Pantry Moth Natural Solutions
Posted on April 01 2026
Pantry moths (also known as Indian meal moths) are a common nuisance in NZ kitchens. They lay their eggs in dry goods like flour, cereals, grains, and even pet food. You might notice small grey moths, fine webbing, or tiny white larvae which are all the signs that they’ve moved in.
Most infestations actually come in with food products like flour or oats. In my case, they arrived in a bag of rye flour and quickly spread, even chewing through packaging to get into chia seeds and cereal.
They can be frustrating to deal with, but the good news is there are simple, natural ways to get on top of them and to stop them from coming back.
Pantry Moth Natural Solutions
When you get your rice, flour etc before you put it in the pantry place it in the freezer for 24 hours to kill any tiny eggs. We actually eat them all the time without realising and they do us no harm but they do hatch in your cupboard and that’s when we get the little larvae and moths that then lay more eggs and so the cycle repeats.
If you can see them in your bags of carbohydrates throw them out in a sealed rubbish bag that is outside of your house and start again. If you have hens they love the extra protein!
Take everything out of your pantry and wash with warm soapy water, I use our Hemp & Eucalyptus Cleaning & Dish Wash Liquid. Make a spray by mixing 1/4 tsp each eucalyptus, lemon and peppermint essential oils with 110ml Premium White Vinegar. Shake and spray directly onto clean shelves and the inside of cupboards.
You can also add a few drops lemon and peppermint essential oil to cotton wool balls and leave them strategically around your pantry.
Or try distributing Bay Leaves around your pantry, this seems to work for some but not for others, perhaps this depends on the quality and freshness of the leaves, worth a try though.
I use the essential oil option in my pantry and have also bought pheromone traps from our local dairy in the past when we had a larger infestation.