If you are new to reading our blogs – Welcome! Our goal is to provide our customers a place to find useful information about all things pest control. Over the past (almost) year, we have covered a lot of pests and how-to’s. We plan to continue our journey through the many pests that invade our homes and businesses for the future of this blog. So, we hope you continue to support our journey and find the information we post to be helpful.
We are entering the cooler months of the year now. We all can appreciate the cooler temps after the hot summer days we experienced this year. 2020 has definitely been a year to mark in our history books. Not only have we dealt with the shutdowns from COVID-19 but in the pest world we have not slowed down despite so many shutdowns. And, we are grateful. Most of our customers are working from home and spending much more time inside their homes than in years past. The stay-at-home orders and the abundance of caution we are all apart of mean we will inevitably notice things that you normally would not have time to even think about when life was “normal”. What things are we talking about? BUGS! INSECTS! RODENTS! All the creepy crawly pests we do not like to see inside our home.
Who else is eating from your pantry?
Being home more has meant for most of us a lot more groceries stocked in our pantries since we are not able to dine in restaurants like before Covid-19. More food in your pantry means the possibility of welcoming more pests into your home especially after the cooler temps begin to settle in.
What pantry pests could you be inviting in?
Mostly moths and beetles will be found in your pantry this season. Yuk! We know. Moths will most likely be the pests you’ll see most often. The two we are concerned with are Angoumois grain moth (AGM) and Indian meal moth.
Angoumois grain moth, aka AGM, is an insect that primarily lives in the grain of a single corn kernel for most of its stages of life. Usually you will only know corn is infected by the hole within a kernel where the moth emerged. An adult AGM is a half inch in size, tan and grey in color, have fringed front wings while the back wings have fingerlike tips. The good news is the adults do not feed. At the adult stage the moth will emerge from the kernel leaving behind a hollow kernel and lighter corncob.
The other moth we could see chomping on our pantry food is an Indian Meal Moth. This moth is also primarily a corn grain insect but, tends to live in and on grain products, seeds, dried fruit, dog food, and spices. If you find the adult moth in your pantry, you can bet there is already an infestation lurking.
What is the best remedy to conquer these pantry pests?
#1 SANITATION – Although, you cannot always help what you bring into your home, you can certainly maintain a level of cleanliness to deter pests from sharing your home with you.
#2 HEAT OR FREEZE – Remember your mom or grandma always keeping grains in the refrigerator or in the freezer rather than the pantry. There’s a logical reason. Freezing the grains you typically store in your pantry will keep the insects from making it their home and keep your grains fresh, longer.
#3 STORE IN AIR-TIGHT CONTAINERS – Air-tight containers are not just the new hot pantry staple to make your storage look Instagram worthy. It actually has a purpose. No. 1 priority of those beautiful containers is to keep pests out! Think of these containers as investments. They help protect the food you purchase for your family safe from pantry pests.
Lastly, if you are experiencing an infestation. No need to worry. Call us! Email us! DM us on Facebook. Whatever your preferred method of communication, we will be glad to schedule your pest control service to rid your home of pantry pests – and, any other common household pests you may experience.
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