Macaroni and all of our noodles seem to get these larve in them after a month or two. Are these in the noodles themselves, or is it in my shelves???? (ICK). I need to have some help with this to know how to store noodles or get rid of these things! Thanks for any help. Shannon

-- shannon (confused@the.bugs), May 05, 1999

Answers

Freezing your noodles, pasta, etc. will help. For long term storage, try freezing to kill bugs, then set out for a few days at room temperature to let any eggs hatch & then freeze again. Also, don't trust the poly bag to protect your pasta from invading bugs already residing in your pantry; they'll just chew a hole right through the plastic bag.

-- mostly lurking (mostly lurking@podunk.texas), May 05, 1999.

Shannon,

Do you see any small (less than 1/2") moths? Gray in color. These are grain moths and they will get into anything not tightly sealed (jars work best) and lay eggs. I've had a lot of trouble with them too. This year I found something in a gardening catalog called a pantry pest trap. It's working great. The moths are in there, not in our food. If you are interested I will hunt down that catalog.

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), May 05, 1999.

If she's not,I certainly am!!!

CR

-- Chuck d n d (not@wo.rk), May 05, 1999.

Oh, definately, MB, anything I can do to get rid of the problem, the better - glass jars, traps, and ALL. See, I didn't really have any problem with this before I started to "stock up" and now rotate the foods out after a few months. I used to only have enough in to eat within a few weeks, I guess like others used to do. Now with several months of foods to rotate out (trying to really keep stocked up, but also trying to get the most recently canned foods with expiry dates further in the future), now I have just recently developed the "bug" problem. I just wonder if they have been here all the time, or if they come already in the packages??? Like I said, I never did let food sit long in the shelves or buy a lot. Just a few weeks of foods at a time and I usually have a weekly meal plan (family of 6, I have to do that). Thanks thanks, I do want the trap info and thanks for the container advice. We'll double up on the giant jars of pickles consumption!!! Shannon

-- shannon (confused@the.bugs), May 05, 1999.

Also, don't trust the poly bag to protect your pasta from invading bugs already residing in your pantry; they'll just chew a hole right through the plastic bag. -- mostly lurking

Good point ML
I've even seen them chew through the foil lined cheese bags in the macaroni and cheese mixes where they were in both the noodles and the cheese powder. Pesky problem, it is. The freezing does the trick for us. Unfortunately, we all have to face the bug problems. You'd be surprised how much protein actually is in your pasta ;-)

Mr. K
***trying not to think much about it before dinner***

-- Mr. Kennedy (MrK@home.tonight), May 05, 1999.

Repack in glass jars etc after freezing. ADD A BAY LEAF or stick of spearmint gum to jar. I live in Florida, high humidity, mega bugs, this works. Duffyo

-- duffyo (duffyo@mailcity.com), May 05, 1999.

It's called Gardens Alive. 5100 Schenley Place Lawrenceburg IN 47025

812-537-8651 m-f 8-5

They have all kinds of organic gardening products and natural pest controls. I have used their slug & snail control for a couple of years and am very happy with it. It's called Escar-Go! Really does work.

The part about the moths: They call them Indian Meal Moths. They can infest the food in the grocery store and come home with you.

"Chances are, Indian meal moths and their larvae are at work in your pantry. Getting rid of them can be a disheartening and discouraging business. Indian MM and their larvae attack flour, cereal, grains and seeds, chocolate (dirty rats), cake mixes, rice nuts dried fruit, dog food, powdered milk-even tea, herbs and spices. Small larvae hatch in stored food, become little brown moths which infest closets and cabinets and circulate around your home."

It uses "powerful pheromone lures, then traps them on their sticky inner surfaces. It's an effective, no-spray alternative to toxic contols"

I just went and looked at mine and there are 6 dead ones in it. That's 6 that aren't laying eggs in our food! Pkg of 2 traps & lures $9.99. Discount if you buy more. I wish they had a website. When I checked for one under gardensalive.com I found a "domain name for sale" sign. Somebody trying to make a few bucks off this company no doubt.

I have no affiliation with this company. I just like to see these organic products being sold and want them to do well and stay in business.

Hope this helps!

mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), May 05, 1999.

Here you go:

Mail order sources of beneficial insects and other alternative pesticide products

Gardens Alive! 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg IN 47025 Tel: (812) 537-8650 Fax: (812) 537-5108 gardener@gardens-alive.com

WOW -- without weeds (formerly called A-maizing Lawn), beneficial insects, Neem-Away, Slug-Out slug flakes,Escar-Go, deer fly Defense Patches, Soap Shield fungicidal soap, Turf-Alive endophytic grass seed, and more

Many Gardens Alive products can now be found in your local Wild Bird Center and Wild Bird Crossing stores.

ARBICO (Arizona Biological Control, Inc.) P.O. Box 4247 CRB, Tucson AZ 85738-1247 1-800-827-2847 Beneficial insects, cover crop seeds, solar fly traps, and more Beneficial Insectary Beneficial insects

The Bug Store Beneficial insects Planet Natural P.O. Box 3146, 1612 Gold Ave., Bozeman MT 59772 Tel: (406) 587-5891 Fax: (406) 587-0223 ecostore@webcom.com Pheramones and traps, beneficial insects, and more NeemAura Naturals Neem insect repellant (use instead of DEET products), neem soap, neem creme, and more

nobody

-- nobody (nobody@nowhere.com), May 06, 1999.

Thanks, thanks mb and nobody (and everybody!). That's exactly what I needed. You all are so helpful. I haven't had this problem long, but sure don't want it to spread, like it sounds like it would if it went on for long. We're in NC too (near VA). I'll be putting all of these tactics to work. Thanks for helping save our "stash"! shannon

-- shannon (confused@the.bugs), May 06, 1999.

If you are looking for a way to keep your foods from spoiling check out http://www.srv.net/~jlayman/ It is a food storage rotation system that you will like. All funds go to charity.

-- John Layman (jlayman@srv.net), May 11, 1999.

Yes you can stop the bugs in your pasta by freezing it. I took the time to call the home economist before we started storing food for Y2k and she said to use this method for any food that is made from something else, example: Pasta is made from wheat, powdered milk is made from liquid milk. Rice is just rice it doesn't come from something else get the idea. She is an expert on this and so far it has been true. First freeze the food item at O degrees F. or below zero for 8 days. Then bring the item to room temperature before packing it in a freezer bag, this will prevent sweating. Always use a container that is for the freezer, all bags and plastic are not alike, it needs to be for the freezer to fully protect from air reaching the food. Hope this was helpful.

-- linda benson (lcbenson@bellsouth.net), July 09, 1999.

Those critters set up shop in our old Velveeta!

-- flora (***@__._), July 09, 1999.