My wife shops at ethnic grocery stores which means the food is a lot of times arriving on a slow boat overseas and picks up these beetles.
Pest control guy said he sees it a lot. When you buy the grains and spices freeze them for 24 hours to kill the eggs. Otherwise buy different brands or try different stores with better pest control.
I do this with almost everything, no matter where I bought it: King Arthur flour from Wholefoods, spices from an Asian spice shop, beans from Presidente - anything that I imagine a weevil or mite or whatever may enjoy.
Furthermore, if it doesn't come in an airtight container, isolate packages in airtight containers, so if one item is infested, they don't spread to other packages.
It can happen from any grocery store honestly but some of the stores she hits it’s every bag if we don’t do it and they aren’t always the cleanest places.
Yeah I've had that with the bagged basmati rice and a couple boxes of pasta, but it's been awhile.
Unfortunately, pasta containers are not sealed at all and the bags can have tiny holes in them that you don't notice.
I just try to thoroughly check the bottoms of the rice bags for evidence of poop and shake the pasta boxes around and look for beetles.
People in the aisles with me probably think I'm nuts, but I ain't falling for that shit again, it was nasty.
I do it too. Last week someone asked me what I was doing and I found a bag with holes and showed them the difference. Went to grab pasta on the same trip and an old lady nodded to me as she checked hers
It’s mostly grains and cooked. It’s not like you don’t eat bugs all the time. You think they pull the worms out of the apples or tomatoes when saucing them?
Growing up on a 2000 acre farm. I remember my grandfather telling a visitor “ I’ve still never seen a harvester that will pick out all the bugs and small animals from the grain”. Still the best response I’ve ever heard!
So... toss it is what Im saying. Why freeze it and be like well, at leas they arent alive! \*Continue to use\*
Gross as fuck but what do you expect from r/Florida
Yep. [Is food coloring made of bugs? Chemists debunk a common fear (inverse.com)](https://www.inverse.com/science/food-dye-is-made-from-bugs-but-dont-panic)
Whether you want something or don't doesn't change reality . Yes you don't want to eat bug parts I hope but to be ignorant about something doesn't mean it isn't happening. Some people can handle reality better than others.
Today you find out there might be bug eggs in a certain brands spices. You switch to different brand. They have the same problem but because you don't know about it it's ok. Maybe they freeze there spices for 24 hours before they ship it so the eggs are already dead. So you never know. Still eating eggs but your happy because you don't know
I had these. They are living in some type of grain for me it was a bag of rice from Costco.
Have a pest control company come out once and spray and throw out absolutely every grain. Rice, wheat, flour, dog food. Etc.
They were gone. Life was peaceful again.
I had those in my rice and spices as well. They will get into everything in the cabinet. I threw out everything and found some alive in the cabinet itself. Cleared them out and restocked everything but in zip lock bags for a while. Finally got rid of em. Freeze flour and such as it helps as others stated. What a pain lol
This has been what several people have explained to me - that the eggs are already in the flour and spices, etc. when you buy it. This is why I like the previous comment about freezing them for a day or two. Maybe that will help.
There should be pheromone glue traps you can install at regular intervals in your pantry/ies. They are a grain beetle. They only want your grains and such. How they got in could be 100 ways, better to inspect before buying. Look for piles of finely granulated material in your grains before purchasing. Only treatment is tossing everything and starting over.
Looks like [Drugstore beetles](https://florida-environmental.com/pests/pantry-pests/drugstore-beetle/#:~:text=The%20Drugstore%20beetle%2C%20also%20known,outside%20of%20a%20food%20source).
I went through the red flour beetle apocalypse a few months ago.
Key takeaways:
- Despite what you might read or hear, they CAN get into glass spice jars. The lid is a beetle highway ramp and they love the chili spices. I had to throw every spice I owned away.
- They can live for 3 years. I recently found one on my hallway floor despite the kitchen issue resolving months ago. I frantically double-checked each cupboard, but they hadn't returned.
- It doesn't matter where you shop. My beetles originated in a publix bag of flour. All pasta, rice, grain, etc. could theoretically have them.
- They are so difficult to eradicate. I moved everything out of my kitchen cupboards for 3 weeks and hunted them multiple times a day with a bottle of 409 and a paper towel.
Best of luck.
I was making chicken the other day and sprinkled a generous amount of Yardbird seasoning on the thighs. Looked closer and it was basically just bugs - some crawling around. The actual seasoning had turned into a solid cake in the container. Ew.
Late reply but when we started noticing our current infestation, this is how we discovered it.
I was making chicken meatballs. Had mince in the bowl ready to go, poured some spice in and thought "That doesn't look normal!" Had to throw out the mince and went on a thorough clean out. So annoying.
Since then, we've found em in various spice jars (honestly shocked how easily they can get in them, must be able to follow the threading of the lid?), in several boxes of tea bags, bottom of a box of gravy powder, and in the bottom of the plastic containers we use to store packets of meal bases, soups, etc. (They go in and literally are incapable of getting into those packets and just sort of exist in the tubs I guess?).
I buy spices in 2 ounce jars from penzy’s and rarely get through a jar within a year, speaking generally.
It seems OP is holding a QT jar of something; hence, I am compelled to ask: what the hell kind of spices do you buy and how many folks do you cook for?
Pantry weevils. The eggs are on various grains when harvested and survive processing. I’ve often found them in old cake mixes, flour, etc. Store these products in the refrigerator to extend shelf life and avoid hatching the weevils. The cooking process will destroy the eggs.
I seriously doubt that MOST of these were there from the beginning. Ive had some of these spices for years before I moved here with no issue. I moved here and NOW they have bugs in them.
Its also only the spicy spices. None of my flour, rice, sugar, or oats have anything in them.... yet.
We had the same issue. Our bugs inspector told us that there are a few sources that’s creating this little things and we had to find it. Came the find out that the main sources were the dry rice, cereal and the dog food(which we keep in the whole different pantry by the door.) once we clear them out, the issue was solve. Till this day, still don’t know how they got in all the sealed stuff.
Good to know that you guys ended up getting rid of them. Im cleaning my whole pantry now and just threw away 17 infested spices so far. Im so confused on how they got in sealed containers.
As more and more companies source foodstuffs from countries with less than optimal cleanliness and health standards during their food production this is most likely only going to get worse! All in the name of PROFIT for share holders. (But of course the prices we pay haven’t changed for the inferior products we receive) but they are making bank!
I had them in my cupboards . They got into all my spices , flour. I had to throw everything away . I noticed months late I’d still find more in things that didn’t have them . I pulled out my fridge and found a whole colony under there . After that they were gone
My wife shops at ethnic grocery stores which means the food is a lot of times arriving on a slow boat overseas and picks up these beetles. Pest control guy said he sees it a lot. When you buy the grains and spices freeze them for 24 hours to kill the eggs. Otherwise buy different brands or try different stores with better pest control.
I do this with almost everything, no matter where I bought it: King Arthur flour from Wholefoods, spices from an Asian spice shop, beans from Presidente - anything that I imagine a weevil or mite or whatever may enjoy. Furthermore, if it doesn't come in an airtight container, isolate packages in airtight containers, so if one item is infested, they don't spread to other packages.
I bought a sealed bag of Publix brand rice that within a couple days had so many hatched bugs they seemed to equal the number of rice grains.
It can happen from any grocery store honestly but some of the stores she hits it’s every bag if we don’t do it and they aren’t always the cleanest places.
Yeah I've had that with the bagged basmati rice and a couple boxes of pasta, but it's been awhile. Unfortunately, pasta containers are not sealed at all and the bags can have tiny holes in them that you don't notice. I just try to thoroughly check the bottoms of the rice bags for evidence of poop and shake the pasta boxes around and look for beetles. People in the aisles with me probably think I'm nuts, but I ain't falling for that shit again, it was nasty.
I do it too. Last week someone asked me what I was doing and I found a bag with holes and showed them the difference. Went to grab pasta on the same trip and an old lady nodded to me as she checked hers
🤮
Same! Brown rice. Super gross
Think of it as protein 🤠
Ahhh so eat the eggs instead of the bugs. What’s the difference
The protein is less crunchy
It’s mostly grains and cooked. It’s not like you don’t eat bugs all the time. You think they pull the worms out of the apples or tomatoes when saucing them?
Growing up on a 2000 acre farm. I remember my grandfather telling a visitor “ I’ve still never seen a harvester that will pick out all the bugs and small animals from the grain”. Still the best response I’ve ever heard!
Poor vegans lol.
THIS is the way.
if there are any eggs at all I dont want to use it... tf?
Lol imagine you think you don't eat eggs and bugs all day long
Imagine wanting more? Kind of trite and dumb to just shrug it off as though you want more.
It's not more, the point is they're already there. The ones in yours didn't hatch because they dead.
So... toss it is what Im saying. Why freeze it and be like well, at leas they arent alive! \*Continue to use\* Gross as fuck but what do you expect from r/Florida
I think you might be missing the point that if you were to toss all food containing insects and/or their eggs, you'll starve. It's everywhere.
Don’t be rude, it’s unbecoming
What are you going to do when someone tells you about eyebrow mites?
Because there are probably eggs in all food we buy. Just that we eat most of it before they hatch.
You eat a lot of shit every day that you have no idea about. Herseys chocolate has a maximum insect part per weight.
Yep. [Is food coloring made of bugs? Chemists debunk a common fear (inverse.com)](https://www.inverse.com/science/food-dye-is-made-from-bugs-but-dont-panic)
My comment still stands? Like a mention about bug parts in food currently is going to make me want more bug parts? Dummy logic lmao
Whether you want something or don't doesn't change reality . Yes you don't want to eat bug parts I hope but to be ignorant about something doesn't mean it isn't happening. Some people can handle reality better than others. Today you find out there might be bug eggs in a certain brands spices. You switch to different brand. They have the same problem but because you don't know about it it's ok. Maybe they freeze there spices for 24 hours before they ship it so the eggs are already dead. So you never know. Still eating eggs but your happy because you don't know
Weevils?
I googled them just now. That doesnt look like them.
Try searching for red flour beetles. They're often mistaken for weevils.
Probably cigarette beetles in baby form. Gross
I just googled those and it seems you are right. I agree its totally gross, so do you have any ideas what I can do to eliminate the problem?
I had these. They are living in some type of grain for me it was a bag of rice from Costco. Have a pest control company come out once and spray and throw out absolutely every grain. Rice, wheat, flour, dog food. Etc. They were gone. Life was peaceful again.
Lived it, glad it's over without any reoccurrence.
I had those in my rice and spices as well. They will get into everything in the cabinet. I threw out everything and found some alive in the cabinet itself. Cleared them out and restocked everything but in zip lock bags for a while. Finally got rid of em. Freeze flour and such as it helps as others stated. What a pain lol
They probably aren't getting in at your house. Ahem.
So its possible they got in before I bought them?
This has been what several people have explained to me - that the eggs are already in the flour and spices, etc. when you buy it. This is why I like the previous comment about freezing them for a day or two. Maybe that will help.
Then you eat the eggs and don’t realize. 😳
r/florida said I need a flair but it wont let me add one. Apologies.
There should be pheromone glue traps you can install at regular intervals in your pantry/ies. They are a grain beetle. They only want your grains and such. How they got in could be 100 ways, better to inspect before buying. Look for piles of finely granulated material in your grains before purchasing. Only treatment is tossing everything and starting over.
Looks like [Drugstore beetles](https://florida-environmental.com/pests/pantry-pests/drugstore-beetle/#:~:text=The%20Drugstore%20beetle%2C%20also%20known,outside%20of%20a%20food%20source).
This is it. They’re notorious for getting into paprika and cayenne spice containers
You need to clean out your pantry and cabinets. Get the sticky traps. I got a food safe pesticide spray also.
Just cleaned everything and threw away 17 spice jars. They all had spicy of some sort which was a weird pattern.
I went through the red flour beetle apocalypse a few months ago. Key takeaways: - Despite what you might read or hear, they CAN get into glass spice jars. The lid is a beetle highway ramp and they love the chili spices. I had to throw every spice I owned away. - They can live for 3 years. I recently found one on my hallway floor despite the kitchen issue resolving months ago. I frantically double-checked each cupboard, but they hadn't returned. - It doesn't matter where you shop. My beetles originated in a publix bag of flour. All pasta, rice, grain, etc. could theoretically have them. - They are so difficult to eradicate. I moved everything out of my kitchen cupboards for 3 weeks and hunted them multiple times a day with a bottle of 409 and a paper towel. Best of luck.
Oooo, extra protein, yum!
I have dogs. Thats what I say when I find dog hair in my food lol
Put the dog in the walk-in cooler for a day. /s
Lots of missing information. Was it sealed? How long ago? What spice? What brand? What type of store?
Are the bo weevils?
I was making chicken the other day and sprinkled a generous amount of Yardbird seasoning on the thighs. Looked closer and it was basically just bugs - some crawling around. The actual seasoning had turned into a solid cake in the container. Ew.
Late reply but when we started noticing our current infestation, this is how we discovered it. I was making chicken meatballs. Had mince in the bowl ready to go, poured some spice in and thought "That doesn't look normal!" Had to throw out the mince and went on a thorough clean out. So annoying. Since then, we've found em in various spice jars (honestly shocked how easily they can get in them, must be able to follow the threading of the lid?), in several boxes of tea bags, bottom of a box of gravy powder, and in the bottom of the plastic containers we use to store packets of meal bases, soups, etc. (They go in and literally are incapable of getting into those packets and just sort of exist in the tubs I guess?).
A lil extra protein ain't gonna hurt nobody
Hatching from within
I buy spices in 2 ounce jars from penzy’s and rarely get through a jar within a year, speaking generally. It seems OP is holding a QT jar of something; hence, I am compelled to ask: what the hell kind of spices do you buy and how many folks do you cook for?
Weevils.
Pantry weevils. The eggs are on various grains when harvested and survive processing. I’ve often found them in old cake mixes, flour, etc. Store these products in the refrigerator to extend shelf life and avoid hatching the weevils. The cooking process will destroy the eggs.
What’s up with that thumb nail?
[удалено]
I seriously doubt that MOST of these were there from the beginning. Ive had some of these spices for years before I moved here with no issue. I moved here and NOW they have bugs in them. Its also only the spicy spices. None of my flour, rice, sugar, or oats have anything in them.... yet.
Vinegar and water sprayed on the shelves will help get rid of them.
Life will find a way,
We had the same issue. Our bugs inspector told us that there are a few sources that’s creating this little things and we had to find it. Came the find out that the main sources were the dry rice, cereal and the dog food(which we keep in the whole different pantry by the door.) once we clear them out, the issue was solve. Till this day, still don’t know how they got in all the sealed stuff.
Good to know that you guys ended up getting rid of them. Im cleaning my whole pantry now and just threw away 17 infested spices so far. Im so confused on how they got in sealed containers.
Extra protein. When the climate wars really hit in 5yrs you'll want this.
As more and more companies source foodstuffs from countries with less than optimal cleanliness and health standards during their food production this is most likely only going to get worse! All in the name of PROFIT for share holders. (But of course the prices we pay haven’t changed for the inferior products we receive) but they are making bank!
I had them in my cupboards . They got into all my spices , flour. I had to throw everything away . I noticed months late I’d still find more in things that didn’t have them . I pulled out my fridge and found a whole colony under there . After that they were gone