How to end the ever-constant fight against pantry moths

Each week, Good Weekend’s how-to column shares expert advice on how to navigate some of modern life’s big – and small – challenges. This week: How to eradicate pantry moths.

“I’m so tired of this battle.” So said one exhausted foot soldier on a Reddit thread about her ever-constant fight to eradicate pantry moths. I empathise. No sooner have you killed 10 but 10 more will pop up. Then 10 more. You go to bed thinking you’ve handled the situation, only to wake up and find 10 more critters flitting about your cupboards and kitchen ceiling.

The first thing entomologist Tanya Latty says is to chill out. The associate professor at Sydney University’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences says they’re part and parcel of co-existing with other living things. “Having pantry moths is not the end of the world,” she says (some may beg to differ). “People worry about eating the eggs, but they won’t do you harm. Think of it as an extra bit of protein.”

That said, they are annoying, and there are things you can do to minimise their presence. First: find out where they’re breeding. “Check all your dried goods, spices, dog food, potpourri, even chilli powder,” Latty says. It’s the tiny white caterpillars that feast on your food, not the dark, flying, adult things they turn into, so killing the eggs and larvae is the name of the game.

Clean all pantry surfaces with hot water. A crumb is enough for them to feast on, so check the spots where crumbs collect: under the toaster, the fridge, the microwave. Be rigorous in your search; they’re artful dodgers who love to lay eggs in hard-to-find places, like the seals on containers and the cracks and crevices of cupboards.

Chuck out the badly infested items and freeze anything you suspect might contain larvae. In fact, try freezing dry goods the moment you buy them, to nuke anything that’s been growing since the supermarket warehouse, then transfer a few days later into rigid, airtight containers. “Don’t use thin plastic bags,” Latty says, “they can eat through them.”

If all this fails, purchase some of the pheromone traps sold by most supermarkets and put them in your cupboards. These triangular devices have sticky surfaces that the male moths get caught on. “The thing that’s attracting the moth is a chemical that females put out to attract males, so they capture males looking for a mate,” Latty explains. As an insect expert, though, she’s not a fan. “I can’t shake the idea that they might be a little cruel. They die because they get stuck there.”

Some might not share her compassion.

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