|
|
Post by notsomessyshell on Jul 3, 2009 17:47:30 GMT -5
Mommy guess where I hid my bouncy ball? You know the bird seed pile on the floor, I hid it in that!  So I suppose that corner of the living room really needs some attention.... Now Shellby is off to find the shop vac.....  |
|
Blackswan
Banned
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
|
Post by Blackswan on Jul 3, 2009 21:48:15 GMT -5
 I have a pile of guinea pig shavings to take care of too. |
|
|
|
Post by Peach on Jul 3, 2009 22:11:21 GMT -5
Oh, yes - me too! DH left his bag of wild bird seed in the hallway (since winter) and now little bugs are flying around the LR. Had him get rid of the seed outside - tomorrow I tackle the bugs inside |
|
|
|
Post by Arid on Jul 3, 2009 23:46:41 GMT -5
Oh, Peach! THOSE kinds of "bugs" are TERRIBLY difficult to get rid of. I know--because my DH did the very same thing (kept birdseed in the house).
If you do a search for "pantry moths" or "grain moths," you might be able to find the discussions that we have had here in the past about how to get rid of these pests. It CAN be done!
Good luck!
Arid
|
|
|
|
Post by theroyaldump on Jul 4, 2009 7:32:07 GMT -5
If you are going to keep bird seed in the house keep it in the freezer. It will kill all the larva that is in the seed... no more of those nasty moths.
|
|
|
|
Post by limegreen on Jul 4, 2009 19:52:03 GMT -5
Why did no one ever tell me that? I have about a half full 10kg tub of birdseed in the hall closet. I couldn't think how we had clothes moths in the house, I am allergic to wool there is no wool here for them to eat. Clearly they are not clothes moths, they are chowing down on my birdseed. Ack! Okay, that birdseed is going out of the house.
|
|
tiredofit
New Member
Joined: June 2009
Posts: 47
|
Post by tiredofit on Jul 4, 2009 20:44:59 GMT -5
Very interesting! When we lived in the South, I had started taking on birdwatching and I was obviously buying as much bird seeds as I could and I was storing them in our pantry. At certain point we had a moths infestation. I was able to fight it, but it's good to know now where they were coming from.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peach on Jul 4, 2009 21:10:49 GMT -5
Guess I hit on a common problem with bird seed  And, I KNOW that it should be stored in the freezer to kill larvae, so I can't plead ignorance  Think I just got so used to it sitting in the hallway that after awhile it became "unseen". Think I got most of the buggers vacuumed up today. And, yes, the vacuum bag went outside promptly. |
|
|
|
Post by Meme on Jul 4, 2009 23:00:14 GMT -5
yes and we stored ours in a container and in the humid weather it started to mold- sigh- I felt bad for the birds but would not use it- then we started to buy pre cleaned bird seed which has been heated to kill larvae and also more dry- and will not mold- brother farmer has a grain thermometer
|
|
|
|
Post by notsomessyshell on Jul 4, 2009 23:54:40 GMT -5
Hmm. I don't know about any moths or bugs. I don't buy great big bags of seed. Just one bird so don't need a ton of it. I keep it in a tupperware container. The seed on the ground is the hulls and sunflower seed shells. Just a lot of it. The shop vac is much better than a regular vacuum for it, btw.
|
|
|
|
Post by marigold on Jul 5, 2009 15:15:19 GMT -5
We had problems with moths in open packets of flour and pasta and rice, that were stashed in a drawer underneath the stove. Finally we started keeping the flour and rice in tightly closed plastic boxes in a refrigerator. No more moths.
|
|
|
|
Post by messymimi on Jul 5, 2009 20:16:53 GMT -5
Shell, that's kids for you. I woke up to a note from #2 Son the other day, "Mom, I had a horrible headache last night after you went to bed and then I blew chunks and felt better, so I'm okay. By the way, I barfed in the pasta pot."
Gotta love 'em ....
messymimi
|
|
flower
New Member
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 18
|
Post by flower on Jul 6, 2009 0:27:59 GMT -5
We had pantry moths and I finally decided to bite the bullet and clean it out. Found them finally inside a partially opened bag of dehydrated apples. ewwwwwww.....
|
|
|
|
Post by AnnieOkie on Jul 6, 2009 11:38:28 GMT -5
Making a note to tell fiance to sit the birdseed outside until I figure out where to keep it!!  |
|
|
|
Post by Peach on Jul 6, 2009 18:57:51 GMT -5
I have parrots and routinely purchase 25 pound bags of parrot seed mixture, as it is cheaper by the pound in larger bags. In the winter months, I leave the 25# bag in the freezing cold garage and that takes care of any larvae. During summer, I empty the large bag into multiple large ziplock baggies and store them in the freezer until ready for use.
It takes at least 48 hours in the freezer to kill the bug larvae. If your freezer is small, just rotate the ziplock bags until all have had a turn in the freezer. As for the birds eating the expired larvae, it is protein and good for them.
|
|
