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Ugh!! Swheat Scoop litter infested with larvae!

post #1 of 5
10/20/10 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 
I just got a very creepy and disgusting Halloween surprise--our brand new (unopened) bag of Swheat Scoop litter was infested with moth larvae! Yesterday, Bob and I started noticing small caterpillers or worms crawling in our workout room where we keep the litter. We killed the ones we saw using Cedarcide spray and thought we were done. Later that day, we went back into that room, and there were more larvae... EVERYWHERE!! So gross! They were crawling up the walls and all over Bob's folded workout clothes in the closet. We couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Fortunately, our apartment complex had an exterminator on the property spraying for ants and we called him in. When he opened the bag of SS, a dozen moths few out and we discovered where the infestation was. I called Petco, since we still had the receipt from when we bought it. They know about the problem--they said they've had problems with Boll Weevils, too, in SS. Petco obviously didn't want the bag returned, but they did request we bring them the UPC code. They'll give us store credit for a different brand. They said that even though "The World's Best Cat Litter" is corn-based, too, their bag is tough plastic and the bugs don't burrow in, so maybe we'll go back to that. Anyway, thought I'd give y'all a heads up. No more Swheat Scoop for me!!
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post #2 of 5
10/20/10 at 11:50am
This is a complication that all grain products have, mostly because it's very hard to keep grain pest out. I know I'm not the only one who'd accidentally brought home a box of moth or weevil infested cereal.

Meal moths aren't that bad, luckily. Freezing does kill the larvae, so if you have any flour or cornmeal, store that in the freezer. Put your cereals (in their bags) in an air tight food storage containers. It's a good idea to do this with pastas and bread, too.
The reason: Meal moth larvae can chew through thinner plastic such as what bags are made out of. I've seen them chew through glad freezer bags so thicker plastic bags aren't impervious.
To help combat them go get some pheromone baited sticky moth traps. These contain no pesticides so as long as no one gets stuck to the trap, they're extremely safe. The moths, strangely, avoid light and will fly up high and crawl into any cracks or behind things to hide. Sucking them up with the vacuum cleaner hose works well.

Note: Meal moths are strictly grain moths. They will not harm clothing, they cannot digest it. However the larvae will web up on fabrics.

Weevils are on a different level... they're heat and cold tolerant, and after years of being sprayed with a lot of pesticides, they're pretty resistant. If you get weevils the best solution is making sure anything that could be infested is thrown out, cleaning, and putting new grain foods in the freezer or containers.

Grain mites are another common pest in anything grain. Anytime you open up anything from natural litters to flour, take a very close look for them. They're light colored and tiny, so it will be difficult to see them. They can be kept out by freezing.

Never store corn or wheat based litters in a shed or garage. Keep them inside at room temp or (in some areas) keep extra litter in the freezer. The same holds true for any grain based food and pet food (meal moths love pet food). The reason the litters get infested is because they sit for some time in an unheated/cooled warehouse.
Inspect your litter closely at least once a week to make sure no pests have invaded the boxes.
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post #3 of 5
10/20/10 at 12:11pm
And that, my friends, is why I use pine wood pellets from Lowe's or Home Depot. About 8 bucks for 40lbs...or you can get the 14lb bag of them at PetSmart for for 6.29.
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post #4 of 5
10/20/10 at 3:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Whisky'sDad View Post
And that, my friends, is why I use pine wood pellets from Lowe's or Home Depot. About 8 bucks for 40lbs...or you can get the 14lb bag of them at PetSmart for for 6.29.
most feed and hardware( smaller) have them for 3-5 for 40lbs
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post #5 of 5
10/20/10 at 3:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
most feed and hardware( smaller) have them for 3-5 for 40lbs
Well then, I'm gonna have to check that out!
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