What is this moth -> Indian Meal Moth + Carpet Beatle?

[Paul Cherubini]

CraiginNJ wrote:

> Yet new Indian Meal Moths still appear every day or
> two.  I'm confused about how they can exist with no apparent food
> supply and no found larve (just one a couple months ago -- creamy
> white with a green tint), and why they pretty consistently migrate to
> the western side of my condo to the vicinity or inside of my bedroom
> closets (where there's no food).

This is a typical situation found in innumerable homes throughout the
western world. The cleanest homes often have these moths around because
it is extremely difficult to think of and clean up after all possible
sources of a dried food material that might be in the home. If the moths
still appear after your best efforts to find where they are breeding
there are three practical (and at least 2 impractical) choices:

1. live with them.

2. buy pheromone traps to catch and kill the males (won't catch the
females) to reduce   
    (but never eliminate) the adult population somewhat. The company I
work for sells    
    these traps for $6 each.   

3. Fumigate the structure with an extreme effective insecticide called
Vapona. Vapona is     
     widely used here in California by dried fruit packing plants, nut
companies, rice 
    and flour mills, pet food manufacturing plants, seed companies,
grocery distribution   centers, candy maufactureres, etc--even the dried
flower industry.  You can by Vapona in the form of 18% DDVP (dichlorvos)
resin strips at large variety stores. Just one strip per 1000 cubic feet
will take care of the existing adult population within a few days. Keep
them around for a month for maximum effectiveness (as moth pupae could
be hatching for several weeks). It's OK to use them in a home occupied
by heathy adults if no more than 1 strip per 1000 cubic feet is used. If
you are worried about getting cancer from chemicals then hang the strips
when you are away from the home on a weekend or vacation. 

4. Use portable heaters to heat your home to 140 degrees F for 12 hours.

5. Tent & fumigate the home with carbon dioxide for a week.

Paul Cherubini, Placerville, California