| Regarding the "little moths and worms" that Sonshinepat mentioned above, these were likely Indian Meal moths, and the pepperberries were probably not the source of the problem. Indian Meal Moths are a notorious pest of all types of stored grains, and have been commonly found in just about every food warehouse in the US since the 1930's. While these moths may have been attracted to the berries, they are not their favorite food. They are far more likely to have come in on glycerine preserved floral that your friend used - (preserved eucalyptus, baby's breath, statice, peppergrass, etc) as these and fried fruits such as orange and apple slices are particularly prone to infestation. Birdseed and dog food are other major carrier of these bugs. I have personally seen these critters buzzing around many pet stores, and around the pet sections of Wal Mart, and even grocery stores. While its true that these moths are a problem, and I'm sure that your friend did see them on the pepperberries, it would be unreasonable to believe that these were the likely source of the bugs. see: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/mindianm.html The best way I have found to deal with these bugs is to protect your craft supplies with ProZap pest strips, as they are cheap, effective, long-lasting and easy to use. Run a google search for "ProZap", and read up on them. You can probably pick them up locally, or order them on the web. | 
