Indian meal moths and other storage moths. The adults are small moths, and the grubs spin webbing through dried fruit, flour, biscuits, powdered milk and chocolate.
Weevils
Rice and granary weevils have a long snout. They chew into rice, grain and other dry foods, and the female seals her eggs inside.
Flour beetles
Small reddish-brown beetles, about 3 to 4 mm, found in flour, oats, bran, spices and sometimes dried fruit.
Other pantry beetles
Sawtoothed grain beetles in undisturbed cupboards, cigarette beetles that chew small round holes in packaging, and warehouse beetles whose shed skins build up around an infestation.
Signs and where they hide
What you might see
Fine webbing or clumped flour, small holes in packets, tiny beetles in the cupboard, grubs on shelves, or moths flying around the kitchen at night.
Where they hide
Forgotten packets at the back of cupboards, spices, pet food, cereals, rice and flour, and in the cracks and corners of shelves.
Why they keep coming back
Eggs and grubs can be inside a sealed-looking packet. One missed packet can restart the problem, even after a clean-out.
Not sure what it is?
Keep a sample in a sealed bag or jar and call us. Identifying the pest is the first step.
What we do and what you can do. We inspect the pantry and kitchen, identify the pest, and treat the cracks, corners and shelving where they hide, keeping treatments away from food and utensils. You can help by throwing out infested food, freezing small amounts of dry goods for 48 hours, vacuuming cupboards, storing food in airtight containers and buying smaller amounts. We send before and after your service information once your booking is confirmed. Pantry pest treatment is a Speciality service.
What helps
1
Where they hide
Rice, flour, cereals, spices and pet food.
2
Through packaging
They can chew through unopened packs.
3
Common culprits
Rice weevil, saw-toothed grain beetle and Indian meal moth.
4
Eggs survive
Missed eggs can restart an infestation, so throwing out packets is only a start.
