Moths, worms and webs — oh my!

If you feed the birds in your yard, you’ve probably experienced pesky pantry larvae and moths at least once.

First, the good news: all bird foods contain the eggs of pantry/flour moths. Under the right conditions, the eggs hatch into small worms (the larvae), which create webs and transform into more moths. Your bird food is not necessarily old or bad — in fact, birds love insects, so feel free to continue offering it to the birds unless it truly is old or moldy.

The only way to combat this infestation at the source is for the farmer or seed supplier to use a pesticide on the food, which would harm our birds. We celebrate a hatch-out as then we are assured no pesticides had been used!

Now for the bad news: if you store your bird food indoors, a hatch-out of pantry/flour moths can be a major source of irritation. They can and do infest open containers of foods that contain grains or even flour. Once a hatch-out occurs, they can be hard to eliminate. There are commercially available moth traps that can be very effective, but all open foods such as flour should be disposed of and the cabinet in which they were stored wiped down (especially in corners) with a mild bleach solution.

In order to prevent an infestation of these moths in your home, it’s best to keep bird food in a metal container in a garage or shed. We recommend metal as rodents have been known to chew through plastic containers. Metal garbage cans with lids work great.

If you have any questions about feeding or attracting wild birds, please send me an email at wbuwausau@gmail.com or give me a call at 715-298-3140.

Happy birding!

Lori Schubring is the owner of Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in Rib Mountain.