I never should have gotten up yesterday. It was a complete day-from-hell for me. I’m just now getting around to posting about it because I’ve been in such a pissy mood that I haven’t been able to sit still long enough to write. This is my story…
I haven’t made any baked goods since I sold my restaurant in February and my daughter has been begging me to make oatmeal cookies. So, I caved and we made cookies Monday evening. We had a few – right out of the oven, with milk, of course, and then I packaged up the rest and left them on the kitchen counter.
As I was getting out of the shower yesterday morning I could hear my daughter yelling – at the dogs. I hurried downstairs to find that they had gotten the cookies off the counter and had proceeded to ingest almost half of them. Great. So, needless to say, my day started out quite shitily. I angrily tossed the remaining dog-spit covered cookies into the garbage as my daughter looked on in horror.
The rest of the morning was fairly uneventful except for my daughter’s constant protests and whining about having to clean her room. We accomplished some cleaning and decided to stop for lunch. And then…
All hell broke loose. I decided to throw some spaghetti together for a quick lunch. I grabbed the box of spaghetti from the cupboard and as I dumped it into the boiling water I could see some strange and unexpected ‘things’ floating in the water. Oh.My.God. Upon further inspection the ‘things’ were found to be WORMS. Yes…nasty little larvae. I gagged, choked and screamed all at the same time (which sounded something like – “gahahggrrgglrlrfcoughholyfuckohmygodeeeekoooohnoooo”) and also did a squirmy heebie-jeebie dance because this is what I saw:
Except they were all shriveled and boiled and there were at least a dozen of them. Ugh. Now, I realize that to some these may be a delicacy. But, um…I’m not going there, thanks. I tossed a heaping mound of half cooked spaghetti and worms into the garbage along with the remaining uncooked pasta – and started investigating. To my horror I found MORE, yes more of the larvae in a sealed box of soy flour, in E’s crackers, in the pancake mix, in the cake mixes, in the dog biscuits; they were in just about everything in my cupboard that was grain/flour based.
We got on the computer and started researching and found that they were Pantry Moth larvae (also known as Indian Meal Moths). Super fun. I had actually noticed that we had more of a moth ‘problem’ this year than most years but the moths were tiny…not your average garden-variety moth that you occasionally see seeking out the nearest light source as evening approaches. Here is a photo of the nasty bugger:
I don’t typically have a problem with moths. What i do have a problem with is the fact that these monsters are laying eggs (apparently 100’s at a time) in the nooks and crannies of my cupboards and in boxed food. These eggs are hatching into larvae that are INFESTING my foodstuff. GAG, GAG, GAG. On one site we read that you are to place any unopened, packaged food that you suspect to be infested in the freezer and this will kill the larvae. Um, yeah. So…I’ll have DEAD larva in my food. Clever. I opted to not go that route and tossed everything into the garbage. Dammit. I was pissed.
I ordered pheromone traps to snag these nasty critters before they can reek any more havoc in my house. I got the traps in the mail today and immediately set them up in my cupboards. HA! I caught several moths right off the bat. Apparently, I didn’t wash my hands properly and still have some moth pheromone on me because as I type this I have two tiny moths dive bombing me. Gotcha suckas!
So, now I have to empty my cupboards, clean them thoroughly and caulk any and all cracks and crevices to prevent another ‘infestation’. I really dislike that word. Bet you’re all just dying to move in with me, aren’t you?
I was exhausted and pissy. I needed something sinfully delicious to calm my nerves. And seeing as I had to throw out just about every ounce of food in the house the only thing I had left was: marshmallows, a chocolate bar and some graham crackers. Ahhhhh…s’mores. I was too lazy to start a fire in the fire pit so here is how my day ended…with this:
and this:
Oh…and with a very nice, long nap. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
And as a quick aside…my dear fellow blogger and ever-so-talented artist, bronsonfive, over at Pictures of Doom has hosted his first ever “Contest of Doom” – featuring drawings submitted by fellow bloggers. Go on…go check it out…you won’t be disappointed. You can even see my latest artistic endeavor!
Bugs in my food is a special hell i can barely imagine facing. I’d have to fight the urge to just set the whole place on fire and call it good.
At least the smores looked good!
Well, honey, when you move here you just MAY have to face it. Bwahahahaha. I think I’ve got the infestation under control for the most part. Traps set and catching moths. Check. Cupboards cleaned. Check. Cupboards caulked. Check. It’s all good.
MMMmm…the s’mores were yummy. Wish you could have joined me!
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! i love that daughter of yours…….still….must see her….I would have thrown up! Is it just and your daughter that live together?
Hi Kaylee,
Yep…it was DIS-GUS-TING!! I was more concerned with the larvae and my daughter was more concerned with the moths – she hates flying insects. Yes…it’s just the two of us living here.
I guess I am just too used to grain moths. I had to deal with them at my health food store. The discovery of the traps was wonderful.. I started using them about 20 years ago and never had another problem. I use them at home too because you can buy something at the grocery store that has them and then they spread like wildfire. They always come in bird seed too.
I don’t think I realized you owned a restaurant. That’s too bad about the cookies. I’ll bet they were good.
Well, I hope tomorrow is better.
I had never experienced these critters and hope I never have to again. Ick. They are EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately, I don’t keep all of my flour/grains/cereals in one cupboard…it’s spread amongst three cupboards. But…the traps are great! We’ve caught a ton of moths in just one day.
Yep, I owned a restaurant (a coffee shop/lite fare bistro) for four years. It was SO much work and I wasn’t able to have a life…or enjoy watching my daughter growing up so we sold it.
Thanks, Joan. Tomorrow (today) is better!
You should also make mention that your picture was the favorite.
Awww, heck, I didn’t want to exploit myself too much!
Love the skewer.
Yeah, good choice, huh? I wasn’t thinking too clearly because I should have grabbed one of my shish kabob skewers. Hell, I coulda stacked 6 marshmallows on it at a time.
I had those nasty moths/larvae a few years ago and I had the very same reaction as you! They gave me the heeby-jeebies! It got so bad that my refigerator was overflowing with all the foods I bought from the market that I didn’t want to get infested with the nasty things.
It took most of a year to really get rid of them. Now whenever I buy flour or grains I first stick them in the freezer for a few days to kill anything that might bring on another round of creepy-crawlies.
Good luck!
Oh no…most of a year to get rid of them?? UGGGGGH! I’m hoping these traps (that can be used for 3 months) will irradicate most of them. I’m definitely sticking everything flour/grain based in the freezer after purchase for the next few months just to be safe. What a pain in the ass.
EWWWW! Barfy!!! I hate when stuff like that happens! Glad you didn’t eat anything!!! Tupperware….that way they can’t get in. Gross!
Yep. Barf-o-rama. It’s been a thorn in my side for days now. Thank goodness there’s wine & s’mores to take the edge off!
Ahhh..that is such a nightmare! I was gagging right along with you, and that’s so scary that they creeped their way into all those boxes….I wonder how often that happens to people…GAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG……
But yay for smores…? 😉
Yeah, I’m thinking (gauging from most of the comments) that it happens more often than not. Ick. Check your food supply, Romi!!
Yay for s’mores…and yay for wine.
oh, hunny!! that fucking SUCKS! i would be so totally pissed!
I saw your pic over at Doom, great stuff!! I missed the boat on that one i guess…oh well, i snooze i lose!
Yes, girlfriend, it DOES suck. It’s driving me batty! Oh shit, I’d better not mention bats or with my luck I’ll be infested with those next. Ugh.
Thanks…glad you like the pic…but sorry you missed the boat!
I glad it was just a simple case of easily remedied moths. As I was reading along my mind went straight to “sick dogs” after the cookie incident. I would have handled your situation the exact same way. Yuck! Who the hell is freezing their moth larva for later consumption??? 😕
Oh, Mr. P., you can be sure that I had at least one sick dog after the cookie eating incident. Crap. Literally.
And exactly, who the hell wants to eat frozen moth larva? Gag!
I didn’t know you had a restaurant either. Oh, those dang moths! I’ve had them before too and just had to toss everything and start from scratch with stocking my pantry. I just couldn’t do the freezer thing either. It looks like you sure knew how to end the day right though – s’mores over an open gas burner are always good. And easier to clean up after in case there’s a mess. 😉
Um, i just checked the pictures out – they are good. I’m a little concerned over yours though and I hope no animals were harmed in the making. 😯
Yes, indeed. I had a restaurant for 4 years, but it was just too much work for my little old self to keep up with and wasn’t able to spend any time with the girl child.
Yes, the s’mores were delightful…funny thing about gas, though, it gets HOT very quick and I had to blow the damn flames out several times for fear I’d burn the kitchen down.
Ahhhh…no animals were harmed in the making of the picture. My Border Collie has a thing about catching the cat instead of herding it. I think he may have him confused with a squirrel.
OMG, I can imagine how frustrating this must have been. My brother had this happen at their house. Now, all their crap is also stored in plastic bins. GAH! So sorry this happened 😉
GAH!
See, I’m all aggravated for ya, ….
GAH! Thanks, JQ. I’m VERY frustrated…still. I’m just hoping they won’t come back. My fridge is full of all the new food I’ve bought to restock the cupboards – crackers, rice, pancake mix – and every time I open it something comes tumbling out. Grrrrrrr! Thanks for sharing in the aggrivation with me, girlfriend!
I had those worms too! More than once! I think they come into the house in flour & hatch if you don’t use it quickly enough. They suck. Glad to know about the traps.
Hi, middleoftheroad,
So nice to have you stop by. Eek. More than once? Say it isn’t so! I’d better not get them again. Once is enough, thankyouverymuch. The traps are great, so far. The first one I put out is almost full after only 2 days. Woo hoo!
UGH!! Disgusting! That totally sucks you had to throw out all that food and the cookies. Good luck with the clean up.
Oh, yes. DIS-GUS-TING is right. The cleanup wasn’t too bad. Just have loads of garbage now – consisting of several new, unopened boxes of food. Poo.
We get ants here, not as gross, i’m sure, as finding worms in your food, but just as frustrating to have to throw food away. i’d wake up and there’d be ants all over and in every thing. Furiously, i’d throw packages out and start cleaning away the ants.
And the smell when you kill hundreds of ants at once! Hor-i-bull!
Ick. Ants are bad, too. I had them pretty bad one summer – big ones and small ones. The dog would get the big ones on the floor and try to eat them – until they bit him and he’d whimper and wonder what the heck was going on. Silly dog.
Eww…ants smell – when killed in droves? Yuck.
dude, you threw it away?!!!
it woulda been sooo crazy tasteeee !!
Oh shit, had I known, I would have saved it for ya! Crazy lady. 😛
I would have run away from my house screaming, and thrown a match behind me to light the damned thing on fire.
I am NOT okay with larvae in my food.
Not. Okay. Ewwwwww.
Um, yeah. It was baaaaaad. But, I think I’ve caught most of the culprits. I’m keeping all of my dried goods in the fridge for good measure, though. Ick. If it happens again I will definitely light the match!
The same thing just happen to me last week…. EVERYTHING in the pantry was thrown out… I did not care if it seemed safe or not… GONE. We first found it in the cereal and then moved on to the crackers etc.
Good luck with them, so far things seem okay for now… it is such a pain!
Yes…EVERYTHING…even unopened boxes of cereal. It sucks. The traps are working wonders, though. I’m actually surprised at how many moths there were in the house. Eek. It’s a bit alarming.
I was watching the Food Network and there’s a section of the market in Jakarta that sells nothing but bugs, spiders and grubs. Apparently their squishy centers are full of vitamin-y goodness. I don’t care. Chewing up a worm (bug or spider) would not result in any pleasantries and I’d NEVER be a constestant on ‘Fear Factor’.
At least you saw the worms BEFORE you started eating.
Oh yeah, insect protein and all the goodness. Gag. I’ll pass, thankyouverymuch. And
‘Fear Factor’ or ‘Survivor’ – I’d be fine up until I had to eat bugs…or stanky rotting fish.
WOW. Just this morning, I was praying that the Lord would help me get rid of these “moth thingys” that have taken over my pantry. I had no idea what they were, or where they keep coming from.???
So I catch one in a jar, and seal it so I could get a good look at it, because everytime I kill one, they just turn to dust. That’s how I figured out it must be some kind of moth.
Next, I got online and googled moths. And somehow your blog was the second thing I came to. AND THERE IT WAS! A picture of EXACTLY what is in my jar, and in my kitchen and the exact same story as mine! Except I discovered my “intruders” Christmas Eve, with live moving larvae in my sugar! Needless to say, it ruins your day.
I found them everywhere, after closer inspection. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen them before! ANd they were in EVERYTHING. The eggs and larvae were under the seal in my plastic storage containers. I had to throw everything out, and I mean EVERYTHING!
So we were in the clear for a few days, but then I started seeing a moth here and there. AND then put everyone in the house on “High Moth Alert” Seek. Kill. Destroy.
How do I get rid of these things? And where do they keep coming from? I have lived in this house for 7 years, and I have seen on occasion, the typical light-seeking-moth, but this is a first for these little guys.
Thank you, thank you for your article.
God Bless,
Melanie Wilson
Hi Melanie,
So sorry to hear you have been invaded by pantry moths. It’s a horrible feeling, I know! I read that the larva can ALREADY be in foodstuff that you bring home from the grocery store…like flour, oats, grains and dog food. They can also come in birdseed. I found that these traps from Amazon work great:
I have a stash of them in my cupboards and put them out every spring, just in case! Best of luck!!
Wow, like many above, my mom has been battling it out with them over the course of many many months 😦
I finally told her she should just sell the house! But that put a bee in her bonnet and she emptied the cupboards but the little buggers were still flying all around. So now that we have read about the traps- she has the second phase of the clean up in her mind and is going to secure the traps 🙂 thanks loads and that pic is what brought me to you 🙂
Thanks loads.
My mom thanks you loads. I think it is good she took some control of her house and fought to get it back. I would have but she is still in charge of it. (I live in my own place.)
I am glad I could read all of this to her so she can get some satisfaction and camaraderie and not feel like she was alone with this horrible nightmare, the poor thing.
I thought what I had were moths from leaving the patio door open. Pantry, laundry room, then patio door. Well it’s after 1 am and I found the little worms on the wall. First one, then another, then a third. Captured them and a moth then went on google. Found ur page. Great. Now I can’t sleep because I’m grossing out after reading ur page and am certain they are every where in the pantry. I did find that Lysol spray kills them on contact. Looks like it killed the worms as well. Will throw everything out in the am, if I can get some sleep knowing what’s going on in the pantry. Yuck. Will call the pest man on Monday. Thanks for posting.