Food bugs like to eat foods in your cabinets.
Pantry bugs can be one of a number of insects that feed on food in your cabinets. Among common food bugs are pantry moths and flour weevils. Pantry moths will lay their eggs as well as eat the food in your cabinets. Flour weevils are found inside flours, rice and other grains. These insects can be a nuisance but you can easily treat an infestation and get rid of them for good. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Empty your cabinets. This will allow you to inspect all the food in the cabinets and easily clean the cabinets.
2. Throw away any and all foods that are infested or are suspect. This includes open and closed packaging. Suspect packages would be damaged or crushed boxes. You may not see any bugs on these packages, but they could be housing bugs inside. Seal the trash bag in which you dispose of these foods and place the bag in a lidded trashcan outside. Do not keep it in the house for any extended period of time or the bugs may find their way back out.
3. Use hot water and household bleach to clean the inside and outside of your cabinets with a sponge. Use 1/4 cup bleach per 1 gallon of water. If you prefer not to use bleach, you can also use a household-disinfecting product and follow the mixing instructions on the bottle. Use the hottest water you can stand. Rinse the sponge often to wash away larvae and debris the sponge collects. Wear gloves when working with bleach to avoid skin reactions.
4. Use hot water and liquid dish detergent to wash the outside of all cans from your cabinets. This will wash away any larvae that on the cans that you may not see.
5. Clean the cracks and crevices in your cabinets with your vacuum's crevice attachment. Empty the contents of your vacuum into a zip-top bag and dispose of it outside.
6. Place all dried foods into food canisters or zip-top bags. This will keep bugs from reaching food sources, preventing future infestations.
7. Place bay leaves in flour, rice and grain containers. Also scatter bay leaves around the back of your pantry. Use dried leaves. Bay leaves are known to drive away flour weevils.
8. Place all your food back in the cabinets. Make sure the cabinets are completely dry before returning foods to the shelves.
9. Wash all flat surfaces in your kitchen using hot water and bleach as you did in Step 3 and vacuum using the crevice tool. Dispose of the vacuum contents the same way you did previously. Be sure to clean the walls, counters, floors and refrigerator. This will help remove any larvae around your kitchen that you cannot see.
10. Throw away any contaminated pet food. Wash all pet bowls and food storage containers using hot water and soap.
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