Usually, the life cycle of an Indian-meal moth colony starts in a location where grain is present. The temperature within a grain bin must exceed 10 °C. Eggs can be laid directly on the food source either singly or in groups of between 12 and 30. A mature female may lay between 100 and 300 eggs at a time. The adults emerge in four to ten days. They then mate and the cycle begins again. The entire life cycle of this species may take 30 to 300 days. There is a potential for seven to nine generations of moths to live in a year. Indian-meal moth larvae can infest a wide range of dry foodstuffs of vegetable origin, such as cereal, bread, pasta, rice, couscous, flour, spices, dried fruits, and nuts. They have also been known to infest commercial pet food, such as cracked corn used for bird feed. Nontoxic traps are available to monitor outbreaks. One type of trap is a triangular Δ-shaped trap with a pheromone lure and sticky walls inside. These traps are generally known as pheromone traps. In this case, male moths are attracted inside by the female pheromone (the lure) and then get stuck against the sticky walls inside the trap.

Adhesives used in traps for rats and mice are non-toxic for humans, pets, and even for the mice and rats themselves. Having no poison makes them ideal to use in sensitive areas where poison is prohibited or discouraged.

Use enough units to cover the area to be protected. Install the unit away from sources of light competition, such as windows, doors and high powered luminaries. Wherever possible, electrical fly killers (EFKs) should be positioned at 90° to source of natural light, such as windows or doors. The unit should be positioned in between potential entry points, so as to intercept flying insects before they reach sensitive areas. The unit should not be sited either too high or too low in the area to be protected, with an optimum height of around 2m.

Effective insect pest management relies on the early detection of insect pests, hopefully before they become established in an area and cause damage. Regular visual inspection of vulnerable and suspect areas is valuable despite obvious limitations. Due to the secretive nature of most crawling insects and the difficulty in locating their hiding places, monitoring efforts should not rely solely on visual inspections. Trapping should also be used. Visual inspection, however, is an essential part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy. Pest detection through trapping is just one part of an IPM program. Initially, traps should be monitored regularly, especially in the warmer spring/summer months when there is more insect activity. Traps that are squashed or have the sticky surface covered in insects, dirt or dust should be replaced. All the traps should be replaced often as the dead insects could be a food source for other insects and the glue dries out over time. The catch details should be noted regularly to show how numbers of insects are increasing in various locations over time. Increase in numbers means an infestation in the specific area. Then, the professional should decide on the most efficient treatment to handle this outbreak. Chemical use or even better mass trapping should be firstly considered. Monitoring should continue after any action to stop infestation has been carried out.