It's food waste Friday, but that's NOT our food waste. It's a moth trap, and I realized I should post about it because these handy dandy items have SIGNIFICANTLY reduced our food waste since I started putting them in our pantry a little over a year ago.Prior to that, once or twice a year, we would experience a sudden influx of moths, first in the kitchen, and soon in the living room. I'd try to ignore it, but it didn't take long before either my husband or I was driven so mad by it we'd actually EMPTY the entire pantry. We were looking for the source of our drastic drop in happiness: the moth eggs. They'd usually be attached to a plastic bag from Trader Joe's although they'd often be hiding on the inside lid of a box of pancake mix or cornmeal.
By the time they were flying around the house, the pantry had been infested enough to necessitate throwing out A LOT of food. I'd practically be in tears as I threw bags of rice, boxes of cornmeal, and expensive walnuts into the trash. I cringe to think of it now. I started trying out all different kinds of containers, and found some I liked although I think my favorite is still leftover glass Classico pasta sauce jars.
This is all leading up to the MOTH TRAPS. A good friend told me about them and even sent me the link to their website. And our moth problems have practically gone away. We still have to check every month or so to make sure everything is well-sealed and we try to put nuts, rice, lentils, and dried fruit into airtight containers. But the issue has definitely been reduced by at least 90 percent.
So if YOU have moths in your cupboards, it's time to declare war! The company we purchase these traps from is called Gardens Alive! and you can click here to get to the type of trap we use. The price is $9.95 for a package of 2, which is a 6-month supply because each trap is good for 3 months. The company actually recommends another type as their bestseller, but I've found these work even better. Please leave your ideas and questions on pest-related and other food waste issues in the Comments section.
Oh, we didn't have any food waste this week. But I'm not patting myself on the back too hard because it was mainly because we were out of town last weekend so I didn't buy many groceries before we left. Next week might be another story...
8 comments:
I've bookmarked the site and item for when I have some money to invest....Thanks for the tip!
If you freeze your grains when you get them home from the grocery store it kills the eggs and then you don't need the moth traps. Freeze rice, flour, pancake mix,pasta, etc for at least 24 hours once you bring them home.
Ellen- Thanks for coming by. If you get the "Trader Joe's moths," this really does take care of them.
Catherine- I have never heard of that. That's a great tip! I will definitely do that from now on...
Thanks for coming by and leaving a comment!
Oh I've never had much of a problem with this, maybe it's the area I like in. I did have a problem once with cornmeal, but the box had been open for a while.
This is a great tip for those that have the problem!
Canadian Saver- Yes, I think it's definitely a "warm weather" problem. I have friends in Hawaii who have it even worse, so it's the warmth, it doesn't matter whether it's dry or humid...
Thanks for your comment.
Why don't I have moths?
This is a serious question. I've been in my place almost 5 years. I have a ton of stuff in my cabinets, some of which I use only rarely. Just as a sample, I stock 5 kinds of rice, 4 kinds of flour, 3 kinds of non-flour, 3 kinds of sugars, and a dozen different boxes of mixes. Most of these are in airtight containers but not all. It's not where I live because I've had moths in other homes in the same city.
Can anyone explain?
WilliamB- I have no idea why you don't have moths, but I would just be thankful. Thanks for coming by!
Thanks for this tip! I've never heard of this, but we have the regular moth invasion, too, and the waste makes me cringe. Even grains that I've frozen have been eaten up by moths that seem to come out of no where.
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