Have you ever discovered tiny bugs creating a tunnel town in your flour or baking mix? Ever spotted bugs in a box of cereal, found dried up beetle bodies on top of the china hutch or watched a grain weevil pour out of a box of macaroni? If you answered yes, don't worry. You're not alone. No matter how tidy your kitchen is, sooner or later you're bound to run across some pests in your pantry.
Some bugs prefer to feed on plant materials, while others prefer foods containing animal proteins. Here are some of the most commonly seen pantry pests:
Despite strict manufacturing and sanitation practices, it's a fact of life that a certain amount of insects show up in the foods that we purchase. These foods include grains, seeds, dried fruits, cured meats, pet foods, sugar, spices and baking mixes. It can even include our macaroni and cheese (oh, the horror!). Obviously we can never completely prevent pests from arriving in our home via food from the grocery store, but there are things we can do to prevent them from setting up permanent residence in our pantries and cupboards.
About The Author: Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
I have this 'wormy thing' in my house! It crawls out of it's 'fuzzy shell' and moves on. It's tiny, but you can see the empty shells. I found one of the worms today cleaning in my daughters room.....they get in everything..not just food!! I have found that if I use a lot of bay leaves around, they will stay out.
I recently read if you put a bay leaf in your flour container the pests will not appear and it doesn't affect the flour's taste.
"Place foods in the oven (pet foods, dried peas and beans, for example) at 140º F for 1 hour to eliminate pests. "
WAAHHHH???? I don't think I would be eating any peas or beans that had been in an oven to kill bugs!
A great natural way to deter pests in the pantry, especially weevils is:
Mix whole black peppercorns,bay leaves,whole cloves together. Make a sachet by placing all (about 1 teaspoon) in a coffee filter, cut off the excess and tie it up with tape or string.Make several of these and place on each shelf behind boxes and bags of pasta etc... Every so often when you are in the pantry, crush it between your thumb and index fingers to release the essential oils. This is what the bugs hate. Bugs also hate herbs in the mint family: thyme, basil,oregano, also tea tree oil etc.....
Great ideas! Here in the arid desert SW, we don't have a huge problem with pantry pests but the one thing I do is put grain products into the freezer for a day to keep anything from developing; forgot a package of mac and cheese one time....ugh, gross!
I suffer from life threatening asthma which makes insect control a rather careful process for me. Sprays and other poisons are pretty much out. My exterminator uses something that has never affected me but he does not treat for moths or their larva. Partly due to living in Florida which is conducive to all sorts of insect life and partly due to buying bird seeds, squirrel foods and dog and cat kibble in bulk, I am constantly guarding against "pantry moths." I'm pretty successful with avoiding or at least containing them in food brought in, but being Florida, occasionally someone going in or out at night will let some of the nasty little things in the door since they evidently fly wild around here periodically. Of course they make a beeline for the pantry and for any other food storage shelves including the emergency [hurricane] supplies. I have not had much success with bay leaves or other spices but I have found that the moths tend to light on the ceiling and high on the walls.
I've used dry bay leaves in my kitchen cupboards for years & it works !
I take the leaves from the container & just throw them in whole.
I toss bay leaves on shelves also and cotton balls with mint extract on them. I also put dry goods in my freezer for 48 hours when I bring them home and some things I don't use often just leave in the freezer till I need them.
None of that has worked for us matter of fact can't use my oven as of yet. We have taken food out of our freezer to cook it and as it thaws out or cooking in the pan had some strange things come out of our meat.
Can anyone tell me how to get these carpet beetles out of our dirty clothes? Ive tried 140 degree water and laundry soap with out much results any recommendation?
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
