Weevils --- Darn it!!!

[njean]

Does anyone know where weevils come from & how you can keep them out of your pantry???

This morning I opened up a brand new, sealed box of Oats & there were weevils in it! I couldn't believe it! The box was sealed!!! So then, my husband & I started going thru all the other dry goods & the weevils were everywhere even boxes of sealed macaroni noodles! So we decided to just shuck everything, whether new or opened. We must have thrown away over $100 worth of food!!! I am so mad!!! :mad2:

Now I have to make a list to replace some of the stuff we threw out! Grrrrrrrrr!!! :frown2:

 

[Freddie]

I found this Norma: http://www.ehow.com/how_18818_rid-home-pantry.html

Sounds like you need some Tupperware containers or something similar.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bina]

We had the same issue a few years back....that's what we get for having a well stocked pantry.
Our flour, oats, rice, etc all went into glass jars or Plastic containers with tight lids.
The WHOLE pantry was emptied, cleaned, and re-stocked. Tons of work.

 

[njean]

We had the same issue a few years back....that's what we get for having a well stocked pantry.
Our flour, oats, rice, etc all went into glass jars or Plastic containers with tight lids.
The WHOLE pantry was emptied, cleaned, and re-stocked. Tons of work.

And not to mention the money to replace things!

One plus....my pantry really looks neat and organized now!!!

 

[njean]

I found this Norma: http://www.ehow.com/how_18818_rid-home-pantry.html

Sounds like you need some Tupperware containers or something similar.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Freddie. I'm headed for Wal-mart right now. Going to buy some plastic containers as well as glass jars to put dry goods in!

 

[Kathy McCain]

Norma, I had an issue with weevils and corn meal, years ago. They love the stuff! I just threw it out, and started using cornbread packets. That's the only problem I can recall.

Good luck!

 

[Duffey]

Dang it, Norma, you're having a tough time of it! First mosquitoes and now weevils!

I've had them before, but didn't know what to do about them except to pitch it all. It's a pain in the pa toot!

 

[njean]

Norma, I had an issue with weevils and corn meal, years ago. They love the stuff! I just threw it out, and started using cornbread packets. That's the only problem I can recall.

Good luck!

Thanks Kathy! I had some cornmeal in my fridge & that was fine. Just bought a bunch of Tupperware containers that I am going to transfer some of the dry goods I bought. Felt so bad that I had to throw all that stuff away!! :frown2:

 

[njean]

Dang it, Norma, you're having a tough time of it! First mosquitoes and now weevils!

I've had them before, but didn't know what to do about them except to pitch it all. It's a pain in the pa toot!

Yeah Mary, but between the mosquitoes and the weevils, I guess the weevils are 'the best of two weevils'! (sorry....couldn't resist that one!) :biggrin2:

 

[tobagotwo]

We get Pantry Moths or Indian Meal Moths, whose nasty offspring leave webby things in your food.. Usually, they come in bags of birdseed or dog food.

Walmart has clear plastic jars with screw-on lids that are cheap and perfect for cereal and other dry goods. Be wary of containers that have handy flaps that open: they frequently are not mothproof at the hinges.

They also have pheromone sticky traps (we use them).

Best wishes,

 

[Eva]

...........One plus....my pantry really looks neat and organized now!!!

You are so sweet, Norma, and these come after sweetness

I love to re-organize my pantry from time to time and ONLY to throw old stuff away, as I buy stuff more than we use sometimes!

I love tupperwares and glass containers with air-tight sealer covers!

Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Folks at work were talking about weevils a couple weeks ago. They were saying that the adults lay their eggs in the grain, the larvae are already in the grain at the time of packaging, then they mature to what you are seeing when you open the package. One girl found them in her flour.

 

[AgilityDog]

I try to put all grain goods (flour, rice, beans, pasta, etc.) into gallon sized ziplock bags when I bring it home from the store. Then keep it in there as I use it. I figure if I bring home a contamination, I will at least isolate it. I don't want to get rid of the original containers because then I lose the cooking instructions, or can't tell the difference between bread flour and cake flour.

Then I toss the baggies when the flour/pasta/whatever is gone.

Our last infestation was some sort of wormie bug that came in the brown rice - they chewed a hole in the original rice bag to escape, then crawled up the pantry walls. YICK. They looked like grains of rice themselves. That's when I started bagging everything.

Oh, and weevils in the flour, but that was in a baggie so they didn't get out.

 

[Marcia58]

I've heard what Lucy said, too, and that even if you repackage the stuff airtight, you may still find weevils in it later, 'cause they hatch out in there. What I was told to do was to put the flour, meal, grain product, etc., in airtight containers, then FREEZE IT, container and all, for the 24-48 hours. That kills the little critters, and then you can put the containers in the pantry without having the weevils come back. Works for me!

The other thing I do is store bigger packages (25 lbs of flour, etc) in my chest freezer, and bring it in a little at a time. (Be sure to let it warm up before you make bread--yeast doesn't like frozen flour!)

 

[csutherland]

I've had this trouble a couple of times over 48 yrs of marriage. The first time it nearly drove me nuts because I just kept finding them, even in a can of cinnamon, chili powder, and on & on. As everyone else has said, I just threw everything out and started over. I cleaned the shelves, used bug spray in all the crevices, let it dry overnight, then put all flour & cornmeal in tupperware. If I buy more than my container will hold I put the bag in the freezer until there's room in the container. Since then I've never had the problem to the degree of infestation of spices, etc. It's a disgusting thing to go through, that's for sure!