Bugs in my flour 😭

[Deleted User]

Pulses too I'm afraid and oats and rice and semolina, cous cous, bulghar wheat, spelt, barley , rye, all cereals and pulses, flours any dry goods could be affected.

rach_k

They like sugar too.

I wouldn't worry too much about them. I would clean out the cupboards and put everything in airtight containers (ziplock bags should do the job if you don't have enough jars/boxes) and remember to put new flour in the freezer for a day or two before decanting it but, honestly, if there is a lot of food affected I would just eat it! It's legally acceptable for a certain percentage of dry goods like flour to be poo, insects etc because they're natural products. I really don't see this as much different... and I'm a veggie (or maybe that means I'm not?!). Or you could do a lot of baking for people you don't particularly like, to use everything up :rotfl:

Hedgehog99

I keep any dry goods in their packets and then in a food bag with a klippit.

I'd agree with other posters - dump any current stocks of dry goods, wash out your cupboards, allow to dry thoroughly & re-stock with useful quantities.

I read somewhere that the sieving of flour (into cakes etc.) is nothing to do with getting air in, it's to check for unwanted inhabitants!

Sorry you've got this task to do!

Golfcat

I have never heard of these before, but I will most certainly be going home and checking the packets of flour at the back of the cupboard that have been there for who knows how long!

Teapot55

I bought some porridge oats once & within a few weeks mice had gnawed through the polythene bag!

After that I now keep porridge in a Tupperware container & all the other breakfast cereals on a high shelf & I use klippits on the inner bags as well. We have been okay up to now.

I keep spices in the little jars I buy from Robert Dyas. They are pricey, but worth it. They have metal clip mechanisms & rubber seals which keep the spices fresh & pest-free.

My favourite coffee just happens to come in jars that have glass lids with plastic seals and I keep lentils, rice & nuts/seeds/dried fruit in them.

I inherited my mother-in-law's Tupperware containers a while ago & keep my flour & sugar etc in them.

Tiddlywinks

These bugs aren't as prevalent here as in the US so a lot of the Hammer House of Horrors photos all over the internet are from there.... no need for mass panic .

However, if you experience an infestation you need to get on it ASAP and hard.

Make absolutely sure you get into all the corners - right in there - and all the other nooks and crannies as the eggs can live on even if the beasties are given the boot.

Then, for the future, store all flour, rice and grains in airtight containers - even the unopened packs. Not all containers are airtight so make sure to choose carefully.

I use Lock and Lock as I find them reliable and easy to use... I returned all of my OXO Pop containers under their guarantee as they proved not to be airtight (despite their claims) so do check to make sure they do the job effectively.

gt568

I can't be the only one who just cracks on and uses the flour can I?

Tiddlywinks

gt568 wrote: »

I can't be the only one who just cracks on and uses the flour can I?

No - what gave you that idea?

I crack on and use my flour but choose to store it in plastic boxes - as a containment measure.

There is nothing wrong with being aware of pests and taking appropriate prevention measures.

There's also nothing wrong with choosing not to - as other posters on this thread have already said.

So - no - don't worry, you're not alone.

suki1964

Hedgehog99 wrote: »

I keep any dry goods in their packets and then in a food bag with a klippit.

I'd agree with other posters - dump any current stocks of dry goods, wash out your cupboards, allow to dry thoroughly & re-stock with useful quantities.

I read somewhere that the sieving of flour (into cakes etc.) is nothing to do with getting air in, it's to check for unwanted inhabitants!

Sorry you've got this task to do!

I was taught the same, sieving was to remove the weevils

bargainbetty

I had flour weevils in my cupboards, and they got everywhere. I was told to bin anything not in tins or sealed tubs. I thought a packet of tea bags that hadn't been opened would be fine, and then saw one of them inside the plastic cover. 12 carrier bags of stuff thrown out. I soaked all the tins in water to get off the labels (found lots of the pests hiding behind them) and wrote on the contents in marker pen.

I washed out and bleached every cupboard, took out every shelf, vacuumed all the nooks and blasted the shelf peg holes with a hair dryer to get anything out. Took me about four hours to do everything, and then carefully put the few things left back in as I wrote a new shopping list. I opened the cupboard to check again which tins I had and there was one of the little f****rs wandering casually across my newly bleached shelf.

I literally sat down and cried. Had to wash everything down again. Next time I'm going in with a flamethrower.