation and get protected!