Nothing is sacred with pantry insects — not even your good chocolate. If you see any of these bugs in your pantry or its contents, first find the source and throw away any infested food. Next, empty the cupboards and vacuum everything. (You may have heard that bay leaves scattered in a cupboard ward off insects, but this “has no basis in fact,” says entomology professor Jeffrey Hahn.)

Indian Meal Moths

Appearance: Small moths with cream-and-copper-colored wings.
Feed on: Dried fruits, flour, crackers, pasta, birdseed, dry pet food.

Sawtoothed Grain Beetles

Appearance: Slender and flat with teeth on either side of the brownish red thorax.
Feed on: Dried fruits, cereals, pasta.

Drugstore and Cigarette Beetles

Appearance: Oval and brown, with heads that are humped forward.
Feed on: Spices, tobacco, pasta, dried flowers.

Flour Beetles

Appearance: Long oval bodies that are reddish brown in color.
Feed on: Flour, cereals, dried fruits.