Pantry Moths

[Summerthyme]

Oh, they can also "drill" their way through lightweight plastic items... like the canisters Koolaid comes in? Perry (OFuzzy1 from TB2k) taught me that one... he learned it the hard way. Apparently, Florida is a mecca for those kinds of critturs.

That's one major reason why I have an eclectic collection of large (gallon size) glass and acrylic canisters and jars in my pantry... if I ever buy a product that comes in cardboard, I decant it into a glass jar. The benefits are twofold- if the food is clean, it won't get infested. And if- God forbid- I bring in an infested product, the insects will be visible through the glass, and they won't be able to escape as long as no one opens the lid indoors.

Unfortunately, those gallon glass jars which used to be obtainable at almost any restaurant, hospital or school kitchen have pretty well been replaced with lightweight plastic. Grrrr... You can purchase them on the 'net, but the shipping will cost you more than the jars! Probably the best compromise (along with watching garage sales, etc) would be to buy some 1/2 gallon wide mouth canning jars... they run around $10 for 6 jars.

Summerthyme

[Milehimama]

You might be able to salvage your spices. Put them in baggies (labeled) and stick them in the freezer. Then thoroughly wash the spice container. After a few days in the fridge, put the spices back in their jars.

Snapseal cannisters work well to keep out bugs in the pantry (I switched after losing a huge amount of cornmeal and flour kept in Rubbermaid cannisters.) I live in the deep South and all my flours, cornmeals, etc are stored in the freezer except the "in use" portion in my cannisters. It also makes your freezer run more efficiently if it's really full, so I kill two birds with one stone!

[Nicho1]

There are pantry moth traps sold on ebay for a small amount. They last quite a while...several months...and are well worth the expense. Otherwise, it could be an ongoing battle. This, of course, imho.