Where does the mole come from in an apartment or house?

The mole is a plain gray butterfly, which leads mostly nocturnal life. In nature there are several hundred species of this insect. Some of them prefer to live in a human dwelling, turning into malicious pests. Their favorite food - furs, woolen products, as well as food. To find out how to deal with this insect, you need to know where the moth comes from, what kinds of pests inhabit our houses and apartments, as well as the features of reproduction.

A few words about the insect

Mole belongs to the group of lepidopterans (butterflies), for which small sizes and mainly twilight way of life are characteristic. Moth larvae can cause serious harm. Adult individuals, when reaching puberty, perform only the function of reproduction (mate and lay eggs).

A distinctive feature of moles is the absence of a proboscis. With the help of this organ, ordinary butterflies produce nectar, hidden in the inflorescences of plants. Moth larvae are more primitive and less whimsical of food. They have a well developed oral apparatus, which allows them to even crack seeds of plants and seeds of fruits.

The absence of a proboscis does not interfere with normal vital activity of an insect. This is explained by the fact that the moth, while still in the stage of the caterpillar, uses the jaws to consume food and accumulates in the body a supply of energy for the future. Growing up, an insect not only is deprived of the opportunity to eat, but also can not digest food. The main task of an adult is to breed.

Since the moth is capable of causing harm, being in the caterpillar stage, it is pointless to struggle with adult insects. Before you notice the flying butterflies, their larvae already have time to settle in a dark secluded place and harm your things and food. And to find them will not be so easy.

How does the moth multiply

The development of moths, like butterflies, takes place in several stages:

1. Egg.
2. Larva (caterpillar).
3. Pupa.
4. Adult butterfly.

The life expectancy of a butterfly averages about 3 weeks. Some types of moths live only a few days. During this short period of time, the female manages to lay off from 40 to 200 eggs, of which after a week the white translucent larvae hatch. Once the caterpillar is born, it begins to actively feed and form a spindle-shaped cocoon from the surrounding nutrient medium. It is while in the stage of the larva that the mole causes the main damage. After a month and a half, the larva pupates, after which a butterfly appears from the pupa. The adult individual literally begins to reproduce offspring literally from the first days of life: he lays eggs in dark secluded places and soon dies.

Thus, under proper conditions, the multiplication of moths is a continuous process. The duration of the development cycle depends on the species of the insect, the habitat conditions and varies from 1 month to 2.5 years.

Species of domestic moths

As for the varieties of winged pests, most often in the living areas you can find a clothing and food moth. It should be noted that both species are similar in appearance, but they have different gastronomic preferences, lead a different lifestyle and do not pretend to each other's territory. Simply put, if you noticed a moth in your home, then you can not worry about the safety of stocks of cereals.

A moth: what eats and where it comes from

Moth in the apartment can spoil fabrics and materials of natural origin - wool, fur, cotton, linen. This kind of moth is called a dress.

Where does this mole come from? Pests can start regardless of the cleanliness and well-being of the premises. It can be like a wretched dirty apartment, or a luxury apartment. And in the second case the chances for the appearance of uninvited guests are much higher, since the owners of expensive apartments can afford to buy fur coats, clothes, furniture and carpets made of natural materials.

The greatest appetite of a moth is caused by long-wearing things with the smell of sweat and particles of the epidermis. And, to get to the favorite delicacies, the pest will not stop even before the polyethylene and in two counts the cellophane packet gnaws through.

How to recognize a moth? This kind of moth looks like a small butterfly up to 8 mm in size. Its wings have a single-tone golden-beige color and fringed edges. Adult specimens of this insect do not fly well and are most often moved around curiously, and they do it quite quickly.

The moth can lay 200 eggs. The lifespan of a caterpillar, as a rule, is from 70 to 200 days and depends on the ambient temperature. In cold conditions and in the absence of food, the larva of the moth can live up to 2 years. During the year, only one generation of such moths is born, which is explained by the conditions of feeding caterpillars and the duration of their development.

It is not always possible to find out where the moth comes from in the house. But if after buying a woolen or fur garment you start to notice the flying malicious moths, it means that the insect larvae already lived in the product.

Where does the mole come from yet? In addition to the human factor, the appearance of a pest in a dwelling may be caused by a pet that only acts as a vehicle when moving from street to house.

Moths in the dwelling may also be affected by an open window or ventilation system.

Food moth

If the relatively moth-eating situation is more or less clear, then where does the mole in the kitchen come from? In residential houses, warehouses, shops and granaries prefers to settle food moth.

There are several types of such moths, and each of them causes irreparable harm to food. So, flour flour is planted in cereals and flour, fruit - in dried fruits, spices, mushrooms, herbs and nuts. For an ordinary person, all types of food moths look the same - they are small butterflies of gray color with a dark pattern on the wings. It is by the dark pattern that the food moth is determined.

Whence comes this pest, it is not always possible to find out. But as a rule, infection with moth larvae occurs even while storing food in food warehouses, where moths can freely lay eggs. So do not be surprised where the black mole in the apartment comes from, because you can bring the pest along with the groats bought in the store. Moreover, such a product will not be saved by hermetic factory packaging, since it was already infected at the time of storage in the warehouse. Of course, immediately after the purchase of worms in the package may be absent, but after a while you will begin to notice the fluttering butterflies in the kitchen, and in the package with cereals you will find moths and caterpillars.

Proceeding from the foregoing, it follows that in most cases the mole is brought into the house by the person himself.

Ways to combat the moth

Fighting larvae of moths is not an easy task, as the pest lays eggs in the most secluded places. It is worth noting that the moth is much easier to take out than the food moth.

Methods to combat the moth are as follows:

• Inspection of things for the presence of eggs and larvae;
• Drying clothes and hats in the sun or washing at a temperature of 60 degrees;
• Spraying in the habitat of an insect special aerosols in order to destroy the larvae;
• The placement of funds for repelling pests (lavender, essential oils, fumigators) among things on the shelves and walls of cabinets.

How to get rid of food moths

To put out a food moth, you need to make a lot of effort.

First of all, you will have to throw out all contaminated food products: cereals, flour, herbs, roots and the like.

Against flying moths you can use special aerosol products. Kitchen cabinets must be treated with vinegar or with the means intended for this purpose, which are sold at a hardware store.

After getting rid of moths and larvae as a preventive measure on the shelves, you can expand the branches of lavender or other special means that prevent the appearance of a pest.

In addition, in order not to wonder in the future where the moth is taken from, the grocer brought from the store must be roasted in a microwave or oven. This procedure will help to kill the eggs along with the larvae.