How did weevils get in my pantry?
Table of Contents
How did weevils get in my pantry?
In the home, weevils can be brought in on packaged foods2 or they can come in from outside. Once inside, a population can grow and expand to food items stored nearby if the pests are not controlled. Store grains and other weevil-tempting foods in dry areas, and always throw out any food where you find weevils.
How do weevils start?
Weevils have been known to find their way into the home from outside (in the form of adult beetles or moths depositing their eggs in a food source). However in most cases, they are already present in produce, originating at the processing plant, a warehouse, in a delivery vehicle or even at the store of purchase.
How do flour weevils come about?
How Do Mites/Weevils Get in Your Flour and Kitchen? Both flour mites and weevils will have come into your kitchen through your flour or wheat products. A few flour bugs can lay many eggs, and if your products are being stored for a long time, these eggs can hatch and cause an infestation.
Where do flour bugs come from?
How did I get flour beetles? Flour beetles feed on the broken bits and dust from grain that collect in bags of grains, flour, cereal, and pasta. The pests usually get inside packaging at warehouses or grocery stores and are then brought into homes inside these infested products.
How do you keep weevils out of flour?
Prevent Grain Weevils
- Inspect all grains upon purchase.
- Freeze grains for at least 1 week (or store permanently in the freezer) to kill any eggs.
- Buy grains in small quantities and eat within a reasonable period of time.
- Store grains in tightly sealed glass, metal, or sturdy plastic containers (not bags).
How do you keep bugs out of flour?
The best way to prevent insects from invading your flours and grains is to store them in glass or metal containers. Very heavy-duty plastic will also work. Transfer your food to containers with tight-fitting lids, such as a screw-top lid or one with a substantial seal around it.
How do you store flour without bugs?
How do you store flour?
Flour will keep for at least one year. To keep flour super-fresh, store it in the freezer or fridge (an airtight container is still best). It might be an especially good idea to do so if your house runs warm, if you live in a humid climate, or if you simply don’t go through flour very quickly.
Is it possible to get weevils from flour?
Not usually but it is possible. Weevils lay eggs in flour kernels in the fields. It’s possible for some eggs to not be destroyed during the flour manufacturing process and hatch months later inside your pantry.
What kind of weevils live in the pantry?
While there are over 90,000 species of weevils, the ones most likely to live in your pantry are flour weevils and rice weevils. These two species are both metallic-colored and grow to be only a few millimeters long. Once these pests have reproduced, it’s hard not to notice their presence in your pantry.
What are the Ugly Bugs in my flour?
Even the name can cause a shudder to anyone who has ever had these ugly, snout-nosed bugs in their flour, rice, or cornmeal. Often called flour bugs, because that is where they are frequently found, there are actually a number of types of weevil, including rice weevils, seed weevils, granary/grain weevils, maize weevils, and bean/pea/seed weevils.
What is the difference between flour mites and weevils?
Flour mites and weevils are completely separate pests, although they display rather similar habits. Flour mites are very small insects in flour that are almost invisible to the naked eye. They have white bodies and brown coloured legs and usually live in flours, grains and cereals. Weevils are larger than flour mites and so are easier to spot.