Pantry Moths

Fleas

This story starts with fleas

Oreo is our oldest dog.  He is grumpy, sometimes hard of hearing and rules the food dish.

Over the last two or three weeks something has been tearing him up.  He has a case of dermatitis on his backside and he has been clawing and biting himself.  He lost hair on a patch of skin back near his tail.

I took him to the vet yesterday.  Being a bit of a pessimist, I feared mange.  Mange is very difficult to control.

The vet checked him out and deduced an allergy to flea bites.  She prescribed prednisone (an anti-inflammatory for the itching) and cephalexin (an antibiotic) for some infected scratches she found.  She also strongly advised that we declare war on fleas.

The Battle Plan

I vacuumed all the carpet.  I washed the bedding in hot water.  I dried the bedding using the hottest setting.

I dosed all the dogs with a product containing nitenpyram.  News flash:  fleas can jump.

I will do a follow-up on all three dogs in a couple of days with a product where you squeeze out a small line of product from between-their-ears to half way down their backs.

Then I applied a "growth regulator" insect control product to the carpet and furniture.

Pantry Moths

Q:  Why do men produce billions of sperm for every egg produced by a woman?
A:  Sperm don't stop and ask for directions either.

Don't tell Mrs ERJ, but I read the directions on the back of the package.  All of the directions.

This product functions by mimicking a growth regulator that keeps the developing insects in their juvenile, non-reproducing stage.  That is, they stay permanently adolescent, kind of like a trust fund that funds college tuition for life.  The target market for this product are people attempting to control fleas (me), roaches and ants. 

According to the directions, this product is also registered for assorted "Pantry Pests" like Indian Meal Moths.

Moths

We added pantry moths to the ERJ domestic biota about 20 years ago with a bag of rice from an Asian food store.  We have been attempting to control them ever since.

We have quite a bit of energy around this.  I like the idea of having several months of food in the house.  I don't like being one of those people who adds to the chaos immediately before a snow storm.  Kubota absolutely hates and detests moths.  I suspect he inhaled one early and life and it psychically maimed him.  That may have melded in his mind with various vampire movies.  We will be peacefully winding down our evening when books and CD cases start flying through the air as though launched by a Phalanx CIWS.  That boy really hates moths.

So I am thrilled to have another tool to add to our meager arsenal of weapons against Pantry moths.