Dos and Don’ts: Indianmeal Moths

■ Do the applied biology and eliminate the moths through integrated pest management (IPM).

■ Don’t let Indianmeal moth (IMM), Plodia interpunctella, contaminate stored food product.

■ Do observe lighting on or near the structure. Sodium vapor (yellow-colored) lighting has 95% less insect-attracting blue light wave compared to mercury vapor (blue-colored) lighting.

■ Don’t allow negative building pressure — a building must have positive pressure. When an exterior door is opened, one should feel air rushing out. Positive pressure prevents insects, dirt, bacteria and mold from entering. As a rule, a slightly positive pressure will exist when supply air is about 10% greater than exhaust air.

■ Do ensure processing lines are covered to eliminate high-end potential contamination.

■ Don’t allow conducive conditions to persist:

❯ Trim branches touching the structure.

❯ Clean up fallen fruit or wildlife feces on the perimeter campus.

❯ Repair parking-lot holes.

❯ Maintain a tidy landscape (cut tall grass).

❯ Repair structural eruptions or cracks.

❯ Fill or repair utility gaps.

❯ Institute a no-open-door policy.

❯ Ensure refuse is handled properly (trash to a person is treasure to a pest).

■  Do get the whole picture. Know the IPM puzzle:

❯ Education;

❯ Inspection;

❯ Exclusion;

❯ Administration support;

❯ Pest trapping;

❯ Sanitation;

❯ Mechanical control;

❯ Physical control;

❯ Service technician;

❯ Professional product applications;

❯ Quality control; and

❯ Logbook.

Dr. Mitchell, D.O., Ph.D., M.P.H., B.C.E., a board-certified physician and entomologist, is principal technical specialist for PestWest Environmental, as well as PMP’s Technical Editor. He can be reached at docmitchell@northcoastmedia.net or 515-333-8923. You can reach industry consultant Dr. Granovsky at tag@granvosky.com.