MOTHS!

[JimsBrother]

When my brother moved into my house with his birds I started getting little white moths flying around. He refused to acknowledge that the birds had anything to do with it, but I had none before he moved in here.

From what I've been able to Google, they're "pantry moths", which make their nest in flour, grain and seeds - ahem - bird food. I have traps set up around my house, but I want them to be GONE. I HATE them.

I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about. What s the solution here?

 

[ravvlet]

Yuck! I would try to replace any bird food you have right now that has seeds with fresh bags if you can, and then when you get the new bags in, keep them in the freezer for a few days. It’ll kill any moth larvae that might be in the new bags. If you then keep the seed in the fridge that’ll keep the existing moths from laying eggs in there.

I also keep our pellets in the fridge. It keeps them fresh longer (the expiration date on them is quite short otherwise and sometimes the bags even suggest refrigerating after opening).

Ultimately though since Amy has weight/heart issues you could look into tapering him off seeds? I’m not sure if that would work for Beebs, cockatiels are technically grass parakeets and usually do fine with a bit of seed in their diet.

 

[HeatherG]

That information is great, BUT I think that pantry moths can infest pellets, too. But you won’t bring new moths into your house with pellets.

 

[ravvlet]

That information is great, BUT I think that pantry moths can infest pellets, too. But you won’t bring new moths into your house with pellets.

Yuck, time to freeze everything!! I hate moths almost as much as fruit flies. Don’t get me started on those…

 

[SailBoat]

The best approach is to fresh all dry foods for Parrots and Humans for at least two weeks prior to use. As noted above, it will kill any and all bugs that naturally occur in all dry foods. Human grade packaging rarely have bugs, but it is just good practice to Freeze it all. We just Freeze every dry food until we open it for use. With most things, we only take out of the Freezer what is needed for a Weeks use and leave the balance in the Freezer. ZipLock bags and Freezer containers will become your friend.

Near all Parrots eat seed, and one adds pellets to assure a balanced diet.

 

[Flboy]

Come on, this is Connecticut! Those moths are a way of life! Family had a bakery/restaurant when I was little. I always had tons of flour that I made dust bombs with! The kid type, not the flame type!!
Do not throw out the food, it’s perfectly good! But freeze and bag everything!

 

[JimsBrother]

Amy gets no seeds, per his doctor's orders. Beebs gets some sesame seeds but that's a new thing since he's been mine (Jim didn't feed seeds at all). Both get pellets, perhaps that's the source? Their food is contained in a big plastic bin and the bags are sealed. I don't see any moths in there. I suppose they can hatch once they're in the food bowls.

My freezer isn't big enough to keep all the bird food. And as I understand it, freezing the larva doesn't kill the bugs they just go dormant. I'm sure that I'm not the only bird owner who has to deal with this. Is there any brand of food that's more or less prone to bringing bugs?

I HATE them!

Dave

 

[Laurasea]

I've gotten them currently! Hate them! Probably came from a bag if wild bird seed i bought for outside burds! Ugh!!! I normally keep in a can in the garage...git lazy brought inside! Ughhhhhhhhh
I feel ya!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Wow. I have never had any. Ever. Not in New Mexico, nor here in Cleveland. The bird eats Harrison's (delivered by mail so as not to worry about expiration dates, store conditions, etc.). There are no seeds in the house except for occasional human snacks. Of course, regular fruits ad vegetables. Wow. FINALLY. A problem I DON'T HAVE! This is a first. I'm throwing a party. Dave, you're the guest of honor.

 

[Birdman666]

I got a bag of bird food that was contaminated with seed moths awhile back, and it really was a battle for awhile with them. Problem being that even if you throw out the contaminated food, they get into the bird's food dishes, and continue to breed prolifically. For me it was a battle of attrition. Dump the contaminated food (I fed it to the wild birds.) Sanitize all the containers, and then I used my shop vac to suck up every moth I could find. It still took a couple of months to get rid of every single one of them.

 

[HeatherG]

There ARE hormone scented sticky traps for pantry moths. They can make the difference when you’re trying to get the last few moths out of your home.

 

[JimsBrother]

There ARE hormone scented sticky traps for pantry moths. They can make the difference when you’re trying to get the last few moths out of your home.

Yes, I have them all over my house. They do work, but the moths aren't going away. I'm trying to figure out exactly where they're coming from.

Dave

 

[JimsBrother]

Wow. I have never had any. Ever.

Hmmph. Lucky girl.

When Jim moved in with me I made a dedicated spot in my cupboards for him to keep the parrots' food. The kitchen in his house was a shithole, with bags of bird food cluttering up his counter top. I told him that ain't gonna happen in my house (we were like the Odd Couple that way). When moths appeared I was horrified and blamed it on his damned birds. He refused to acknowledge that there was any connection. Then one day he opened the cupboard door and a hundred of the buggers flew out.

I'm new to this forum and I won't use the F-word here, but nothing else describes how I feel about bugs.

Dave

 

[Laurasea]

vacuum under fridge, Stove .
Take everything out of cabinet clean. Check all packages they seem gnaw way into box's of pasta/rice ect. or plastic packaging.

A few years ago I had to toss all packaging, coffee, tea , spices, they found their way i to everything. And wipe out their little cocoons from cupboards. They hatch in batches.

Thankfully this round i think I've got them gone . I already switched to glass abd plastic storage bins fir everything during my last plague. Keep cereal abd oatmeal in fridge.

And like all the wise posters I put all new pellets seeds in freezer fir a couple if days before transfer to large glass storage jars . Tho once I brought home Mac n cheese from grocery store and it was infested. They are nasty bugs!

I share your hate.

 

[HeatherG]

vacuum under fridge, Stove .
Take everything out of cabinet clean. Check all packages they seem gnaw way into box's of pasta/rice ect. or plastic packaging.

A few years ago I had to toss all packaging, coffee, tea , spices, they found their way i to everything. And wipe out their little cocoons from cupboards. They hatch in batches.

Thankfully this round i think I've got them gone . I already switched to glass abd plastic storage bins fir everything during my last plague. Keep cereal abd oatmeal in fridge.

And like all the wise posters I put all new pellets seeds in freezer fir a couple if days before transfer to large glass storage jars . Tho once I brought home Mac n cheese from grocery store and it was infested. They are nasty bugs!

I share your hate.

Yes. Gotta freeze any bulk flour or seed or dry food before storing it and then store in sealed ziploc bags, Rubbermaid, screw tip jars or canisters.

I moved in with some roommates, many years ago. Our place was infested with those moths. I immediately put all my dry foods in sealed containers. One roommate did not. Then her stuff got infested and she blamed me. I could SHOW HER my packaged bug free seed but she was still absolutely certain the moths came from me and my birds.

The moral of the story being, once you get them in your place they are very hard to get rid of. There must have been moths or eggs in the empty cupboards after the last people moved, and since her things weren’t sealed, they moved into her dry goods. (Not into mine.)

 

[SailBoat]

Another example of the total loss of Common Sense among Humans!!
And, when provided, it is discounted as not possible, or too simple for their believe system. After all you have already been targeted and there is no way they will back away from their believe.

 

[parrottoys]

That information is great, BUT I think that pantry moths can infest pellets, too. But you won’t bring new moths into your house with pellets.

Keep the pellets in the fridge. No moths. I add a bit of baby food veggie/fruit combos to soften the pellets and make them yummy. What they don't eat for breakfast gets covered and goes back into the fridge. I always serve food warm. NOT HOT, warm.

 

[Kentuckienne]

You have my sympathy. This has been a tough year for you, hasn’t it? Those pantry moths aren’t connected to birds or birds foods, necessarily. I’ve had infestations from pistachio nuts. If you have any kind of grain or breads, you can get them. They can be in pasta boxes, oats, nuts, rice, flour, grits, anything. Last time I had them, I looked at every single box of food in the house. Most sealed stuff was ok, but I found them in some pistachio nuts (roasted/salted). I’ve seen them in plastic jars of mixed nuts, in macaroni, in rice…mostly opened boxes. Look for webs, look for anything moving at the bottom. Once they are in the house they get everywhere. You have to dump everything that’s infested outside, not in the inside trash, and wash the containers. You might have to wash the bird cages well. If there are any seeds or fragments in the cages those can be infested, you can’t use any sprays or foggers, just the sticky traps.

 

[HeatherG]

I have gotten those moths from bulk food bought from the coop. Now I try to freeze any bulk pantry goods that I buy for a couple of days in my freezer.

Maybe you remember flour sifters? Those were partly to get the bugs out before you baked with the flour. Yum!

 

[MarkJ77433]

I had the problem for decades with a couple of parrots I had on a seed diet. Drove me crazy. Those moths infiltrated everything. At different times, I thought the only recourse was to burn down the house and move.

Turns out, the solution was very simple. I kept the food bin in the fridge. It only came out when long enough to fill the food cup. No freezing necessary. The fridge kept the moth incubation in suspense while refrigerated.

Never, ever had the problem again.…