Freeze any pantry goods you’d like to keep. This will kill any live weevils and their eggs, making the food safe to eat. Freezing will kill any bugs in your food, but it’s up to you to remove the dead bodies and eggs. Use a sieve or strainer to sift through your dried goods and remove any dead weevils.
It would be a long battle with weevils in flour and rice. Disgusting little insects, they’re the bane of anyone who buys grains in bulk. They can invade and multiply before the urge to bake strikes again. Weevils in flour, in my pasta … in the corner joints of the cupboards.
Black flecks happen. When you train children to wash dishes, you deal with a lot of black flecks. I just wipe them from the bowl and make my no-knead artisan bread. But after I scooped the flour, ran off to scold my dogs for barking, grabbed the yeast I had forgotten, and returned, the black flecks sat on top of the flour. And they moved. I paused, yeast still in hand, and leaned close. Little legs wiggled beside those black flecks.
Shuddering, I listened to the guests conversing in the living room as I poured the water off as quietly as I could. Most of the bugs and larvae flowed off into the sink. Two more times I rinsed the rice, stirring it with my hands to bring any bugs up to the surface. When nothing else floated on the top and I saw no black flecks among the rice, I proceeded to cook it. Before serving, I stirred the rice and looked close. No black flecks. I sighed in relief, pulled my face into a guest-pleasing smile, and called everyone to dinner.
For a while, I had control over them. I’d by 25-lb bags of flour because 25-lb bags are one of the most economical. Knowing my family would neglect to secure lids, I portioned the flour among half-gallon mason jars and sealed them within the oven, one of the food preservation examples acceptable for dry goods. I stored all jars in the canning room except for the one currently in use. And after I scooped out my flour, I twisted the metal ring down tight.
I was making cheesecake. Thick, white, flour-free cheesecake. And I had a feeling I should have used the stand mixer, but instead I grabbed the handheld unit that sat in the cupboard beside the baking ingredients. I never thought about the tidbits of dough and flour that fly up into the gears; it’s just dust and a drop or two of liquid. Nothing to worry about. But as I inserted the beaters into my cream cheese and eggs then turned the mixer on, centrifugal force sprayed black weevils into my bowl. The beaters immediately folded them into the cheese. My forehead tapped against the cupboards. Unless I could chop some fresh blueberries into the cheesecake, those black flecks wouldn’t go unnoticed. Carefully folding through the batter, I picked out little bugs. The process took twice as long as the entire construction of the cheesecake.
found small insects in my flour cabinet – What to do?
I found small insects (like 1/8″ length sticks that move around) in the bottom of my flour cabinet. It did not look like it was able to fly. All of them (like 100 of them) were just moving around at the bottom of the cabinet. I through away all my open Flour and parts and grain.
I also emptied the whole cabinet and sprayed it with Tilex (which is basically Clorox). I used to keep all my flours in the bag. From now on I will keep them in Seals containers. I hope this helps. Or I may just keep them in the freezer.
I have a bunch of canned food (still unopened). I have some pasta that is still unopened. But I am not sure if there are any of thee insects on the outside surface. They are just too small to see with naked eye unless they are on very light color surface.
What do you guys recommend? thanks
Bugs In The Flour Can It Be Saved?
FAQ
Should I throw out flour with weevils?
Does sifting flour get rid of weevils?
How long can you keep flour before it gets weevils?
How do weevils get into a sealed container of flour?
How do you get rid of flour weevils?
Use a vinegar spray as an effective and natural way to get rid of flour weevils from pantries. Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar in a spray bottle to make a vinegar flour bug spray. Spray the solution on shelves and surfaces and leave it to dry. The pungent vinegar smell will soon disappear.
Can you eat weevil infested flour?
In fact, using weevil infested flour for cooking or baking means that it will be heated to a point where it’s safe to consume again, as the heat kills both weevil eggs, larvae, and adults (via Grove ). Of course, few are probably excited about the prospect of chowing down on weevils, so prevention is key.
Can you freeze flour to kill weevil eggs?
Freeze flour as soon as you bring it home from the grocer. Place the bag of flour in a freezer bag and freeze it for at least a week to kill weevil eggs. Keep it in the freezer until you need to use it, or pour the flour into an airtight container before storing it in the pantry.
How do you get rid of weevils in a pantry?
Vacuum and wash your pantry. Remove the food from your pantry shelves and use a vacuum attachment to suck up any loose bits of food or flour. Take a wash cloth dipped in soapy water and wash all of the shelves and anywhere that there may be spilled food. If you’ve found weevils in other rooms of your house, vacuum them up.