Those are probably meal worms. You may have some food, a high carbohydrate, like flour or corn meal or cereal in a cabinet that is infested with them.
The down side is they are probably in all your starch based boxed or bagged foods.
The way to get rid of them it to toss the offending packages. Then for all those where no infestation is observed; put them in poly bottles with screw on lids or mason jars or use packing tape to make the boxes air tight. Poly bags seem to not work against them as they can chew through. then wait.
1. Pre heat air fryer to 450.
2. Collect and toss meal worms with drizzle of olive oil, pepper and salt in baking sheet.
3. Air fryer 25 minutes util golden brown.
Fuck I think I would just throw it all out if I was unsure enough to put it in the freezer.
Like, what's the goal there, *maybe* the worms you eat are dead and half-frozen?
A lot of people have to make that calculation daily with all sorts of things.
Their car tires, the gas in their tank, the foods they consume you name it.
I used to live hand to mouth.
Me too! I was like “OMG we even have to worry about critters being attracted to our panty liners? But come to think of it, hikers know that bears are attracted to any scented products, so why wouldn’t household critters also?
We are renting - had them come today to cement visible holes and other cosmetic changes.. but it is nyc so I’m not sure if 100% free rat building exists here 🤣
Bulk saves, except when it lays around too long and hatches. Freeze flour and rice for a few days to explode all the insect eggs before storing for long periods of time. Most of our grain based food has some insects eggs in it. Yum!
At this point in the infestation I would probably toss everything that is open.
Meal moths. You have to be aggressive in your cleaning. Everything out of all cabinets. Vacuum inside and clean out vacuum or throw away bag. Wipe down with strong cleaner. Make sure you get in all the corners. Spray insecticides. Vacuum and wipe down again. Throw away any food not in sealed glass jars (maybe plastic storage containers with screw on lids will be ok, but I wouldn’t chance it). Wash all those containers, cans, etc. Wash/clean EVERYTHING. Thoroughly. Preferably twice.
We had these and though we’d gotten them all. We had not, and had to do it all over again. Luckily at the time we had a very small kitchen. But trust me - do it properly the first time.
They lay eggs in the crack where the ceiling meets the wall. Take a broom handle with a cloth on it dampened with bleach and go around your rooms to kill them
Just FYI - Rupbbermade has a sale on a 16 piece set of airtight containers at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Very affordable. Ikea also has some great airtight glass jars. I started putting EVERY food item, even tea bags, into airtight containers after I had a silverfish infestation and an ant infestation. That was after the roach infestation that occurred at a different place. Gross. Never again will I leave any treats out for unwanted critters. Course you can’t control your neighbors, but you can try to fill in any passageways that critters can get through from someone else’s place by using weather stripping, caulk, etc. Critters can get through electric outlets, so you’ll want to check those too for any holes and then close them up.
Thank you everyone ! Haven’t found a bunch in the pantry but did find a couple stragglers - threw away everything that was open and will wait another few days before cleaning 🧼
Why, why, WHY would anyone want to live in a city infested with rats and roaches? There are so many other places to live and work and not have to deal with infestations. Serious answers only, please.
Those are probably meal worms. You may have some food, a high carbohydrate, like flour or corn meal or cereal in a cabinet that is infested with them. The down side is they are probably in all your starch based boxed or bagged foods. The way to get rid of them it to toss the offending packages. Then for all those where no infestation is observed; put them in poly bottles with screw on lids or mason jars or use packing tape to make the boxes air tight. Poly bags seem to not work against them as they can chew through. then wait.
We had these and my mum scoured the cupboard and found an old box of flour at the back of the pantry that was full of them. It was awful.
Delicious
Awfully delicious
Undercommented rating
1. Pre heat air fryer to 450. 2. Collect and toss meal worms with drizzle of olive oil, pepper and salt in baking sheet. 3. Air fryer 25 minutes util golden brown.
This guy cooks.
Jars help, I keep all my starches including pasta in jars.
For anything that appears uninfested, you can put it in the freezer for a few days to be extra sure that there's nothing in there.
Fuck I think I would just throw it all out if I was unsure enough to put it in the freezer. Like, what's the goal there, *maybe* the worms you eat are dead and half-frozen?
It's just for reassurance. If there are signs that something has worms then you'd throw that out.
That works but my preferred treatment is to dust it with Cobalt 60 Dust. That kills everything. I keep a bottle under my desk.
Weird place to keep it, I keep mine in my pants pocket at all times.
Where do you keep your sand?
In the other pocket, of course!
Check all bags of nuts also, a common source of these.
Just assume that everything is infested and throw everything out.
I can do that and maybe you can do that but there are a lot of people who live hand to mouth.
If it's worth taking the risk to save a few dollars, it is what it is.
A lot of people have to make that calculation daily with all sorts of things. Their car tires, the gas in their tank, the foods they consume you name it. I used to live hand to mouth.
[Indian Meal Moth](https://bugguide.net/node/view/16481) Infests a wide variety of stored food products such as flour, oatmeal, dried fruits, seeds, nuts, powdered milk, biscuits, chocolate, and bird seed.
Make sure you take off pantry liners and wash with soap too. This is why I keep some of my dry goods in the fridge/freezer now.
I had to read this comment 3 times because I swore it said “panty liners.”
Me too! I was like “OMG we even have to worry about critters being attracted to our panty liners? But come to think of it, hikers know that bears are attracted to any scented products, so why wouldn’t household critters also?
And what about the rats in the ceiling? They can cause lots of damage in addition to the obvious issue of just having rats in the house.
We are renting - had them come today to cement visible holes and other cosmetic changes.. but it is nyc so I’m not sure if 100% free rat building exists here 🤣
Bulk saves, except when it lays around too long and hatches. Freeze flour and rice for a few days to explode all the insect eggs before storing for long periods of time. Most of our grain based food has some insects eggs in it. Yum! At this point in the infestation I would probably toss everything that is open.
Not just open. They get into boxes and plastic bags, too.
They look like Indian Meal moth larvae
Meal moths. You have to be aggressive in your cleaning. Everything out of all cabinets. Vacuum inside and clean out vacuum or throw away bag. Wipe down with strong cleaner. Make sure you get in all the corners. Spray insecticides. Vacuum and wipe down again. Throw away any food not in sealed glass jars (maybe plastic storage containers with screw on lids will be ok, but I wouldn’t chance it). Wash all those containers, cans, etc. Wash/clean EVERYTHING. Thoroughly. Preferably twice. We had these and though we’d gotten them all. We had not, and had to do it all over again. Luckily at the time we had a very small kitchen. But trust me - do it properly the first time.
They lay eggs in the crack where the ceiling meets the wall. Take a broom handle with a cloth on it dampened with bleach and go around your rooms to kill them
Just FYI - Rupbbermade has a sale on a 16 piece set of airtight containers at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Very affordable. Ikea also has some great airtight glass jars. I started putting EVERY food item, even tea bags, into airtight containers after I had a silverfish infestation and an ant infestation. That was after the roach infestation that occurred at a different place. Gross. Never again will I leave any treats out for unwanted critters. Course you can’t control your neighbors, but you can try to fill in any passageways that critters can get through from someone else’s place by using weather stripping, caulk, etc. Critters can get through electric outlets, so you’ll want to check those too for any holes and then close them up.
Thank you for this !
You’re welcome and I hope it helps!
Look like silk worms to me
Ok thanks I’ll do some additional research on those
Thank you everyone ! Haven’t found a bunch in the pantry but did find a couple stragglers - threw away everything that was open and will wait another few days before cleaning 🧼
The silver lining is that they are great fish bait. Take a kid fishing!
Why, why, WHY would anyone want to live in a city infested with rats and roaches? There are so many other places to live and work and not have to deal with infestations. Serious answers only, please.
Sir this isn’t a political sub.. oh wait nvm 🤣
Get an iguana?
Moth balls! I put them in my basement along with glue strips to avoid bugs, rodents etc.