Pantry Pests

Pantry Pests do not generally carry disease but it can be very unappealing to find them in your kitchen and in the food you’ve been eating. There are a large number of species that infest a variety of products. Some of the most common ones are summarized below.

Sawtoothed Grain Beetles and Merchant Grain Beetles

  • A slender dark brown to black beetle 2.5 – 3mm with jagged edges on the thorax
  • This beetle lays 40 – 280 eggs in a lifetime that span 6 to 10 months but can live as long as 3 years.
  • They live in food stored grains such as cereal and nuts, spices, chocolate, and seeds.

Cigarette and Drugstore Beetles

  • Both of these species approximately 1/10 inch in length, reddish-brown in colour and oval shaped
  • Adults live 2- 4 weeks and the females lay up to 100 eggs.
  • They are good fliers and are often found on window sills as they attempt to make their way outside
  • The cigarette beetle eats tobacco seeds, dried flowers, dried fish and leather goods

Indian and Mediterranean Meal Moths

  • Adults are 8 – 10mm long, outer half of their wings are dark grey or copper coloured with tan or yellowish-grey upper half of their wings.
  • Indian Meal Moths are the most commonly found pests stored in grains.
  • Larvae of these pests mainly eat grains, grain products, dried fruits, nuts, cereals and a variety of processed food products.
  • An Indian Meal Moth lays 100 – 300 eggs in their lifetime and they are easy to recognize compared to other similar species.

Mediterranean Flour Moths

  • The adults of this species are 12 mm long with dark zigzag markings across the wings.
  • They have the same diet as Indian Meal Moths and the females eat 120 – 680 eggs in their lifecycle.

Flour Beetles

There are many species of Flour Beetles, however, the most common are the Red Flour Beetle and Confused Flour Beetle.

  • Flour beetles are small 3-6mm long and reddish-brown in colour.
  • Flour beetles attack stored grains including flour, cereal, nuts, pasta, beans and many other food products.
  • Flour beetles are a major pest in the agricultural and food processing industry. They quite often make their way into our homes in the goods we purchase.

How Progressive Pest Control Can Help

The highly-experienced technicians of Progressive Pest Control can assist in your battle with Stored Product moths and beetles. We can help locate the infested product and have effective treatments combined with pheromone traps to resolve your infestation. Contact our knowledgeable staff now for a consultation.