Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
If small light-colored maggots are detected on the ceiling in the kitchen, it is usually the so-called larvae of the food moth. There are various reasons why it settles in your kitchen of all places. Their appearance is not only disgusting for many, but can also be harmful to health. It is important that moth maggots are combated as quickly as possible. You can find out what effective control methods there are in the following.
The danger of moth maggots
As flying moths, the animals cause little or no serious damage to your food. Rather, it is their offspring that they lay as eggs and as moth maggots can become a health hazard. You are responsible for damage to food.
Contamination occurs from the droppings and webs of the moth maggots. Fungi and mites are attracted and cause further contamination of food. These are already unusable for consumption due to the legacies of the moth maggots.
Because moth larvae bite through myriad materials, an infestation can contaminate large stores of food. Cardboard and soft plastic materials are no problem for them. They can get through the smallest slits in lids. Since only disposal is recommended here, a lot of money often ends up in the trash.
Larva of the dried fruit moth, Plodia interpunctella
Rapid reproduction
Moth maggots can quickly cause a whole plague of maggots. Once they have developed into adult moths after around five to six weeks, they can lay between 50 and 500 eggs. They then die between 10 and 14 days old. New maggots emerge from the eggs after about three to five days. In another five to six weeks, these are ready to reproduce again as adult moths, so that without rigorous control of the reproductive cycle, thousands of moth maggots can unceasingly take care of themselves. The curious thing is that they can have different colors.
Moth maggots on the kitchen ceiling
Admittedly, the kitchen ceiling is certainly an unusual place for moths or their offspring. But that doesn't stop them from crawling along the ceiling. There can be various reasons why they are to be found in the kitchen of all places.
causes
Attracted by light
Because adult moths are attracted to light when it's dark, there is a possibility that they got into the kitchen when the room was aired out at dusk and the ceiling lights were on. If the lighting on the ceiling is made of natural materials, moths can lay their eggs there. Once the maggots have developed, they leave their "camp" and move across the ceiling towards food supplies to satisfy their hunger.
Passed through window slits or openings
Immediately after the stage of development into a maggot, the little animals are very hungry. In search of food, they get into the kitchen through the smallest slits and openings in the masonry, on windows and doors. They don't shy away from long journeys. The ceiling makes it possible to reach all areas of the kitchen almost without risk.
Through contaminated food from the shops
It's rare, but it happens that you buy food or even pet food that already has eggs or moth maggots in it. This can be dry dog food, flour, oatmeal packs or even nuts and chocolate, to name just a few.
Once they get into the kitchen or pantry in this way, they can eat their way out through the packaging and “wander” to other food sources. As already mentioned, they do not shy away from long journeys or detours, so that they can often be seen on the ceiling in the kitchen. But cracks on/in worktops or on the baseboards are also often used for the move. They rarely crawl across the floor.
tip: Moth maggots on the kitchen ceiling can be a sign of both an incipient infestation and an existing one. As a precaution, you should always assume the latter and not waste any time unnecessarily to tackle pest control.
Dried fruit moth, Plodia interpunctella
Control of food maggots
If you have discovered a moth maggot on the ceiling, it must of course be disposed of. This can be done with household waste, but it should be taken into account that this does not prevent live maggots from developing further and laying eggs. They often find a suitable environment to survive and multiply, especially in garbage cans. They also come back quickly. You may come across the same maggot again after a short time, or it may gain access again as a moth to lay its eggs. Therefore, every control measure should go hand in hand with the goal of killing. Even suction is only suitable if the killing takes place. Otherwise they eat their way through the vacuum cleaner bags or just crawl back to the exit as soon as the vacuum cleaner is turned off.
food disposal
In general, when moth larvae are discovered, all food packaging should be checked immediately for the slightest damage. If there is the slightest suspicion that there are or have been moth maggots in it, they must be disposed of immediately. Do not forget that the pests can get inside through the smallest leaks in lids and through soft plastic containers. It is optimal that they dispose of food stocks that are preferred by maggots from the kitchen cupboards and shelves. These include:
- flour
- rice
- food starch and sauce thickeners
- nuts
- legumes
- chocolates and chocolate spreads
- pasta
- cereals
- cookies and the like
- dry spices
Moth maggots caught alive
Before you dispose of (possibly) contaminated food in the household waste, killing is necessary for effective control and to avoid pest infestation again. This also applies to animals that have been sucked up or otherwise captured alive.
The easiest way to do this is to put the sorted food together with the packaging material and the vacuum cleaner bag in the freezer put. Of course, this should not contain any unspoiled food. The freezing should last for a period of three days. After that, the pests are guaranteed to have frozen to death and can safely end up in the household waste.
egg control
Moth eggs are not usually visible to the naked eye because they are extremely small. Effective and, above all, sustainable control also includes destroying the eggs. To do this, proceed as follows:
- Mix a few tablespoons of vinegar essence with a liter of water
- Wipe down all shelves and cabinets with the solution
- For corners and hard-to-reach places, we recommend using a spray bottle into which the vinegar-water mixture is filled
- It is important that you proceed carefully and, if possible, do not miss anything
- Above all, do not forget lamps or decorative items made of natural materials. Eggs are also often laid here
- The eggs are reliably destroyed by the mixture
- In addition, the vinegar ensures simultaneous disinfection.
vinegar and salt
A very effective way to combat it is to use a mixture of water with vinegar and salt or pepper. When preparing the water-vinegar mixture, proceed in exactly the same way as described above under "Egg control". Add just one to two more tablespoons of salt. The mixture is then filled into a spray bottle and the maggots on the ceiling are sprayed well. After a few minutes they fall dead and can easily be vacuumed up or swept up and disposed of with household waste.
pepper spray
A mixture of pepper and water works in a similar way to fighting with vinegar and salt. The crawling animals are also sprayed with this and die as a result.
To make the pepper spray, do the following:
- Boil a liter of water
- Add a tablespoon of pepper and mix well
- Let the mixture cool down
- Pour into a spray bottle and spray the maggots on the kitchen ceiling until dripping wet
- The dead maggot will fall to the ground on its own after a few minutes
Control with the help of beneficial insects
This control method is primarily suitable for larger maggot infestations because it is more time-consuming than producing a spray, as mentioned here.
The moth maggots are considered to be the natural predators of moth maggots parasitic wasps (Habrobracon hebetor). You can get these in any well-stocked gardening store or on the Internet. Usually cards with eggs of beneficial insects are offered. You then only need to distribute it to the affected areas. There they will feed on the maggots and in this way gradually reduce the infestation. The disadvantage, however, is that in the case of a larger infestation, the beneficial insects have to be present for a longer period of time in order to reach all the moth maggots. The advantage is that you usually hardly notice the parasitic wasps doing their job.
Dusty wasp, Ichneumonidae
tip: The use of insecticides in the kitchen area is discouraged.
Read here how to recognize the different types of food moths. You can also find further helpful information on combating and preventing food moths in our other articles.