Mediterranean flour moths

Elimination, Description

Moth Traps   Mediterranean Flour Moth Description    Moth Control, Elimination 

Insecticide Control    Pantry Pests

The Mediterranean Flour Moth can be found in many foods in addition to flour, grain residues, broken kernels and various whole grains.  Although this insect is not as serious a pest as the Indian meal moth and some of the grain infesting beetles, it still causes clogging of machinery with its webbing, and at times causes grain mill shut-downs.

The adult moth has a wingspread of nearly one inch.  The forewings are a pale gray with transverse wavy black markings (not prominent).  When resting, the wings are held to the body, but the head and tip of the abdomen are characteristically slightly raised.  Development and damage is similar to the Indian meal moth, except the larvae live and feed in small silken tubes they spin.  Although flour is the favorite food, grains, bran, breakfast foods and pollen in beehives are also attacked.  The life cycle takes about 10 weeks.  The webbing and matting of the larvae often cause the greatest amount of damage by this insect, whether it is contaminating foods in the home or clogging industrial machinery.

The female moth lays from 116 to 678 small white eggs in flour, meal, waste grain, and other food sources.  Commonly, the eggs are attached to the food.  Within a few days (three days at eighty to ninety degrees F) the eggs hatch into small larvae, with a very hard and dark colored head and small black spots on the body, that immediately begin to spin silken their tubes.  The larvae remain within the tubes until fully mature, about forty days.  When fully grown, the larvae will leave the immediate area where they were feeding and wander about in search of a location to spin silken cocoons.  Within the cocoons, they transform into the pupae.  After eight to twelve days of the pupa stage,  the adult moths emerge. During very warm weather, the Mediterranean flour moth may complete its life cycle (egg to adult) in five to seven weeks.
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1. If you have flour or grain moths: Empty all cabinets, drawers and pantries where there is evidence of insects.  Try to identify which foodstuff is infested. Throw away any container suspected of being a source.  If you are unsure and want to save something which may be infested, place it in Tupperware or zip lock bags.  Inspect it a week or two later to see if there is activity or not.  You can also freeze food (in a baggy) for 5-10 days to kill any possible pests.  Be careful to inspect cans as these pests love to nest on the bottom around the can’s rim.  The lids of jars or bottles also provide excellent nest sites.

2. Now treat with a professional aerosol that has a crack and crevice tip.  We suggest using CB-Invader.  Treat all cracks and crevices using the plastic infection tip. You must make sure to get all sides, tops, corners and backs of doors around their hinges.  This treatment will kill the adult stages but some eggs and pupae will survive.  For persistent infestations, two or three sprayings with CB-Invader over several weeks may be required, along with a treatment of Suspend SC, an odorless, long-lasting insecticide spray.  Not only will Suspend SC give you a quick kill of pantry pests but will last for several weeks (90 days or more), preventing infestations of many household insect pests.
   CB-Now treat with a professional aerosol that has a crack and crevice tip.  We suggest using CB-Invader.  Treat all cracks and crevices using the plastic infection tip. You must make sure to get all sides, tops, corners and backs of doors around their hinges.  This treatment will kill the adult stages but some eggs and pupae will survive.  For persistent infestations, two or three sprayings with

3. If you have INDIAN MEAL MOTHS, MEDITERRANEAN MOTHS or other flour moths/ grain moths.: Set up Moth Traps in areas where moths are flying. These traps are helpful because they will catch the adult stages of any grain moth as they hatch from their pupae cocoons. The trap has a strong sex pheromone which these pantry moths cannot resist. They will fly to the trap and get stuck on the glue inside. Once trapped, they cannot mate and reproduce. Place Moth Traps in areas where moths are flying. These traps are helpful because they will catch the adult stages of any moth as they hatch from their pupae cocoons. The trap has a strong sex pheromone which these pantry moths cannot resist. They will fly to the trap and get stuck on the glue inside. Once trapped, they cannot mate and reproduce.
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