Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Start the battle against pantry moths as soon as you see one

I don’t want to alarm you, but do you realize how easy it is to bring bugs home?


I bought a bag of rice at an ethnic grocery store. At home, I poured the contents from the paper bag into a Ball jar. When I opened the jar some time later, insects flew out that I learned were pantry moths. The bag of rice must have contained eggs or larvae. I threw out the rice and washed the jar, whose sides were covered with the telltale webbing that identifies pantry moths. 


Afterward I saw a moth so infrequently that I naively didn’t think about the moths reproducing. But when an occasional moth still appeared months later, action was past due.