So one fine morning you wake up and discover little, white and uninvited guests infesting your home. Further investigations may reveal a central point of origination or maybe they are showing up from different locations. You call up the local pest control, but we recommend accomplishing a few things prior to that. It means, know the insects that give birth to these larvae as well as their favorite foods and habitats. Doing so shall also help you in cross-verifying the indoor pest control agency on whether they have provided you the value for your money.

Firstly, it’s the grain products. These are the favorite food for the larvae as well as the insects. Top on the list are rice, barley, corn, wheat and birdseed. Grain products such as oat- and cornmeal, flour, dry pet food and dry fruits also attract them by hordes. There are also the ones that feed on spices. You must ensure that you store them in airtight containers, thus restricting the insects from getting an access; secondly, you must also ensure that eggs and larvae are not carried into home along with the foods abovementioned. For that, avoid buying them loose and check thoroughly for a broken seal.

Now, a crash-course in entomology - larvae, being immature free-living forms, must metamorphose to reach adulthood and become insects. Therefore, you must prevent this metamorphosis by barring all the areas where they are likely to form the cocoons i.e. the nests for the pupas. Spraying all nooks, corners and crannies with insecticides on a regular basis is a reliable measure; however, residual insecticides kill only the larvae and adult insects. For killing eggs and pupae, the treatment should be repeated at regular and short intervals.

Those who are thinking about using ordinary pheromone-based traps for killing the adult insects as a suitable measure for preventing the formation of larvae may be shocked to know that these are effective only against the males. Female adult insects including those that are already impregnated are not affected by these traps; for them, colorful traps with male pheromones are needed. But you need to be patient and persistent if you plan to use this method for indoor pest control. Moreover, the effects are limited, since the eggs (already laid) or pupae (already formed) do not get affected by this measure.

Once your opted indoor pest control measure reduces infestation, it’s time to clean and organize the places that have once been their habitat. An ongoing monitoring and periodic spraying of insecticide thenceforth shall be enough to retain the effects for your opted pest control measure.