What Are Flour Bugs & How Can You Get Rid of Them?

 

Flour bugs are also known as flour worms, wheat bugs, rice bugs and pantry weevils. While they go by these various names, flour bugs are beetles. They are commonly found in stores of flour, but they also thrive on other wheat-based products. Because of this, you could find flour bugs in pasta, rice, cereal and even cake mixes.

 

What Are Flour Bugs?

 

When you open a bag of flour, pasta or other wheat-based product that has been stored in your kitchen, you may spot these tiny critters or their worm-like babies taking up residence. While the babies are often brown, the adults are white with brown legs. This can make them more difficult to see.

 

Some flour weevils, however, are brown and can be as long as 100 millimeters. Flour bugs prefer to live in humid, dark environments, such as in your pantry. These insects can spread particles that cause illnesses.

 

How Do Flour Bugs Get End Up in Your House?

 

These bugs could enter your home in the food products you buy. For example, the flour bugs’ eggs may not have been destroyed during milling. Even if the food you bring into your home is bug-free, the pests can still work their way into your home through various cracks and crevices around the doors, windows and walls.

 

If you have recently had a flour bug infestation and did not remove all of the eggs and bugs, your current infestation could be a spillover from the last one.

 

How Do You Know If You Have Weevils?

 

 

Often, people will spot weevils and flour bugs when they open the food container. They may see the wormy babies or the brown parts of the adult insects. Even if you cannot see the actual bugs, you may spot a web-like covering over a portion of the food. Because the insects are so small, it is often hard to spot a few of them. When they grow in numbers, though, their presence becomes obvious.

 

How Can You Get Rid of Flour Bugs?

 

As soon as you spot the signs of flour bugs, you must throw all out of the contaminated food. While it may not be necessary, you should consider throwing out all pasta, rice and related products even if you do not spot flour bugs in them. This is because there may already be eggs and a few bugs in these foods. If you do not remove these as well, the infestation could quickly return.

 

After you have removed all of the affected food, you need to thoroughly clean your kitchen. Using bleach and hot water, wipe down all of the pantry surfaces. If you store any of these foods in your cabinets or on your countertops, those surfaces also need to be cleaned with bleach and hot water.

 

Watch this video to learn how to identify and get rid of flour beetles.

 

 

Can You Still Use Flour with Flour Bugs?

 

Flour bugs do not bite or sting people. They are not poisonous, but they can cause illness. If you discovered flour bugs only after using the products to prepare other foods, you should not worry. The bugs and their eggs are destroyed when cooking with high temperatures.

 

Flour bugs can spread harmful elements like mold and fungal spores, which can make humans sick. In some cases, people are allergic to these insects, and they can develop an allergic respiratory or skin response. Often, finding a few of these bugs in your food means that an infestation is coming. The food should be thrown out, and the kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned.

 

How Do I Keep Bugs Out of My Flour?

 

Throwing away food and deep cleaning your kitchen because of a flour bug infestation is stressful and time-consuming, so you understandably do not want to repeat the process. It is impossible to keep all of these bugs out of your flour and related food products. This is because the eggs and bugs may already be in some of the food that you buy at the store. It is smart to open up any new food containers and inspect them before placing them in your pantry or cabinet.

 

 

You can also reduce the risk of having bugs by storing these products in airtight containers. In addition, thoroughly seal all of the cracks and crevices around doors, windows and walls to prevent the bugs from entering your house.

 

One of the most common pest infestation problems people have in the kitchen is flour bugs. These tiny bugs can ruin your food and lead to a deep cleaning of your kitchen. Whether you need professional cleaning services in Boston to deal with these tiny beetles or you need general help cleaning round the house, contact our Cleanzen pros today for a quote.