Spider(?) webs in feed bags

[Steve Long]

I am having a problem with some sort of web-spinning critter in my bird
feed bags.  If left untouched for a while, I get a dense mat of fine
silk-like fibers across the top surface of the seeds in the 20-25 pound
bags.  At first, I thought it was just in the sunflower chips bags, but
it seems to have spread to the peanut splits bag as well, now.  So, even
if I initially got it from the seed distributor, it seems to have
actively spread in my storage shed, and is unlikely to "just go away"
when I buy new seed in new bags.

The problem is that getting any significant part of this web material
into my bird feeders tends to clog them up by sticking the seeds
together so that they do not drop down to the feeder holes as the birds
remove the lowest seeds.

Is anybody else having this problem?  Does anybody know what critter
(spider, worm, etc.) is making these silky mats?  Is there some chemical
that can be used to eradicate the culprits that is not also dangerous to
the birds?

Steve Long, Oxford

[thb...@aol.com]

Probably Meal Moths If they get into your house they will also get into you flour, corn mean and such. They sell sticky traps with pheromone lures. 

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[Marcia Watson]

Steve,

These are grain moths. I hope you don’t have your seed bags in your house. The moths can get into your kitchen pantry - flour, cereal, etc. Once established, they are difficult to control. Actually we are not putting out seed at present because we’re tired of dealing with them. FYI - you can still use the seed to feed birds, and the birds will eat the critters, but the moths destroy the nutritional part of the bird seeds, so the seed loses value for the birds.

I wish I could suggest a control method but we have not yet found one.

Marcia
------------
Marcia Watson
Phoenix, MD

> On Jan 30, 2024, at 10:48 AM, Steve Long <steve...@atlanticbb.net> wrote:
>
> I am having a problem with some sort of web-spinning critter in my bird feed bags. If left untouched for a while, I get a dense mat of fine silk-like fibers across the top surface of the seeds in the 20-25 pound bags. At first, I thought it was just in the sunflower chips bags, but it seems to have spread to the peanut splits bag as well, now. So, even if I initially got it from the seed distributor, it seems to have actively spread in my storage shed, and is unlikely to "just go away" when I buy new seed in new bags.

>
> The problem is that getting any significant part of this web material into my bird feeders tends to clog them up by sticking the seeds together so that they do not drop down to the feeder holes as the birds remove the lowest seeds.
>
> Is anybody else having this problem? Does anybody know what critter (spider, worm, etc.) is making these silky mats? Is there some chemical that can be used to eradicate the culprits that is not also dangerous to the birds?
>
> Steve Long, Oxford
>

[Jim Nelson]

I have had the same issue over the years.  For quite a while now, as
soon as I bring home new bags of seed, I pour the seed into trash cans
with tight-fitting lids.  That seems to limit the problem.

I suspect that, sometimes, the moths, caterpillars, or eggs are already
in some of the seed bags when I buy them.

Jim Nelson, Bethesda, MD

[Hugh McGuinness]

Hi Steve,

I'll bet you "dollars to doughnuts" that you have larvae of Plodia interpunctella (aka Indian Meal Moth) in your bird food bags. The birds will love eating the larvae (concentrated protein packs), but you risk getting the larvae in your whole grains and other foodstuffs, which makes them unpalatable.

If you want to stop the infestation, you can freeze the bird food for 2 days and then place it in air tight plastic containers--platic bags don't generally work. There are also pheromone traps that will get most of the males and slow population growth down.

Hugh

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Hugh McGuinness
Washington, D.C.

[Alouie]

I have had them infest my kitchen before. Also known as pantry or Indian meal moths, they are a nightmare to rid of. If you have a big enough freezer, putting any grain, infected or not, in a deep freeze for a few days will kill eggs and larvae. Or putting the food outside in this cold weather (in squirrel proof containers) will at least slow them down. (I have only had them in grocery dry goods, so now I often freeze my rice and pasta a few days when I first buy them since the eggs are sometimes in the packaging.)

Good luck. (If they do wind up inside your house, email me, I have ways without pesticide of battling them.)

Ada Louie


Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 30, 2024, at 11:03 AM, Marcia Watson <marsh...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Steve,

> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/5A409BCD-CBC0-44FA-BBCA-11220857C74B%40comcast.net.

[Georgia McDonald]

Hi Steve---

We have had success with putting infested seed in the freezer for a few days.

https://www.pesticide.org/moths_indian_meal   

"Hot and Cold Treatments

You might want to rescue infested birdseed or a treasured decorative item. Both freezing and heating will kill Indian meal moth larvae. Effective freezing methods include keeping the contaminated item for four to seven days in the freezer. To eliminate larvae with heat, bake the item for one hour at 140°F or two hours at 120°F in a shallow pan or tray in the oven, or for five minutes in the microwave.² After the hot or cold treatment, be sure to store the seed or item in a tightly sealed container."

Georgia McDonald    Towson, Balt Co.

On Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 10:48 AM Steve Long <steve...@atlanticbb.net> wrote:

[Steve Long]

I don't have room in my freezer for even one 20 pound bag.  So, I am just going to pray for a couple of days of really cold and dry weather to put my metal feed cans outside in the cold.

I will also put some pheromone sticky traps on the containers while I wait for the cold weather.  

Thanks to all for the tips.

Steve