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I keep my packages of cereals, couscous and rice mixes, and pasta, in the freezer to protect them from pantry moths. We do use the traps and they help, but never completely. I'd like to make room in my freezer, though, and I've been looking into products that I can keep in my cupboards or in the basement, that can hold a decent number of those boxes. I bought some of the Oxo containers but they're really the wrong sizes; they seem more suitable for flours and sugar and other loose foodstuffs, and mine are fine in large mason jars. Suggestions?
I freeze all these items that come from the store ~ I haven't had problems with food moths but have brought home weevils in brown and wild rices in particular. Hate them buggers!
I don't have any good ideas for containers but to use bay leaves to repel things in the dried goods pantry. Bay leaves can even be used for cooking, then removed, washed, dried and used in this manner. Do they work? The jury is still out... lol
Podster, our moths, when they get going, wouldn't be deterred by bay leaves I suspect. We never had them until we bought some bulk grains once, many years ago, from a co-op, and we haven't been able to get rid of them completely since then, since we don't use pesticides. I also see them in the feed for our chickens, but that's kept outside and the chickens like the extra protein anyway!
I ordered some large plastic storage boxes from Amazon; one type was recommended by someone who said that they did keep the bugs away from her dried goods. I'll see if they work, and if they fit in my cupboards, too. They weren't expensive and I can always use them elsewhere for storage if they turn out not to be appropriate for foodstuffs. I did wonder if anyone else had a neat solution to this problem, though.
We have had weevils too, but they don't seem as persistent as the moths!
I know how frustrating this is. It happened to me once too. Podster's suggestion is right on the money. If you will store everything in airtight containers, like you plan to do, and keep a bay leaf or 3 in each, you will no longer have weevils or their adult stage which is the moths. My grandmother told me that weevils come in the flour/grain, and that the secret is to keep them from hatching. That prevention is what the bay leaves do, and they really work.
To get rid of a bad problem with them, empty the pantry and brush it thoroughly, including the joints, with a stiff brush, then vaccum.
If it is a type you can get wet, wash it down after that with your regular cleaning solution. Then when you put things back, put them into containers first.
I use large ziplock bags for boxed items. It works great, as I can still see what I have and they will still stand on a shelf. Do they still make the old potato chip cans? If they do, those would be super for storing bulk items in.
Tina, thanks for the suggestions. I'm surprised that bay leaves really do work! I do think that weevils and the moths are two different types of pests; the moths produce webs in the food and the weevils are hard-backed little beetles - or at least, what I call weevils are.
If you saw my pantry you wouldn't suggest emptying it completely and brushing it down thoroughly ;-D! It's about 12 feet long and 4 feet deep and is packed to the gills with shelves and a freezer! However, I can do the airtight containers. I didn't think that ziplock bags were sufficiently air-tight; what kind do you get? I have put some of my spices in little ziplock bags; the moths really seem to like paprika and ginger and the bags do seem to deter them.
I found some pet treat storage bins that are supposed to be airtight and are large enough to hold a decent number of boxes. In cleaning out my freezer I also found that I have way too many packages of the same items; I think I bought more because I couldn't find the ones I already had! Or maybe I starved in some previous life...Once I work my way through these, I'm going to try to keep just two of each item on hand.
I don't think they still make the potato chip cans, if you mean the big round tins. You can sometimes buy cookies in those, though, especially around holidays.
Oh those are cool! Thanks for the link, Podster! :-)
Leslie I've not had any trouble with the zip bags, although I do buy "brand names" so as to get good quality. The larger versions, whether called "storage" or "freezer" seem to be of heavier weight than the smaller ones. It's been years since I had any trouble but I do still keep a bay leaf in nearly everything, out of habit :-)
Tina, I've definitely noticed a difference in quality between the name brands and the off or store brands, too. The bags are a good idea, especially for smaller items. I'll have to try that too. And I'll certainly do the bay leaves. Thanks!
We've got the pantry pest thingies on that page, but I think ours are made by another company. They help a lot, but there's still some loss and some invasion of foods if we don't keep up on it religiously! I got a bunch of different "air-tight" plastic containers and I've put my boxes in those. I was amazed at how many duplicates of things I found once I unearthed them from the depths of my freezers, so if I can use those up and just keep enough for one meal at a time of each item, that should help, too.
