Moth eggs are laid on plants, not in soil.

Pantry moths won't attack plants or the soil they are in.

So, any chance of images? We need some of the damage, the worms you dig up, and if possible, the flyers.

Moths don't lay eggs in soil

Pantry pests aren't interested in plants or soil.Any chance of images?
Helpful would be pix of the damage; of the worms; and/or of the flying things.

It is not very likely that pantry, grain, flour, moths will harm plants. They are present because many of your grain products, flour, corn meal, etc. will have the eggs that will become the adult moths in them and given the right combination of temperature and humidity they the eggs will hatch and the larva will feed on your grain product and then pupate into the adults we do see as they flit about looking for a mate so they can lay more eggs in your grain products.
The simplest way we have found to prevent them is to store these grain products in the freezer.

Here is a link that might be useful: About pantry moths

ladyish, have you ever heard of fungus gnats?

While I don't think Fungus Gnats look anything like moths some people might. Note in the link where they state that Fungus Gnats are easiest controlled by closely watching the amount of water a plant gets.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Fungus Gnats

Sometimes, people may use the wrong terms to describe something unfamiliar to them. It occurs on a regular basis in the gardenweb, which is why we try to 'listen ' to other verbal clues. As jean says, pictures would be very helpful.

There may be little moths, and something different in the soil, some kind of root munching entity, at least during part of its' life. If the plants have been outside before, or if there is organic matter in the soil, even if from a bag, any number of critters could be in the soil. Connecting whatever it is to the moths, perhaps incorrectly, may be the confusing thing here.

Just found a bunch of moths in one of our large house plants. I found this: (it looks like they may be European Pepper moths. Which are now in California—that's where I am).
http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=5848

Look for caterpillars & remove them. Moths would have no interest in any plant except to lay eggs or visit flowers for nectar.

I have been fighting this same problem and am struck by how no one seems to know what I'm on about. Here's a picture...they DO look just like pantry moths, but have invaded almost all of my house plants and no one seems to even know they exist...HALP!

I ended up changing the soil in the affected plant, and it's gone. I think our problem was we had a bag of soil outside and my wife used it to re-plant a house plant, and tada! Moths.

thanks. that's my plan for the weekend. i'm hoping to take out the biggest offender and not have to repot EVERY plant...bc i delight in the many plants that i have...but do NOT delight in spending the next few weeks and paychecks repotting them all...THANK YOU THOUGH! ::fingerscrossed!::

I think I have moth larvae in my potted plants, I know that you guys say they are interested in plants, but I have no idea what these are that I've found inside the soil of my indoor planters in varying sizes.

OMG! What in the absolute hell is this!!! I left my plants out all night.... Was I not supposed to. Jeez oh criminey!

I thought I was going crazy. Did anyone Have any luck getting rid of these guys?! Or do I just mulch the back pasture? - currently in central Texas I have repotted group at a time.
I think, in my case, I know where they may have come from- I tried to use our shed as a greenhouse, half of it can be opened up. Well I got lazy on a cold day last year and left it mostly closed and with grow lights. I have about 80 (total) foliage, herbs, container bulbs, succulents, and cacti and like 2 ferns. Well I got them a prime spot set up on that “lazy” day and brought them in one by one over the next few days. Now we have moths like crazy. In most things in life I’m a hot mess and have no problem admitting it (there’s 10 projects I’m actively working on at any given time) but under that bin of stuff I just dragged out is a very clean house, from the floors to baseboards to walls to light switches to crown molding groves, to everything else in my house gets scrubbed and deep cleaned at least once a week. (My moms bestie owns a company where they do heat treatments for bedbugs and a few other related pest treatment help. I’m horrified by the places things hide. Yet I have way to many plants) I love bugs and critters but they stay outside. I don’t mess with them in their house they stay out of mine lol. But these moths! They go away for a few days or few weeks (throughout our constantly fluctuating but somewhat consistent, “hot” or “cold” seasons) then it’s like they swarm and are gone again, and so on. They definitely are not on food or other items. I’ve definitely visited this idea a few times. I go through my plants daily looking for them, I don’t want to repot 65+ pots mostly 5”+, but I’m thinking the soil is the only place left and honestly didn’t expect to be looking for caterpillars in the soil. They aren’t in the top few inches so possibly lower? I did just pick up some diamocatus earth. I have not used this on my plants soil before and a little nervous. They stay by the plants occasionally we will get one lost somewhere else in the house. Probably carried there by one of us but only when they go nuts go nuts for less than 24 hrs. Most of my plants are being munched on, that’s for sure. I’ve been trying to figure out the main pest thinking it couldn’t be moth caterpillars living in the soil. At this extent of searching for critters on plants you come across this or that. (Like the toads my dog has made a game with) he lets them in, then freaks out for days until they go away, BUT in no way acknowledging their existence. So my plants There is an occasional webbing and that really got me going off the rails trying to pinpoint and clear out the culprit. I have treated with neem oil, soapy water, alcohol (weeks to months each and mixtures in between) nothing has helped. And between me and my critters we have killed a few plants. I’m the one my friends bring basically dead plants for revival. It’s been a few years since I really did anything with my personal gardening and tending anything more than hoping my kids dumped some water on the few hardy guys I’ve kept around. So I’m basically winging it from muscle memory, and in ground gardening is really my safe space but not an option at the moment. I got to a point in life years ago where I was moving constantly and still have access to the property my OG garden is/was, but it’s been overrun since no one has lived there the last like 12 years I’m sure my magnolias are still towering over it all (but by the time I was born they we’re already at least 6’. I just added from there as I grew).
I really just want to go buy some kind of gigantic water troft or three and turn it into some kind of raised garden that we have to get the tractor (or two) to move lol. I’m sure I’ll find one caterpillar or 20 moths in the next few days to a week, we’re due, and I can add a picture. I just noticed more munching marks today and thought I’d give it another google and found this thread.

I took all my houseplants outside. Haven’t seen a moth in the house since. I am interested in the toads. I have tried everything possible to keep them out of the dog run. They are poisonous. Can anyone help? Been trying to get a Toadinator from Australia but no response.

I'm trying to decide how to keep moths from laying eggs in my potted plants that I summer on the deck. The larva are cutworms and were very destructive to my plants last summer. They curl around a stem and eat through it just above soil level...and, at night.

I discovered a YouTube video on how to get them out of your pots...which becomes your task only after finding wilted fully mature flower stems amongst dozens of healthy stems in a flower pot.

You submerge the whole pot in a bucket of water and the suckers surface and come up for air....at which time my husband grabbed them up for disposal. (shiver)

I lost several pots due to the delay in diagnosing the culprit and finding the solution to flush them out. So, before planting my pots this year, I'm wondering if I should keep them indoors under lights, or cover them up completely with fine tulle so the moths can't get through the netting, to the soil for laying their eggs.

I'll miss seeing the colorful blooms of my Achimenes plants sitting on my deck if I keep them indoors. SIGH.

once a problem is solved.. i would not presume its a lifelong issue ...

many bug issues ebb and flow over the years .. so you solve the problem ... and not treat again .... until you see the problem again.. which might be never ... [e.g. cicada 17 year cycle...]

i appreciate your simple pollution free remedy of netting ... tulle ... but imagine peeps who spend a decade apply chemicals or remedies.. on plants that dont really need it ...

i know there is a big yuck factor here ... but try to clear your mind on the future ...

ken

I know this is an old thread, but I just had the same problem, the soil of a lovely large plant was crawling with grey/white larva that curl into a circle, get rid and the surface was covered again, yes in the soil.

Sue, that sounds like pill bugs / roly polys.