Without pest control, many of the staples we use like flour and other grains and cereals would be infested with insects and contaminated.  Pest control measures are taken at the source in the mills and food processing plants but these insects can re-infest quickly at many points along the route to your home;  the introduction of new raw materials at the mill, the storage facility and packaging plants, the wholesaler and the retailer. 

Piodia interpunctella (Hubner)
Order Lepidoptera:  Family Phycitidae

Damage is done by the larvae!

If you see moths flying around your kitchen it is often the Indian Meal Moth.  Adults of this moth have a wingspread of about 3/4 inch.  The front wings are tannish on the front third and reddish-brown with a coppery luster on the back two-thirds.  The mature larvae is about 1/2 inch long, and a dirty white colour with sometimes a greenish or pinkish tint.  It feeds on all kinds of grains and flour, corn meal, dried fruits, and particularly any dried foodstuffs around the home.  This moth is probably more commonly found in the home than are the other Lepidopterous pests of stored products.

Larvae, when ready to pupate, leave their food supply and wander about in search of a suitable place in which to spin their white silken cocoons.  During this period of wandering about, they are frequently noticed and mistaken for clothes moth larvae.  Even the adult moths are mistaken for clothes moths, however, the distinctive markings on the wings of the Indian meal moth separate it from all of the clothes moths.  The adults live only one or two weeks and are chiefly night fliers.  During the day they prefer to rest in poorly lighted areas.  If disturbed they fly in an irregular zigzag pattern.

Anagasta kuhniella (Zeller)
Order Lepidoptera:  Family Phycitidae

Damage is done by the larvae!

This is a common pest in the home where it infests such items as flour, nuts, chocolate, beans, and dried fruits.  Adults have a wing expanse of about one inch.  The front wings are a pale grey with wavy black lines running across them.  The hind wings are a dirty white.  It can be distinguished from the Angoumois grain moth by the fact that the hind wings are rounded at the tips rather than pointed.  It is most easily recognized by its characteristic pose when resting.  The front of the body is raised giving the wings a distinct downward slope with the tip of the abdomen protruding up between them.  None of the other moths found in the home have this characteristic pose.

Females lay their eggs in accumulations of flour or other milled products. Larvae hatch in a few days.  Mature larvae are about 1/2 inch long.  They are white to pink, with a few small black spots on each body segment from which the body hairs arise.

The larvae spin silken threads as they move about.  These threads fasten particles together in a dense mat which is very characteristic of this insect.  Larvae are often found away from the infested product, seeking a crack or crevice in which to pupate.

Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier)
Order Lepidoptera:  Family Gelechildae

This pest is second in importance only to rice and granary weevils as a pest of stored grain and is frequently encountered in homes, warehouses, and stores.  

The angoumois grain moth attacks, for the most part, only whole kernels of corn, wheat and other grains and seeds.  They are sometimes found in homes emerging from decorative ears of corn or seed "pictures" or decorative boxes.  Bird seed and cereal baits for rats are subject to infestation if they contain whole kernels.  Unusual infestation has been reported in cornmeal, flour, cashew nuts, hulled chestnuts and dry minced onions.

Eggs are laid on or near grain.  On hatching, the minute, white larvae bore into the kernels of grain and feed on the inside.  When mature, the larva eats its way to the outer portion of the grain, leaving only a thin layer of the outer seed coat intact.  Pupation takes place just under the seed coat.  When the adult emerges from the grain, it pushes aside the thick layer of seed coat leaving a small trap door covering its exit point from the kernel.  The adult is about the size of a clothes moth, yellowish-white with pale front wings, and the hind wings characteristically pointed.

Select the items that apply, and then let us know how to contact you.