Nut moth, what is its harm, how to get rid of food moth

Furniture cleaning

It is important to understand that if a butterfly appears, you will have to disinfect the entire area . Eggs can be located in the most inaccessible places. You'll have to get rid of them first.

Cleaning furniture from moths

In extreme cases, you can use chemicals. They are divided into:

Know the enemy by sight

The bread grinder, the small beetle and the red flour beetle live in dry cereals:

• Rufous mucoeds
  are small, about 2 mm in length, coleopterous insects of a reddish-brown color with long antennae. They are attracted to products with a moisture content of more than 15-17%. With their vital activity they contaminate cereals and other food. A characteristic feature of the work of a flour eater is the flour sieves it has machined;
• Lesser beetles
  are small brown beetles about 3 mm with short antennae. They end up in the kitchen with flour or starch, from where they spread through cracks and containers with other products. After this, it will not be easy to get rid of them. Food supplies spoiled by beetles become lumpy in appearance. Their consumption can lead to stomach upset and poisoning;

• Bread borers
  are the most voracious and omnivorous among other types of beetles. They are an insect up to 4 mm, its body has a cylindrical shape of brown shades, covered with hairs. They are found in cereals, beans, flour products, tea, coffee, cookies, nuts, animal feed and even tobacco.

What to do if there are moths in walnuts

Don't wait for moths to infect all the food in the house. As soon as the first signs appear, you need to immediately begin fighting the insect. To completely exterminate the moth population, first throw away all affected products, then treat the containers and furniture.

Chemicals

Chemicals are used to combat butterflies not only in products, but also in carpets, clothes, and fur items. The most effective drugs are:

• Raptor. Apply to the surfaces of wooden furniture. The smell repels butterflies;
• Armol. Spray used to treat furniture surfaces;
• Battalion commander Used in hard-to-reach places where moths and their larvae are hidden;
• Antimol. Spray fabrics and clothing that are located near the insect’s habitat.

The nuts themselves are not treated with chemicals. They can be saved only if the moth was discovered quickly and the nuts were in the shell. To do this, walnuts are washed in warm water, drained, and calcined in the oven at 100°C for 2 - 3 minutes.

Important! Chemicals are absorbed even through the dense shell of fruits; food products cannot be treated with them, this will lead to poisoning .

Medicinal properties

Black walnut contains many substances that have a beneficial effect on the human body: a number of macro- and microelements (silicon, potassium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium), as well as bioflavonoids, tannins, vitamins (vitamin C content , for example, it is 50 times superior to citrus fruits, which determines its high antioxidant properties).

It has proven itself as an effective drug not only against parasites, but also for problems with the gastrointestinal tract, thrush and even, according to the latest research, as a component of the complex treatment of tumors, not only benign, but also malignant.

A special role is played by the substance juglone contained in its composition, which effectively affects fungi, yeast infections and other parasites, including helminths.

Black walnut against parasites shows its effectiveness in three aspects:

• destruction of helminths and their larvae in the intestines;
• cleansing the body from the toxic effects of their metabolic products and decay;
• strengthening the body's defenses against viral, infectious and parasitic diseases.

It is generally accepted that black walnuts are primarily made from shells and rinds, and only from the unripe fruit.

However, its leaf also has a pronounced anthelmintic effect and, in addition, helps normalize metabolism and lower cholesterol levels, which helps not only cleanse the body, but also get rid of excess weight.

The uses of black walnut are varied, and preparations based on it are produced:

• in capsules and tablets - they are useful for respiratory diseases and colds;
• the oil is used for gastrointestinal diseases (dysbacteriosis, gastritis, colitis, ulcers), as well as skin and diseases of the female genital organs, hemorrhoids;
• ointments for skin diseases;
• suppositories for the treatment of gynecological diseases, ulcers, hemorrhoids;
• Dietary supplements (dietary supplements) help strengthen the body overall.

Food moth: where does it come from?

A moth is an inconspicuously colored butterfly that flies from one place to another using rapid movement. The peak of activity occurs at night. Lifespan is maximum three weeks. But in such a short existence it produces a huge number of larvae.

This is a rather unpleasant neighborhood. Insects spoil food and often catch your eye. If a moth gets into the rump, then active growth of eggs begins, that is, reproduction. The adult does not feed, but only bears offspring. Larvae destroy food supplies. They are very gluttonous.

If you find a food butterfly in your apartment, this does not mean that you are a bad housewife or that your room is dirty. Often the insect is brought home from the store, along with purchases. This happens due to improper storage of the product in the store or an unscrupulous manufacturer.

Less often, an insect can enter an apartment from neighbors. But this can only happen in the warm season, because the butterfly is afraid of the cold.

In a new apartment, food aphids quickly adapt. She can chew through a plastic bag and live in the rump. A sign that you have a moth is a thin web and small, yellowish worms.

Why does moth start living in the house and how does it get into the apartment?

The most favorable living factors for this pest are:

• presence of twilight;
• constant access to food;
• room temperature for continuous life cycle.

And it can get into your home in several ways:

• Having flown over from the neighbors. Although the pest does not fly well and does not fly much, it is quite capable of covering short distances through ventilation openings or holes near heating pipes.
• Having flown over from the street. In search of food and for reproduction, they can easily fly into a house from the street.
• With contaminated food. If the manufacturer did not store their products correctly and did not pay attention to heat treatment, various food products may be contaminated with larvae. They are invisible to the eye, but once in a warm environment they begin to feed again and grow into an adult flying in search of a partner.

The most favorite “delicacies” for the pest are:

• Flour.
• Legumes.
• Tea.
• Coffee.
• Cocoa.
• Seeds.
• Dried fruits.
• Dried berries.
• Cereals.
• Herbs.
• Dry mixes.
• Animal feed.
• Baby food.

To avoid infection and spread of the pest, when purchasing the listed products, carefully inspect the packaging, and if there is the slightest presence of insects, do not take the product under any circumstances.

When you get home, transfer the contents of the package to an airtight food storage container. In this way you will prevent the pest from multiplying. The larvae are harmful primarily because they spoil food products.

By eating them, they leave behind numerous traces of their activity: eggs, husks, corpses, skins, feces. Yes, and there is a product that is infested with these insects, hardly anyone will want it; they will have to throw away the spoiled product completely.

And adult individuals are dangerous for humans only because they make new offspring, laying clutches in unexpected places.

What to do if there are bugs?

In addition to moths, you can also find small brown bugs in nuts that look similar to small cockroaches. The bugs barely reach 4 mm in length.

These insects are omnivores. If bugs are infested in walnuts, then most likely other products have been spoiled by them.

Before getting rid of the pest using chemical or folk remedies, they sort cereals, flour, legumes, and nuts. Products not touched by the pest are subjected to heat treatment for prevention - bulk products are kept in the freezer for several hours, nuts are calcined in the oven at a temperature of +1000C. The spoiled ones will have to be thrown away.

Kitchen cabinets, tables and other furniture where food was stored are emptied of all contents and vacuumed, paying special attention to corners and cracks. Next perform the following actions:

• the furniture inside is washed with water and laundry soap;
• then treated with water acidified with 9% vinegar (1 part table vinegar to 3 parts liquid);
• the container in which the contaminated products were stored is doused with boiling water.

The vacuum cleaner bag is emptied and washed immediately after work.

How to kill kitchen bugs

What to do if there are insects in cereals or flour? We offer several effective ways to combat this unpleasant living creature. Remember, they can only be used when there are a small number of parasites.

Method 1. Hot processing

In this case, it is recommended to sift the cereal through a very fine sieve, pour it onto a baking sheet and fry at a temperature of +110 degrees for 20 minutes. After processing, use these bulk products first.

To get rid of bugs and larvae in cereals, you need to fry it in the oven - the insects will die immediately

Method 2. Freezing

Freezing food for 24 hours will also help kill the bugs.

Method 3. Soaking

The easiest way to remove bugs is from beans and peas. They need to be filled with salt water for half an hour. As soon as the insects float to the surface, the liquid is drained and the fruits are thoroughly dried on a dry and clean towel.

Method 4. Light warming

With flour the situation is a little different. Experts recommend sifting it through a special sieve with very fine holes, and then heating it in an oven set to 50 degrees.

Ways to fight moths

There are several methods to combat this pest, but the most reliable of them are:

• The most effective and efficient way is to prevent its appearance in the house. Be sure to follow the rule: after purchasing bulk products, pour them at home into hermetically sealed plastic, glass and metal storage containers. And the best option is to use transparent containers for these purposes.
• Keep the kitchen area clean and tidy. Do not allow food residues to remain on tables, storage cabinets, and never store cereals, baby food, or animal food in the open. Do wet cleaning more often and periodically review your groceries.

Harm from the parasite

Moths are especially dangerous for walnuts. The appearance of just one or two pests in an apartment or food warehouse can cause mass contamination of products. The larvae of the king nut moth stay in the nut shell throughout the entire development cycle, feeding on its kernels.

Accordingly, it is there that the insect molts; insect excrement, as well as discarded chitinous coverings, accumulate under the nut shell.

When eating a nut infected with a parasite, there is a high probability of developing signs of food intoxication . Pain in the digestive tract, nausea, vomiting, and stool disorders may occur. To prevent poisoning, it is important to choose nuts with extreme caution.

Diseases

Bacteriosis is one of the most common nut diseases in the world. It affects all above-ground organs of the tree: buds, leaves, flowers, one- and two-year-old branches, fruits at different stages of development. Small black spots first form on the leaves, which, increasing in size, spread along the veins. The leaves become deformed, turn black and fall off. On non-woody shoots, as well as on leaves, the disease manifests itself in the form of elongated brown spots. Fruits are also affected and rot over time.

In years with favorable conditions for the development of the disease (rainy weather), up to 90% of the uterine (female) flowers are destroyed, and the trees are practically left without a harvest. Infected young fruits usually fall off. Later lesions can lead to deterioration in nut quality. The pathogen overwinters on the bark of damaged trees.

Brown spot , or marsoniosis , is a widespread fungal disease that affects not only nut trees, but also fruit trees, berries, ornamental plants, and the like. Thus, there is a high probability of secondary infection of walnut trees from other plants.

This is actually the second stage of anthracnose development, which at the initial stage is manifested by signs of burnt leaves on the nut, which crumbles along the edges. And its marsupial stage is called “marsoniosis”. The disease affects leaves, green shoots and fruits. Round brown spots with a dark rim appear on the affected leaves. Subsequently, small black “pads” are formed on them, which contain fungal spores. By autumn, large, irregularly shaped spots without a rim, with “pads” arranged in concentric circles, appear on the leaves. Affected fruits initially develop dark spots, which later turn gray and develop into cankers. Sometimes the spots cover the entire fruit, and the ulcers are so deep that the skin of the fruit is visible through them. Affected underdeveloped fruits fall off.

Elongated cankers form on infected branches. With severe damage in late July - early August, almost all leaves fall from the trees. The pathogen can quite successfully overwinter in fallen fruits and leaves, as well as in wounds of branches (cracks, scratches, cuts). The main channel of infection is cracks in the trunk and branches. In spring, the spores are carried by the wind and infect young leaves.

The disease is insidious due to its very extended development cycle. And in fact, you need to fight it all year round. Marsonia can lead to a loss of 80% of the harvest or completely deprive the plant of its fruiting function.

None of the modern walnut varieties are completely immune to this disease.
Trees grown in regions with frequent rainfall and constant high humidity are more prone to marsonia. Bacterial blight of fruits - the causative agent of the disease is the bacterium Erwinia amylovora (Burill.).
For Ukraine, this is a quarantine disease. It affects a wide range of fruit, ornamental and wild crops. The disease begins in the spring with inflorescences and spreads to the branches. In spring, the inflorescences suddenly wither, turn black and dry out, but do not fall off, but remain hanging on the tree. Leaves and young twigs turn black at the tips, then the leaves curl and dry out, but do not fall off. They look like they've been burned. Ulcers appear on the bark of trees. In these places, the bark softens, becomes watery, drops of exudate appear on the surface, which turn brown over time - this is tissue damage by bacteria. The presence of exudate is the main symptom that distinguishes a bacterial burn from other bacterial diseases. The disease develops en masse in rainy, cool weather, and may stop in hot weather. The bark of diseased branches in the affected areas shrinks and is pressed in. The bark of diseased plants dries out and falls off. The pathogen overwinters only in the infected plant. Overwintered cankers are the main source of damage to inflorescences in spring.

With severe damage, the entire tree dies. The disease can be spread by insects that feed on bacterial exudate or pollen, or transferred to healthy trees by undisinfected tools after pruning affected branches. Also, water—rain or irrigation—plays an important role in the spread of bacteria.

Reasons for appearance

Moths appear where food is stored incorrectly. If access to them is open, you can be sure that sooner or later flying insects will appear. There are several varieties. Outwardly, they are slightly different, but without being an expert, it will not be easy to find the differences. Species diversity is determined by what product the larva likes.

Food moths belong to the family of moths, which are represented by such varieties as:

• Flour;
• Melnichnaya;
• Exotic cocoa;
• South barn;
• Wax.

More often than others in the home kitchen you can find meal moths, which are larger than clothes moths, and moreover, their habitat is clearly limited to the kitchen. She will never live in a closet with fur coats, she is not interested in woolen knitted items.

If you notice a nondescript butterfly in the kitchen with a barely visible pattern on its wings, you should reconsider the contents of the cabinets. Perhaps it's time to learn how to deal with food moths.

It is clear that insects in cereals do not appear out of nowhere. The moth flies poorly and uses this method of movement very reluctantly. Most often, we ourselves bring food into the house that is already infested with a pest.

Factory packaging is more reliable than store or market packaging. It is airtight and checking for the presence of moth eggs occurs at the manufacturer level. When buying groceries in bulk, try to purchase ones that can be visually inspected.

Less often, but it still happens that the pest enters the apartment from neighbors through the ventilation.

Reviews and comments

+3 Nit 09.10.2015 14:41 Yes, an unpleasant neighborhood. I recently bought 3 boxes of candied nuts, and they included moths as a free addition. When a couple of individuals flew out of one box, I looked through the others. As it turned out, food moths can safely exist in a tightly closed plastic container, wrapped in cling film, i.e. no air! The article is good, but it’s a pity that there is no information on how to rehabilitate the products. Maybe you can wash it or bake it in the oven?

Quote

0 Vyacheslav 10/09/2017 09:47 Yesterday I ate pine nuts and found a black larva covered with a white cobweb in them. At first I wanted to throw it away, but then I became interested and put it in a box. Today I checked - and there is a butterfly sitting there - very similar to the one shown here in the photo.

Quote

-1 Alexey 11/15/2017 14:39 Quoting Nit:

Yes, an unpleasant neighborhood. I recently bought 3 boxes of candied nuts, and they included moths as a free addition. When a couple of individuals flew out of one box, I looked through the others. As it turned out, food moths can safely exist in a tightly closed plastic container, wrapped in cling film, i.e. no air! The article is good, but it’s a pity that there is no information on how to rehabilitate the products. Maybe you can wash it or bake it in the oven?

Without what air? Yes, the air contained in this jar of moths will last for three years. Quote

- treating furniture with vinegar

Wipe all the cabinets in which the cereal is stored with a soapy solution, cleaning, if possible, all hard-to-reach places, since these are where eggs and larvae are often hidden. Ventilate the room - moths are afraid of fresh air. Soak a rag in the vinegar solution and wipe all these surfaces.

How to deal with food moths without using special insecticides? This can be done using ordinary table vinegar. In this case, you need to act like this:

1. First, you will need to empty all the cabinets in which you store dry foods and thoroughly clean them with soapy water, paying special attention to hard-to-reach places. The cereals themselves and other products need to be sorted thoroughly so that no pests remain in them.
2. Then you will need to remove the remaining soap solution from the cabinet walls and treat the surfaces with vinegar.
3. After this, all you have to do is wait until the vinegar is completely dry, and you can return the food back to the cabinet.

How to save cereals, nuts, flour from moths?

If the pest has already appeared, you urgently need to take action and perform the following sequence of actions:

• All affected products are thrown away, and if there are a lot of insects, then throw away good-looking cereals and flour without sparing, there is a high risk that pests are there in the form of eggs and larvae.
• Place all untouched groceries into containers with lids.
• Thoroughly wash all cabinets, kitchen surfaces and utensils with a strong soapy solution.
• After drying, wipe the surfaces with a 9% vinegar solution. You can also treat cabinets against eggs, larvae and mature butterflies with aerosols: Raptor, Antimol, Armol.
• Do a wet cleaning of the entire kitchen.
• Ventilate the room well.

After such a general cleaning, carefully inspect the contents of the shelves and cabinets for 3-5 days; pests may appear again and then you will have to repeat the entire procedure again.

At the same time, it is possible to use special tools and traps sold in hardware and specialized stores. The traps contain special pheromones that attract adult insects, but such a trap must stand for at least 2 months for a visible effect.

- strong odors

If you don’t have anything on hand that could help get rid of moths, you can use ordinary perfume. The thing is that strong smells can scare away butterflies, and they will not breed in your closet.

To use this product, you will need to go through your food, remove all contaminated grains and other types of food that may contain eggs or larvae, and then wash the cabinet and spray it with perfume.

Is it possible to eat grains and flour infested with beetles?

Food should not be consumed together with insects. Before using cereals, you need to get rid of pests.

However, even careful processing will not be able to remove larvae, scales, and waste products of beetles. They pose no danger to a healthy adult.

Before using cereals you need to get rid of pests

It’s a different matter when it comes to children and people with weakened immune systems. In these cases, the use of such products can cause a severe allergic reaction or cause intoxication of the human body, which will lead to disruption of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and an increase in body temperature.

So what can you do to prevent food moths or bugs from infesting your kitchen?

– after purchasing products, you must carefully inspect the contents of packages of cereals and other bulk products, as well as vegetables and fruits, for the possible presence of adult insects or their larvae. If found, they should be disposed of immediately.

– it is not recommended to store cereals, bulk products, nuts, dried fruits in bags; it is better to do this in jars with tight-fitting lids. The jars themselves must be clean. If you have run out of semolina, for example, and you are going to pour new semolina into the same jar, then it is recommended to rinse the container well with saline solution, wipe with vinegar, wash and wipe dry.

– cabinets containing jars of cereals, bulk products, dried fruits, etc. must be dry and clean. Moths do not tolerate strong odors, and you can put bay leaves, clove buds, lavender sprigs, mint, and dried orange zest on the cabinet shelves.

– to prevent the appearance of moths, you can put 1-2 cloves of garlic in jars with cereals and other bulk products. By the way, if dried fruits contain prunes, the likelihood that moths will appear in them is reduced.

– to prevent moths from entering the house from the outside, it is advisable to cover the hood with an anti-mosquito net; the same should be done with ventilation shafts, vents, and windows.

– buy products only in trusted stores, and not in spontaneous markets. If for cereals, flour, nuts, dried fruits, etc. a big discount, perhaps this is not without reason, and it is worth carefully inspecting them for infection with larvae, moths, and simply compliance with quality standards.

– Conduct an audit of your supplies and general cleaning of cabinets once a month.

– observe the expiration dates and storage rules for cereals, flour, dried fruits, tea, etc., for example, if you have a lot of space in the freezer, then you can store dried fruits in a tightly closed plastic bag.

Where do bugs in cereals and larvae come from?

In most cases, the insect or its larva gets in with poor quality cereals purchased by weight. However, it is not uncommon for beetle eggs to be found in vacuum packaging, if we are talking about unscrupulous manufacturers who violate the sanitary regime for storing cereals in factories and warehouses.

Infection can occur in recently purchased cereals due to improper proximity, when prunes, pasta, flour, tea, coffee, and spices are stored nearby.

Do you always follow the correct storage of food/medicines and their product proximity?

Yes, of course, this is very important so as not to spend money on your health later.

44.38%

Not really, because there won’t be anything like going to the toilet.

25.07%

I look at it by appearance and if I use anything after heat treatment.

30.55%

Voted: 347

Application of traditional methods

For those who do not want to turn to chemicals for help, folk methods of fighting royal moths are perfect. To repel pests, laurel leaves are often used, which are laid out in kitchen cabinets. In addition, such a spice can be an excellent prevention of pests. To do this, you need to put the nuts in a small bag and add 5-6 bay leaves there. Moths do not like this smell, so they will not attack food storage areas.

Quite often, a trap made from flour and boric acid is used to combat parasites. To make it, you need to mix these substances (3:1), pour the product into a tin container and place it in the kitchen cabinet where the moths have started. In addition, to get rid of nut moths, it is recommended to use fir or lavender essential oil. With the help of such preparations it is necessary to treat all places and surfaces where parasites were noticed. Also, dried lavender, which is laid out on bedside tables, helps well in the fight against king moths. Pests cannot stand the smell of tobacco, so quite often it is also used to exterminate parasites.

To disinfect bedside tables, use a vodka-based solution. To prepare it you need to take 1 tsp. alcohol, 4 tsp. water and 1 tbsp. l. tea tree essential oil. The ingredients should be mixed thoroughly, and the resulting solution should be used to treat all furniture in the kitchen. In the fight against king moths, ammonia is sometimes used. You need to take 2 tsp. substance and dilute it with 1 liter of water. This product should be used to wipe down cabinet shelves.

Essential oils

Essential oils of plant origin help get rid of moths well: orange, mint, eucalyptus, clove. Provided that no one has allergies.

To use, pour a small amount into an open, wide-necked container and place in desired location. Check periodically to see if the liquid has evaporated. If yes, add more.

The good thing about the drug is that you can choose a type whose smell you personally like or periodically replace boring options.

Description of the pest

The butterfly is about 2 cm long. Belongs to the order Lepidoptera. The wings are brown-gray. There is a pair of antennae on the head. Has 2 pairs of legs. The insect lays eggs in cereals, dried fruits, flour and other places. The eggs are small, up to 0.5 mm in diameter, and are almost impossible to notice. Larvae emerge from them and cause the main damage to products. After the larval stage, the moth develops into a pupa and then into a butterfly.

Important! The main damage to products is caused by butterfly larvae.

The moth belongs to the order Lepidoptera insects. The color is pale brown, light gray, white with silver pollen on the wings. This small insect is nocturnal and feeds on the substance of the stratum corneum, that is, keratin.

Type of moth

There are many species of this insect, and the most famous of them are:

• Homemade.
• Wax.
• Fur coat.
• Clothes.
• Furniture.
• Walnut.
• Potato.
• Cabbage.
• Food.
• Chestnut.

All species cause significant damage in many areas of the economy if they are not dealt with in a timely manner.

Wax

It poses a danger to bee hives: the caterpillars feed on beebread, collected honey and even attack bee larvae. However, moths began to be used in medicine for medicinal purposes due to their ability to digest wax with the help of special enzymes in the stomach. The result is a unique antibacterial substance with numerous beneficial properties.

Fur coat

Capable of ruining any, even the most expensive fur coat. In it she finds an inexhaustible source of nutrition and comfortable existence. Having eaten the required amount of hair with the help of a powerful mouthparts, the larvae move towards the nest, cutting off interfering hair along the way, resulting in stripes of clipped fur on the surface of the fur coat.

For the clothing type, wool products are a favorite delicacy. The appearance of this species is not very remarkable: light, golden color and small size of 8-9 mm. Females do not fly, they move by crawling to the right place, but males fly in search of females.

Room

Painted in light yellow with a golden tint. Caterpillars of this species are inactive and move only if they eat well. A special feature is a strong fear of light: when exposed to the sun's rays, they immediately hide in cocoons or look for a dark shelter.

Potato

It has a dark gray “dirty” color and can cause damage to agricultural areas. The female lays eggs on the inner surface of potato leaves; after 7-10 days, light green or pink larvae emerge from them, which feed on the tops and suck the juice from the bush.

Cabbage

Causes damage to the cruciferous family. The butterfly is elongated and sand-colored and has a special fringe on the edges of its wings. Such a butterfly flies poorly and is always close to the place where it appears. Cabbage caterpillars are green in color and have a brown head with jaws, and the eggs are painted dark green and are therefore hardly noticeable on plants.

Granary (food)

Such moths appear on food products that have been stored improperly, and most often live in cereals and groceries. Under natural conditions, this species feeds on nuts and plant seeds, and therefore is most often found in forest-steppes, mixed forests and steppes.

The length of an adult individual is about 8 mm, it adapts well to environmental conditions and is almost invisible to the naked eye.

The larvae are painted in light colors: pink, milky, sand. The life cycle lasts about 45-50 days.

Chestnut

Lives on maples and chestnuts. It waits out the cold winter time in the pupal state, and when the first warmth appears, adult individuals emerge from last year’s foliage and actively reproduce. The females forge the resulting eggs on young leaves. It is easy to find out about the appearance of such neighbors: orange spots are noticeable on the leaves.

Cycle and lifespan

Caterpillars emerge from the laid eggs and turn into butterflies. Having reached puberty, butterflies lay offspring. In favorable conditions of city apartments and houses, this cycle can continue all year round without interruption.

The lifespan of an individual adult with wings is short and ranges from 15 to 30 days, depending on the species.

It moves little and only at twilight, since the wings are poorly developed and there is no protection from predators.

Features of prevention

To prevent the appearance of moths in the apartment, you need to follow preventive measures. This insect appears indoors at any time of the year. As soon as optimal conditions for it are created in the room, it immediately settles in cereals, dried fruits or nuts. To prevent infection you need:

• Wipe the walls of kitchen furniture with food vinegar 2 times a year. The pungent odor of the solution will be partially absorbed into the furniture and will repel the pest.
• Do not create clutter in the room. Clean up and sort through old items from time to time. Throw away and remove old clothes, spoiled dried fruits, old cereals.
• Sort through the nuts and throw away damaged ones.
• To store cereals, dried fruits and other products, you need to use containers with tight lids. This will create an additional vacuum and prevent insects from entering. If they appeared in such a jar, then the fruits were already infected.
• Wipe the cabinet walls with ammonia.
• Dry products are calcined once a year in the oven at 100°C.
• Plant leaves are placed in cabinets and on shelves to repel butterflies.

Why does it appear

The nut moth is one of the world's most common pests. More often, insects appear in large food warehouses, barns intended for storing nuts and grains.

If there is a moth in the nuts, it is necessary to immediately take measures aimed at its destruction, since there is a high risk of spoilage of a huge amount of food.

Adult butterflies have developed wings and, if there are favorable weather conditions, can move between rooms. The appearance of moths in residential areas is often caused by the purchase of nuts by infected larvae.

Given the required amount of food, nymphs can remain viable for a long time. For example, even at low temperatures, parasites hibernate rather than die.