Question:  Hi- can you tell me if the Pantry Moth Spray Kills Pantry moth eggs and larvae as well as the adult moths? And also, how do you use it/ how does it work?  thnx

Question:  Thank you for getting back to me. Last Friday I took all food out of my pantry and threw about 70% of it away. Anything that still looked okay I put in the freezer. All of my "other stuff" was put outside (we live in the Midwest and it's pretty cold out). The stuff I put outside was unwashable. For example, bills, paper towel, etc... Do you think the stuff outside will be okay if it's been in the cold for a week? I washed my entire pantry down with soap and water. I also sprayed all shelves and walls with vinegar. I didn't have any moths at the time, just the little white worms. I haven't seen any worms for 3 days now. I also plan on spraying everything down with your spray i bought too. I don't plan on putting anything back into the pantry until Sunday. Am I doing everything ok, or do you have any other suggestions? Thanks for your time!

     Sounds like you are doing great, Tracy.  Yes, I think that the items you have stored outside (as long as the temperature reaches freezing at least 3-5 consecutive days) should be OK... there IS a possibility that the eggs will go into a type of "hibernation", which sometimes happens in the colder weather, but hopefully the freezing temperatures will kill any hidden eggs.  Which brings me to another point:  You have likely gotten rid of all the adult moths INSIDE the house, and many of the worms and eggs, but be prepared for at least one final round of flying adult moths to hatch before this is said and done. 

     As you will see in the literature online and in the instructions, the way that this system works is by interrupting their breeding/ feeding/ mating, i.e., "LIFE" cycle. This process takes at least 4 weeks, as it takes about 4 weeks for a moth to hatch, pupate, and turn into adult moths.  so even just a few missed eggs (which there are guaranteed to be some, as they are microscopic in size and can literally be anywhere...) can technically start the whole cycle all over again.  This is why people have such a hard time getting rid of these pests, and why traditional treatments don't work.  The important thing is to maintain an unwelcome environment for the moths during that entire initial month after you have killed the first round of adults. This is accomplished by:

1).  Keeping the moths from laying eggs in or near the food (by storage methods and by keeping the scent of Aunt Norma's Pantry Moth Spray fresh near food storage areas, which acts as a strong moth repellent).

2). Preventing the moths from Mating(with use of a pheromone Pantry Moth Trap, which lures and kills the males).

3).  Preventing any hatched larva from feeding(again by proper food storage and cleaning so that the worms/ larvae- which is the only stage that feeds- cannot have access to any food source).

And there you have it!  If you can successfully accomplish the above steps, (and manage to NOT FREAK OUT when you are still seeing moths the first month), the buggers will be GONE before you know it.  I have many, many happy customers that have had success using my method.  Please keep me posted, and GOOD LUCK!

Thank you for your interest in Aunt Norma's.

 

-Aunt Norma

www.AuntNormas.com

 

 

 

    

 (These are the instructions from Aunt Norma's Pantry Moth Spray... if you don't want to purchcase the spray- you can try filling a spray bottle with white vinegar and dish detergent in place of the Pantry Moth Spray)

      Now that you are thoroughly disgusted and understand the enemy, it’s time to get started.  There is a lot of work to do, and sadly, there is no shortcut.  This is war.  You need to begin by removing every item from your pantry.  You will be tempted to avoid this step, but it is crucial.  Next, throw out pretty much everything.  If you can’t bring yourself to toss hundreds of dollars of food into the trash, there are some alternatives, but be warned, it might not get rid of the problem and you could end up having to toss everything a few weeks later anyways.  FIRST, you can transfer any items that don’t seem affected into the freezer.  None of the stages of the organism (eggs, larvae, adults) is very temperature-tolerant and all can be killed by a week of freezing or by brief heating in a microwave or conventional oven when such treatment is practical.  Just make sure that your freezer is set to its coldest setting or the little buggers will merely hibernate.

 

NEXT, if you want to keep some items like canned goods and spices, you must inspect each one and then wash them in hot, soapy water or Aunt Norma’s Pantry Moth Spray.  Check everything, like inside the spice bottle lids and behind the canned good labels.  Do this for every single thing that will be returning to your cupboard.  If you miss some eggs or larvae, they will turn into moths and start reproducing again.  This is the most common reason for “re-infestation”.  Nothing is safe.  Check baskets, shelf liners, cookbooks, and recipe boxes.  Trust me, you only want to do this once, so do it right.

            NOW you need to clean the pantry like you’ve never cleaned before.  Cancel your plans for the rest of the weekend.  Remove any loose shelf liner, and wash down all surfaces with hot soapy water.  Next, Spray Aunt Norma’s liberally on all surfaces (and under shelves, in corners, etc.)  Use the far-reaching sprayer to get into areas like door hinges (a favorite place for moths to cocoon), ceilings, holes, corners and spaces or gaps where the panels don’t completely meet.  It is best to wear gloves and a mask for this step.  The spray contains non-toxic ingredients as well as essential oils and other insect repellents that not only kill the eggs and larvae but deter the adult moths from returning to lay more eggs and start the process over again.  You can wipe the areas lightly with a damp sponge to spread out the formula, or to absorb some if you went nuts with the spray and your pantry is dripping.   Allow to dry before returning any food to the pantry.

            At this stage, hopefully you have killed all the existing eggs and larvae, but you are probably going to still see some adult moths flying around over the next few days to weeks.  Some might’ve escaped when the cleaning started or were hiding in another part of the home.  They won’t want to return to the pantry, though.  After all, there’s no food for them anymore and they HATE the smell that the spray leaves behind, but they are desperately looking for a place to mate and lay eggs.  It is at this point recommended to set out a Pantry Moth Trap to kill any escapees that you either missed or that have hatched after you cleaned.  This is a pheromone trap that lures the males and can be a good alternative to spending all of your free time moth-hunting.   In any case, don’t panic if you continue to see moths.  With one female laying up to 300 eggs a day, it is unlikely that you killed ALL of the eggs hidden in your home.  The process works by interrupting their life cycle, but this can take some time for them to all die-off.  As long as you keep them from getting back into the food (with the freezer method and with the spray scent in the pantry), they are doomed. 

  Collect your family members and anyone living in the house and instruct them to hunt and kill any adult moths they see.  If you have issues about bug-killing or are worried about karma, get over it…quickly.  You have a small window of opportunity to kill these remaining menaces or you will be back to square one before you know it.  If you need some motivation, keep in mind that these creatures are not nice.  They are actually carnivorous and are programmed for survival.  They might even try to attack you when you swat at them.  Don’t be fooled, they are not cute and they are not your friends.      You can also discourage re-infestation by using Aunt Norma’s Pantry Moth Spray to frequently touch up the pantry.  You can spray directly around sealed food containers as the spray is non-toxic.  The moths hate this stuff.  Keep all foods in airtight, preferably glass, containers, and store whatever you can in the freezer.  Good Luck!