Tell me if this has ever happened to you; you go to your pantry, pull out a cereal box, baking flour, or package of rice and discover some little beetle-looking bugs inside! Pure shock and terror, right?! Well I’m here to tell you it’s not you, it doesn’t mean you’re a poor housekeeper or that you must now boycott that favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. They are simply called pantry pests, and typically named after the food they are vectored in; such as the flour beetle, rice weevils, grain moths, you get the idea. Bugs and pantry pests don’t belong in your kitchen or food, so let’s keep you informed. There are a dozen or so different types of pantry pests in Florida, but we’ll just discuss a couple today.
Pantry pest #1, Confused flour beetle
The confused flour beetle gets it’s name from looking very similar to another pantry pest, the red beetle, hence identification being confusing. One key difference is that the red beetle can fly and the confused flour beetle cannot. They are both quite small, only 1/8 of an inch in length, brown in color with 3 pairs of legs and antennae. The Confused flour beetle does not actually feed on the intact flour grain but the dust and processing residue from manufacturing.
Pantry Pest #2, Rice Weevil
The rice weevil is one of the biggest enemies of stored grains and goods. They are reddish brown to black in color, and very small at 1/10 inch! They are distinguishable with their long snouts that make up almost 1/3 of their entire body length. They are known to come in with rice, grains, beans, dry pet food, cashews, bird seed and even macaroni. Don’t tell your macaroni and cheese lovers, but always look before you cook!
Let us help!
Pantry pests are a nuisance, both financially and simply off-putting. If you notice some of these bugs around your kitchen, check all your grains and packages for pantry pests because there will be a source. Wrap up the item and dispose of the entire package away from the house. But don’t stop searching once you find the culprit, keep checking. Sometimes there can be multiple sources or they may have spread out.
Although you can’t predict or necessarily prevent pantry pests from arriving to your home from it’s place of origin, we can help you with preventative services that will help with some of the common pantry pests we have here in Central Florida.
LydyBug Pest Control offers preventative and ongoing treatment in Orlando for all pests and can help you take care of any problems. Our experts are fully trained and certified in pest control, so you can be sure they will safely and effectively take care of the problem. Contact us for assistance with pantry pests today!
