Pests don't wait. Protect your home today.
Bugs in the Pantry? How to Get Rid of Pantry Pests in a Humid Kitchen
Family-run, licensed and insured pest control in South Florida.
$50 OFF your first service + FREE inspectionNew customers · No code needed · No expirationPantry pests usually show up one of two ways: a small moth fluttering around the kitchen at night, or tiny beetles crawling in the rice, the flour or the dog food. Either way, they didn't come from dirt. They usually came home inside a package from the store and grew from there. In a warm South Florida kitchen they don't slow down for winter, so a small problem keeps going until the source is found and thrown out.
Which pantry pests are you seeing?
- Indian meal moths. Small moths with two-tone wings, gray near the body and coppery at the tips. The larvae leave silky webbing in food and often crawl up walls and onto the ceiling to pupate. See the Indian meal moth page.
- Rice weevils. Tiny dark beetles with a long snout. They develop inside individual grains, so a bag can look clean at the store. See the rice weevil page.
- Flour beetles. Small, reddish-brown and flat, in flour, cake mixes and cereal.
- Cigarette beetles. Small, round and light brown, often in spices, dried peppers and pet food.
More in our pantry pests library.
Why a humid kitchen keeps them going
Warm temperatures speed up their life cycle, so a South Florida kitchen keeps them going all year. Many of them chew through paper, cardboard and thin plastic, which is why hard, sealed containers matter. Garages are a common source too. Bird seed, dry pet food and grass seed stored there are a frequent starting point for pantry moths.
How to get rid of pantry pests: the cleanout
This is the part that fixes most cases:
- Empty the pantry. Take everything out, shelf by shelf.
- Check every dry item, including spices, cereal, crackers, pasta, rice, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, pet food and bird seed. Look for webbing, clumps, holes in packaging and live insects.
- Throw out infested food in sealed bags outside. Don't try to sort it.
- Vacuum the shelves, corners, cracks and shelf-pin holes, then wipe with soapy water. Empty the vacuum outside.
- Store food in sealed containers made of glass or hard plastic with tight lids.
- Check the garage for bird seed and pet food, and move them into sealed bins.
Don't spray shelves where food is stored. It doesn't reach the source, and the source is the food.
Moths in the kitchen after the cleanout
It's normal to see a few moths for a while after a cleanout, from larvae that were already hiding in cracks or on the ceiling. Pheromone traps help you monitor whether the numbers are going down. If they aren't, there's usually another source you haven't found yet: a forgotten bag in the back of a cabinet, the dog food bin or the garage.
Weevils in rice and flour
If you find weevils, check every grain product, not just the one you opened. They spread to rice, flour, oats, pasta, popcorn and cereal. Going forward, buy smaller packages you'll use quickly, and move them into sealed containers when you get home.
Where we help
We help locate the source and treat pantry cracks and crevices, with the food out of the pantry and never on the shelf surfaces where food sits. If you're on our quarterly plan, pantry pest treatment is included. We'll recommend monitoring, and since sanitation is the most important part, we'll walk you through it. Keep kids and pets off treated areas until dry, and follow your technician's instructions. If you're also seeing small roaches around the kitchen, that's a different problem; read about small roaches in the kitchen.
Our general pest plan is $125 per quarter, about $42 a month, and monthly or custom schedules are quoted after the inspection. For plan customers: "If pests come back between visits, so do we, at no extra cost." There are no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees, just a simple service agreement. We're family-run and licensed, with 30+ years in the business, and hablamos español. See our pest control page and our guides.
Pantry bug questions
Where do pantry bugs come from?
Can I keep food that had bugs in it?
Why do I keep seeing moths after cleaning?
Should I spray my pantry?
Still finding them?
Get $50 OFF your first service plus a FREE inspection. No code, no expiration. Call or text anytime: 833-845-9284.
Prefer to text or email? Text us · info@prospraypest.com