Interesting Info/Facts - Pantry Bugs

Bugs, insects, need to eat too

And you may be the one feeding them and in your own house and kitchen.

For certain insects, pantry bugs, and critters, the pantry is a smorgasbord, an open buffet of sorts.

All stages of these pantry bugs - egg, larva, pupa, and adult - can exist at any one time and at the same time in the average kitchen pantry.

A temperate temperature for us in our home is also a pleasant temperature for pantry bugs.

Kitchen pantry Entomology 101

The most common pantry bugs found in food items are:

Indian meal moths

Dermestid beetles

Sawtoothed grain beetles

Cigarette and drugstore beetles

Flour beetles

Granary, rice and maize weevils

Bean weevils

Spider beetles

Prevention

Hopefully you won't see any of these little pantry bugs. Here's a list of how to prevent seeing them:

1. Purchase food in amounts that will be consumed or used soon. Do not plan on storing foods longer than two to four months. Use up older products before newer ones.

2. Be sure that when buying new products packaging is sealed and intact.

3. Food items benefit from being stored in glass, plastic, or metal to prevent pantry bugs. Also these containers will help keep items fresher.

4. Store items that may be susceptible to pantry bugs in the refrigerator or freezer.

5. Keep kitchen pantry and other storage areas clean. Any food that is left out, even crumbs will entice bugs.

If infested

Locate the source of the infestation and discard it.

Don't underestimate new items as these persistent pantry bugs can find their way through cardboard, plastic, and aluminum foil.

To salvage an infested item, freeze it for at least three up to four days or heat it in an oven at 140F.

Be sure and vacuum infested storage or pantry area to fully eliminate hard-to-see critters. And then immediately throw out bag to prevent infestation from reoccurring.

Avoid using insecticides near food. Washing shelves with soap, bleach, or other cleaning agents will not have an effect on preventing them.

Also be aware some of these pantry pests may be in or coming from another room or enter through an outdoor nature source, such as seeds from trees.

Pantry bug infestation does not have to happen to your pantry. With a few simple precautions your pantry and kitchen can remain pest free.

More information on pantry storage systems