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Indian Meal Moths

How to identify
The Indian meal moth is the "stored product pest" you are most likely to see, particularly in homes, grocery stores and warehouses. Their wingspread is about 3/4 inch and their pale gray wings have a reddish copper band covering the bottom half.

Indian meal moths take over our food stores
Indian meal moths are extremely difficult to eliminate once they establish a foothold. They feed on a wide variety of stored products like coarse-milled cereals, wheat and grain flour, whole or broken grain (including shelled or ear corn) and processed grain products, dried fruits, chocolate, candy, red peppers and more, as well as bird seed, pet food, "natural" health foods, and seeds and nuts hoarded by rodents.

They have a high reproductive rate and rapidly spread to new sites. Hundreds or even thousands of larvae may infest food, webbing it with silken threads, and contaminating it with fecal pellets and cast skins. They rapidly spread to more food sites and are difficult to locate and eradicate.

Over-the-counter treatments can help kill exposed moths, but it requires a thorough understanding of the Indian Meal Moth's biology and habits to locate and eliminate difficult-to-find harborage sites.

How to limit the conditions that attract or support Indian Meal Moths
The only practical control solution is to track down and discard all infested products.

When inspecting for Indian meal moths, be sure to check birdseed and pet food.
Keep in mind that mice may have hoarded infested materials in wall voids, attics and other protected areas.
Check under refrigerators, stoves, storage racks, equipment and other areas where stored or spilled food is allowed to accumulate.
Rotate stored products paying attention to product over 90 days old.
Heavily infested products must be discarded, fumigated or heat-treated.
To kill all stages of Indian meal moths, the internal temperature of the product can be raised to 140 degrees F. for one hour, or the product can be frozen for four days.
Seek professional assistance and consider an ongoing, preventive program.

Buffalo Exterminating is tough on Indian Meal Moths
The first step in managing meal moth problems is to locate all infested food product and spilled food sources. Infested food products must be discarded and food spillage must be cleaned up. Encrusted spillage must be scraped from cracks and crevices. A shop vac with a crevice tool works well. A thorough cleaning is followed by the application of residual insecticides to all infested cracks and crevices.

More information

A wide range of foods - Although given the name Indian meal moth after their discovery on "Indian meal" (now called cornmeal), these pests feed on as wide a variety of stored products as any insect. The white, worm-like larvae feeds on such foods as coarse-milled cereals, wheat and grain flour, whole or broken grain (including shelled or ear corn) and processed grain products, dried fruits, chocolate, candy, red peppers and so on. They also feed on bird seed, pet food, "natural" health foods, and seeds and nuts hoarded by rodents.
High reproductive rate - A female Indian meal moth lays an average of 170 eggs (up to 400). Under ideal conditions, the life cycle from egg to adult takes less than two months, and there may be five generations per year. While at first you see only an occasional moth, soon dozens of circling moths become a regular evening sight. Hundreds or even thousands of larvae may then be infesting food, webbing it with silken threads, and contaminating it with fecal pellets and cast skins.
Rapid spread to new sites - Once Indian meal moths become established, they can, in a matter of weeks, spread to other food and other sites. Mature larvae wander from their food supply looking for secluded places to pupate. Once the adults emerge and mate, the females look for suitable food on which to lay their eggs, often far from the original infestation.