Hamster Central - View Single Post

Pebbles82 · 06-23-2021, 07:04 PM

It sounds like you caught it in time. The eggs are too small to see - microscopic. You sometimes see a bit of webbing stuff. First time this happened to me I had no larvae or webbing but the cage was crawling with hatched out moths under the substrate!

I think you've done the right thing moving her and cleaning everything because the eggs can hatch out - they can lay them on anything in the cage and you can't see them.

Yes freezing for a week kills moth eggs. I'd freeze any hamster food, wood items or anything else that can't be washed. Just fairy liquid/soapy water is fine for plastic and ceramic - washes anything off - or white vinegar kills them too.

I think you've done the right thing or you could have found quite a few on the ceiling! When we had our big infestation I only ever saw a few at a time but they just kept coming! However many you killed - because then they start laying eggs on the ceiling and curtains! Ugh

After that first time I freeze all hamster food for a week. Then store it in lock and lock boxes (apparently the only containers that are truly airtight!) - belt and braces. Never had a problem after that until ..........recently - I must have missed freezing some chew sticks or something.

It is the food they come in originally. The eggs can be there dormant no problem - until nice warm weather comes along! Then they hatch out.

06-23-2021, 07:04 PM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Flummoxed by the pantry moth It sounds like you caught it in time. The eggs are too small to see - microscopic. You sometimes see a bit of webbing stuff. First time this happened to me I had no larvae or webbing but the cage was crawling with hatched out moths under the substrate! I think you've done the right thing moving her and cleaning everything because the eggs can hatch out - they can lay them on anything in the cage and you can't see them. Yes freezing for a week kills moth eggs. I'd freeze any hamster food, wood items or anything else that can't be washed. Just fairy liquid/soapy water is fine for plastic and ceramic - washes anything off - or white vinegar kills them too. I think you've done the right thing or you could have found quite a few on the ceiling! When we had our big infestation I only ever saw a few at a time but they just kept coming! However many you killed - because then they start laying eggs on the ceiling and curtains! Ugh After that first time I freeze all hamster food for a week. Then store it in lock and lock boxes (apparently the only containers that are truly airtight!) - belt and braces. Never had a problem after that until ..........recently - I must have missed freezing some chew sticks or something. It is the food they come in originally. The eggs can be there dormant no problem - until nice warm weather comes along! Then they hatch out.