Is it normal to find bugs in flour

Read full article. Marie Claire Dorking. A mum was horrified to open a packet of flour to find bugs inside. The mum bought the flour three weeks ago.

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Latest stories. Refinery 29 UK. The Independent. But the most common bugs that you'll find in your flour are technically beetles. As their name suggests, flour beetles are attracted to flour, though experts at the pest-control company Orkin note that these bugs don't attack whole wheat flour.

So you could just switch to using exclusively whole wheat flour if you're really committed to preventing flour bug infestations, but that seems unlikely and unrealistic. Ultimately, it's hard to prevent an infestation of flour bugs because these bugs are everywhere, from the mill where the flour is made to your home.

Plus, flour bugs are sneaky. But there are a few tried and true ways to prevent flour weevil infestations. Buying smaller amounts makes it easier to surveil for bug activity, and less likely that it will sit on your shelf too long. Regularly wipe or vacuum shelves.

Decanting grains into jars makes it easier to empty out your pantry or cabinets and wipe out shelves and drawers completely. A frightening fact: Flour beetles can survive off of even the tiniest bit of spilled grains or flours. Smart storage solutions for every room in the house. Haven't found what you are looking for? Try seaching! Read on for my cautionary tale. Above: This should have been me: dry goods and teas neatly stored in Weck Storage Jars.

What are flour bugs? Why are flour bugs a problem? Method 2. Buy smaller amounts of flour. If you don't use very much flour, consider buying small amounts at a time. If you leave flour sitting around for a long period of time, weevils may be encouraged to lay their eggs in it.

The faster you use your flour, the fresher it is, and the fewer the chances for infestation. Freeze the flour. As soon as you bring flour home, seal it inside a freezer bag and put it in the freezer for at least 1 week. This will kill any eggs or weevils that are already in the flour.

You can then take the flour out and store it in your pantry in an airtight, hard container or just keep it in the freezer until you need it. Place a fresh bay leaf in the flour. Get out fresh bay leaves and put one in each container or bag of stored flour. Some people believe bay leaves can prevent weevil infestations. You'll need to replace the bay leaves every few months or when you can no longer smell them. You can find fresh bay leaves in the produce department near the other fresh herbs.

Use pheromone traps. You can buy small packages of weevil traps that use pheromones to attract the weevils and pantry moths. The traps have a sticky space that trap the pantry pests.

Place a few of these around your pantry and change them once they're full. If you are overwhelmed by a huge infestation of weevils for example, thousands are crawling all over your floors and walls , you may want to contact a pest control professional. Check your pantry for weevils on a regular basis. You should check your pantry every month or two for weevils. This is especially important because adult weevils can live at least a year. Remember to thoroughly clean out hard-to-reach parts of your pantry where weevils might start thriving.

Keeping a clean pantry will prevent flour weevils from coming back. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Do not throw contaminated food away in your kitchen. Take it to the outside dumpster to prevent the weevils from re-infesting your pantry. Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0.

If you have contact paper lining your cupboards, remove it before you clean the cupboards since weevils can hide underneath it. Helpful 4 Not Helpful 1. If you've just purchased the flour that you found weevils in, consider sealing the bag in an airtight container and returning it to the store where you bought it. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 2.

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