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Friday, June 9, 2017

Avoiding Fruit, Nut, and Grain Moths - They LOVE Dehydrated Fruit


I have been very blessed that my house is air tight and I haven't had issues with mice, roaches, or ants.

One thing I have struggled with over the years is grain moths. I got a container of nuts from my mother one year and it was the first time I had seen this type of moth. From that one container of nuts, they got into my supposedly sealed dried fruit and caused a major infestation.

I have wool carpet and don't want problems with them so I put out moth balls for a year to get rid of them as well as wiping out all food cupboards and putting everything that was any type of grain or fruit item into air tight containers. If I put them in Rubbermaid and other plastic containers other than Tupperware, they would be into the container somehow.

I have well over 100 Tupperware containers but they get used and filled and given away and when I have a bumper year of fruit or get lots of items from the food bank to dehydrate, they fill up. I then put the dried fruit in plastic bags inside the other containers thinking I had defeated the moth problem.

Last summer, I got them in my garage due to some millet that spilled under my heavy non-moving can storage. I used a vacuum hose and tried to get it all but obviously I didn't as they then hatched causing a horrible infestation in my garage. From there, they got into the non-Tupperware containers and I didn't catch it until I had a huge problem. I keep finding non-Tupperware containers with them in it. I think I have gotten them all but then I find another. I am just throwing the non-Tupperware containers away as they obviously aren't working for my needs.  
The moths are so small that they are coming into the house through the attic light fixtures. Crazy that they can maneuver into such small spaces looking for food.

I have no fruit on my trees this year at all so it is sad that they have gotten into some of the non-replaceable items. I threw out mangos, nectarines, and pineapple which are the sweetest of the sweet and I think they maybe smell the sweet. I need to go out in the garage and really go through everything but I am so trying to finish my mom's stuff that it isn't happening. I will finish it all at some point! I pulled another all nighter working on it as Princess Five is gone, I want to get as much done as I can. It is crazy how much I have on my "to do" list presently.

Hopefully you are having a wonderful summer. Have a Blessed Day!

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