It’s food waste Friday, but that’s NOT our food waste. It’s a moth trap, and I realized I should post about it because these handy dandy items have SIGNIFICANTLY reduced our food waste since I started putting them in our pantry a little over a year ago.
Prior to that, once or twice a year, we would experience a sudden influx of moths, first in the kitchen, and soon in the living room. I’d try to ignore it, but it didn’t take long before either my husband or I was driven so mad by it we’d actually EMPTY the entire pantry. We were looking for the source of our drastic drop in happiness: the moth eggs. They’d usually be attached to a plastic bag from Trader Joe’s although they’d often be hiding on the inside lid of a box of pancake mix or cornmeal.
By the time they were flying around the house, the pantry had been infested enough to necessitate throwing out A LOT of food. I’d practically be in tears as I threw bags of rice, boxes of cornmeal, and expensive walnuts into the trash. I cringe to think of it now. I started trying out all different kinds of containers, and found some I liked although I think my favorite is still leftover glass Classico pasta sauce jars.
This is all leading up to the MOTH TRAPS. A good friend told me about them and even sent me the link to their website. And our moth problems have practically gone away. We still have to check every month or so to make sure everything is well-sealed and we try to put nuts, rice, lentils, and dried fruit into airtight containers. But the issue has definitely been reduced by at least 90 percent.
So if YOU have moths in your cupboards, it’s time to declare war! The company we purchase these traps from is called Gardens Alive! and you can click here to get to the type of trap we use. The price is $9.95 for a package of 2, which is a 6-month supply because each trap is good for 3 months. The company actually recommends another type as their bestseller, but I’ve found these work even better. Please leave your ideas and questions on pest-related and other food waste issues in the Comments section.
Oh, we didn’t have any food waste this week. But I’m not patting myself on the back too hard because it was mainly because we were out of town last weekend so I didn’t buy many groceries before we left. Next week might be another story…
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