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OSU Master Gardeners identify insects or weeds, answer questions twice weekly in Cuyahoga Falls
By Denise Ellsworth
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Saturday, Mar 08, 2008
This week, a visitor to our office brought an insect sample she had collected in the house. She had found several small, tan-colored moths in various rooms, and needed help figuring out what these moths were.
I took one look into the bag, and knew there was work ahead for her in the kitchen, even though none of the moths was found there.
Two mornings a week, area residents travel to the Summit County Ohio State University Extension office in Cuyahoga Falls, many with bag or bucket in hand. OSU Master Gardeners are available from 9 to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, ready to identify weeds, diagnose plant problems or identify insects found around the house. Visitors hand the Master Gardeners their weed samples, diseases spied on roses or peonies, or six-legged pests munching on trees or the lawn, and await assistance with pest identification and management.
This week's visitor had an infestation of Indian meal moths. At some point, nearly everyone has problems with this pest, which is commonly brought to the home through infested packaged foods, birdseed or dog food. The contaminated foods can have eggs or caterpillars, which develop by spilling messy silk as they eat the food or seed.
When mature, the caterpillars form cocoons under shelves or in cracks and crevices in the pantry. Adult moths then emerge from the cocoons, and fly around the home. Adult females can lay 60 to 300 eggs, which can mature in as little as four weeks, quickly building up the population.
Unfortunately, a kitchen can maintain an infestation of Indian meal moths without many obvious signs. The caterpillars feed out of sight, and the well-hidden cocoons are small and white, often tucked back into rarely-seen corners of cabinets and pantries. The most obvious sign of the Indian meal moth is what our visitor noticed: small adult moths flying in a zig-zag pattern through the home, resting on walls or attracted to lights.
Our visitor found it hard to believe that she needed to look in the kitchen for the source of the problem; she had seen moths flying only in rooms other than the kitchen. Adults may be seen anywhere in the home, however, not necessarily in the kitchen. If you should spy an adult meal moth in the home, take it as a more-than-gentle suggestion that you need to make some changes in your food storage practices.
My daughter has recently taken an interest in baking, and eagerly scours through her grandmother's cookbooks for new recipes to try. She was curious why recipes from older cookbooks always called for sifting flour, while few modern recipes do. Historically, one of the main reasons for sifting flour was to remove insects, insect parts and webbing before baking. Modern milling and storage practices have reduced the occurrence of insects in flour and other foods, but meal moths, book lice, drugstore beetles and other insects still create problems in the kitchen.
Spring is an excellent time to tackle food-storage issues, whether you have seen meal moths or not. Preventing insect infestations is much simpler than trying to find the source and clear up a problem, so consider following these food storage guidelines:
• Inspect products before purchase, taking careful note of expiration dates.
• Avoid all damaged food containers. Inspect plastic and cardboard containers before storage, since meal moth caterpillars can easily chew through this material.
• When purchasing bulk or seldom-used foods, buy only as much as you will use in a few months' time, and store these products in hard plastic or glass containers. Herbs or spices can be stored in the refrigerator, and other seldom-used foods can be stored in the freezer.
• Make a habit of storing flour, oats, barley and other grains in hard plastic or glass containers with tight lids, particularly if these foods are seldom used.
• Food suspected of infestation can be put into the freezer (0 degrees) for four to seven days. Freezing temperatures will kill all meal moth life stages. After freezing, foods can then be stored in hard plastic or glass, or used (although sifting may be necessary).
• Store birdseed in a container with a tight lid, in the garage (not the house) if possible.
• Pet food should be stored in hard plastic containers with tight lids.
• Careful and regular cleaning of all food storage areas is essential. Meal moths can survive on very little food, including crumbs or small amounts of spilled flour or cereal. Clean all shelves, top to bottom, with hot soapy water. Pay careful attention to cracks and crevices, where cocoons are likely to hide.
• Decorative items in the home, such as wreaths or flower arrangements with decorative wheat or corn, can be an important and overlooked source of infestation. Periodically deep-freeze these items, or limit their use indoors to a few months before cycling them to outdoor areas or composting them.
For information about Indian meal moths, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Indian meal moths, OSU Extension, 2525 State Road, Suite 250, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223. The fact sheet can also be found online at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2089.html.
Visit with an OSU Master Gardener at the above address (use rear second-story parking deck) from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or call us during those hours at 330-928-4769 (GROW).
Denise Ellsworth is a horticultural educator with Ohio State University Extension. If you have questions about caring for your garden, write: Plant Lovers' Almanac, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Include your phone number.
This week, a visitor to our office brought an insect sample she had collected in the house. She had found several small, tan-colored moths in various rooms, and needed help figuring out what these moths were.
Get the full article here.
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