Table of Contents
What Dallas Residents Must Know About Pantry Pests
Pantry pests are often called stored product pests because they invade the stored products in your home. If you have dried or processed food in your home, pantry pests will climb into the bags or boxes and eat the food in question. Although they can eat a variety of household food, they’ll primarily focus on flour, dry pasta, powdered milk, crackers, spices, bread, dried nuts, and cereal. In Dallas, residents may encounter a handful of pantry pests, including cigarette beetles, Indian meal moths, and saw-toothed grain beetles.
Indian meal moths, cigarette beetles, and other pantry pests live in their food source so they can eat and reproduce around the clock. Some of these pests can create multiple generations throughout the year. Although it may seem like it, pantry pests say nothing about your housekeeping activities.
Breaking Down Common Pantry Pests
You’re likely curious about the appearances of pantry pests. Below, you’ll learn more about the most common pantry pests in Dallas.
Indian Meal Moths
These small moths have reddish-brown forewings and a grayish color on the front portion of the wings. Although the moths are problematic, the larvae are responsible for causing most of the damage. They will consume a variety of food products stored in your home. Eliminating an Indian meal moth infestation won’t be easy since they can hide in their food source and breed rapidly. Plus, they’ll build cocoons around your home.
Saw-Toothed Grain Beetles
Saw-toothed grain beetles are another common pantry pest with most growing up to 1/10ths of an inch. They have tooth projections that look and work like saws. They’re located on both sides of the beetle’s thorax. Adult saw-toothed grain beetles and their larvae will consume dried foods. They can be found in bags of flour and cereal. They’ll also target candy, dried fruit, pet food, and birdseed.
Cigarette Beetles
As a Dallas resident, your chance of running into a cigarette beetle infestation is high. These light brown beetles expand up to an eighth of an inch and have a humped back. Their wing covers are smooth, but they have body hairs that give them a fuzzy appearance. These pantry pests will eat candy, nuts, cereal, and pet food. However, they primarily want to eat tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes.
Why Do Pantry Pests Enter Homes?
What causes pantry pests to sneak into Dallas homes? Is it something you did or didn’t do? Ultimately, pantry pests are usually brought into the home by accident. You likely purchased cereal or flour that was infested with pantry pests. You didn’t realize it so you brought the bags inside with you. Now, you have pantry pests in your home and they’re quickly spreading to other food products. Unfortunately, these pests will reproduce rapidly because they live inside of their food. Many can produce several generations of pests each year. Tackle the problem rapidly or it will worsen.
Do You Have A Pantry Pest Infestation?
If you’re worried that you have a pantry pest infestation, you need to find out. Learning more about the signs of a pantry pest infestation can help since you’ll know what to look for. However, this won’t make your job easier. The pests hide within their food sources so identifying a problem will be hard. If you suspect you have pantry pests, look for beetles in and around your food products.
How Dangerous Are Pantry Pests?
Although pantry pests are concerning, they’re not dangerous. They can contaminate your food sources, but the contaminated food likely won’t make you sick. Indian meal moths, cigarette beetles, and other pantry pests do not bite humans or transmit diseases. The biggest issue is that you’re going to cause you to waste your money. When you have pantry pests, they’re going to infest and destroy your food items.
As a result, you’ll end up spending a lot of money replacing the contaminated food products.
Stopping Pantry Pests From Entering Your Home
To stop pantry pests from entering your dwelling, properly store your food products. Make sure that all of your food products are stored in airtight containers that pests can’t enter. Don’t use paper or cardboard because pantry pests will chew through these materials.
You’ll also want to work diligently to keep your pantry clean. Deal with food crumbs immediately. Clean your pantry shelves to ensure that pantry pests do not have access to food.
When buying new food, do not add the new food in the same container as the old food. Check and make sure both are free of pests before mixing them.
You can test to see if you have pantry pests. All you have to do is place the food contents in a plastic bag and set it aside for a few weeks. Once you’ve done that, you may find pests in the bag. If so, you have pantry pests.
Always clean old food containers before reusing them.
Eradicating Pantry Pests From Your Dwelling
Pantry pests can create numerous issues for Dallas residents so you need to find ways to eradicate the infestation. Unfortunately, finding a viable solution won’t be easy, but there are some ways to get rid of some pantry pests. DIY methods are not always effective, but they can help. When you’re ready to eliminate pantry pests on your own, try following the steps below.
- Dispose of food items that have been contaminated and infested with pantry pests.
- Take all of the food items out of your pantry shelves.
- Clean the pantry thoroughly.
- Vacuum the shelves to get rid of food crumbs.
- Use a cleaning solution and paper towels to wash the pantry’s walls, shelves, and crevices
Unfortunately, many DIY pantry pest treatments aren’t reliable, so they might not fix the problem. If you’re still experiencing issues, contact us. We can eliminate the pantry pests swiftly so you can return to a normal life again.
When Can Your Exterminators Reach My Home?
Contact us immediately because we’re ready to start. Our friendly company representative will contact your home in 24 to 48 hours.
How Safe Is Your Pantry Pest Treatment
We couldn’t imagine using dangerous treatment options in your home. We always use products tested by and registered with the EPA. When using these products, it guarantees that our solutions are going to be safe and reliable. Our exterminators will keep you safe.
Stopping Pantry Pests From Targeting You Again
The best way to keep pantry pests out of your is by not purchasing infested food items. Check the food products carefully to make sure they’re free of pantry pests before carrying them inside. If you find pantry pests in your home, call our number and talk to a professional.
If you have any other pest control issues please check out other services.
