What are Flour Mites and Flour Weevils, and should I be concerned about them?
Flour bugs are a type of weevil.The beetle family contains over 60,000 species of weevils.When fully grown, the weevils found in flour are smaller than a quarter of an inch in length.The beetles are highly adapted to the dry environments of grains and other packaged dry foods, such as nuts, seeds, breakfast cereals, and pancake mix.
Due to their small size, flour bugs are easy to get into packaging seals such as the paper bags that flour is marketed in.Throwing out a bag of flour won't solve the problem if you find it in a cupboard.It is possible that the weevils were already in the flour before it was purchased, and bringing it home may have spread flour bugs to other food storage areas.They are difficult to remove completely because they are resistant to both pesticides and radiation, and their minute size makes them easy to overlook.
snout beetles, mealworm beetles and red flour beetles are some of the names that these insects are known by.The red flour beetle has a reddish brown color and is one of the most common varieties.It is from Australia but is now found all over the world.Despite minor variations in the species, they exhibit the same behavior patterns and are a common problem in all the major agricultural grain industries.The weevils are cousins to flour bugs and a major pest in cotton production.
If thorough cleaning methods are used, flour bugs can be removed from a pantry.If there is evidence of flour bugs in a food package, it is recommended that it be thrown out.A one-quarter solution of bleach to three-quarters of water should be used to clean the cupboard area.Allowing the area to dry overnight and storing any suspected pantry food in the freezer for a week should kill off any surviving grain weevils.
Air tight plastic or glass containers should be used for dry grain products.For several days, freezing any new foods brought into the home will kill any flour bug eggs that are otherwise overlooked.Bay leaves can be used to deter flour weevils.Including fresh, dried or ground bay leaf in food packaging will help keep them out in the future.