Bugs in cereal: how to get rid of once and for all
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Cereal dishes are among the most popular in the daily diet. Many housewives prefer to buy cereals in large volumes in order to always be ready to cook this or that dish. But such thriftiness can go sideways if insects settle in the stocks. If bugs appear in the croup, how to get rid of them will be a matter of first importance. How to deal with uninvited guests, and what to do to prevent their appearance?
What kind of bugs start in products?
First of all, it is worth figuring out which insects can settle in cereals. So it will be much easier to choose ways to fight and assess the danger.
Among the most common "inhabitants" of bags of cereals are:
- Surinamese flour beetle - beetles are light, have long horns.
- Bread grinder - one of the most common pests, small brown bugs.
- Flour beetle - beetles with horns and shell, but very small in size.
- Red flour-eater - differ from the Surinamese flour-eater in a red tint.
- Rice weevils - from afar they can be mistaken for ants.
Also, a food moth can settle in the croup. In this case, it is important to consider that she not only crawls in the croup, but can also fly around the kitchen.
How do insects get into cereals?
Most often, beetles appear in the apartment already with grits. When you buy low-quality cereal by weight or already packaged, insects or their eggs may already be there. If you buy cheap cereals from unreliable producers, the risk of infection becomes much higher. To be sure that pests do not appear in your kitchen, it is better to give preference to well-known brands that value their reputation. Such goods are repeatedly tested, and the conditions of their production exclude infection.
Also, insects can enter the kitchen along with dried fruits. If you buy them by weight at stalls or markets, you may end up with bugs attached to the item. They are especially common in goods from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The same applies to spices offered by weight and other bulk goods.
Effective methods of struggle
If flour bugs appear, how to get rid of them is important for all housewives. The most effective way to destroy any insects is Dichlorvos. Not the most harmless and safe to use, but it kills any insects with a 100% guarantee. But before processing, it is important to consider that the product will disappear from the apartment for a couple of days, and for this time you will have to live somewhere else.
The procedure for etching beetles with Dichlorvos is as follows:
- All things that can be accurately checked for the absence of beetles, view and take out of the room.
- Wipe cabinets, floors, baseboards.
- Throw away all the cereals, wash the container from under them, as well as all the dishes.
- Put on personal protective equipment and treat the kitchen with Dichlorvos.
After the poison disappears, it is important to wash all surfaces in the kitchen well, and ventilate the room. Returning to the apartment earlier than 12 hours after treatment can be dangerous.
If you have no way to move out or are afraid to use poisonous substances in the kitchen, there are less radical ways to get rid of bugs in flour and cereals. Also, these methods are suitable for those who do not want to part with their stocks and lose money.
How to get rid of pests if there are bugs in the cereal? In this case, proceed as follows:
- Sort all the cereals and sift with a fine sieve.
- Put bags with cereals in the freezer for several days or pour cereals on baking sheets and ignite in the oven.
- Use the grits as soon as possible, and when buying a new one, exclude their contact in order to avoid infection.
- The floor, cabinets, baseboards and other surfaces in the kitchen must be treated. If you don't want to use strong chemicals, you can use acetic acid solution, laundry soap, hot water. You can also dilute boric acid in water.
- It is very important to thoroughly wash all the dishes - bugs may remain in the cracks.
After everything is in place, you can make traps for bugs in case there are still any left. Vegetable oil is poured into the caps of bottles or jars and the remains of the bugs you found are poured out. This will lure their relatives, and the oil with the insects drowned in it can simply be poured into the sewer.
You can also put garlic and bay leaf on the shelves. Both of these plants repel bugs, although they do not give a 100% guarantee.
How to prevent a new invasion?
Nothing can guarantee 100% protection of the house from the return of beetles. Even if radiant cleanliness reigns in the photo of the kitchen, it will not interfere with bugs. Unlike cockroaches, these insects do not require dirt to survive. The most important thing is attentiveness. The quality of the purchased products should be approached carefully.
You should also pay attention to the jars in which you store cereals. It is best to choose glass jars with tight-fitting lids for this. Special jars can be bought at the store. They will not help prevent infection, but they will not allow them to get into other products. Sachets and other packaging with spices should be closed with clothespins or paper clips.
It is recommended that you do not make too large purchases if you are not sure that you will have enough food until the next paycheck. It is better to save money for buying food, rather than the products themselves. Fortunately, stores are open daily and the shortage is not yet in danger for us. It is better to buy a few decent quality products than to buy huge bags of cheap food and throw away half because of pests.
Preventive processing of bulk food products
Processing cereals is one of the best ways to eliminate the appearance of bugs. To protect your kitchen, you can use heating or cooling. Bugs die at temperatures below minus 16 degrees or plus 50 degrees. To do this, you can put buckwheat or rice in the oven for half an hour. Spread on the baking sheet in an even layer. Or put a bag of oatmeal or semolina in the freezer.
After that, the cereal is placed in a dry package, preferably tightly closed, but with ventilation. To ensure safety, dried fruits can be scalded with boiling water and dried. If bugs are seen in any products, immediately throw them away.
Tara
Cereals are stored in a variety of containers - in polyethylene bags, metal boxes, glass or plastic jars, fabric bags. If the packaging is done correctly and has holes for ventilation, then pouring the cereal somewhere is not necessary. An additional plus is the reusable zipper on the bag.
Metal and glass containers can only be selected if they are equipped with a tight lid. Insects can enter the container through the gap between the wall and the lid. Bags for cereals can be used after boiling them in salt water.
Pest mixes
Strong chemicals are not the best choice for getting rid of brown bugs in the kitchen, so it is better to give preference to simple and proven means.
Boric acid has a good effect against insects. It can be mixed with powdered sugar and flour. Insects will be attracted to flour and sweets, and boric acid will save you the problem.
Another common recipe is a mixture of sugar with yeast and borax. An equal amount of ingredients is ground until smooth and laid out on the shelves of cabinets.
Previously, cereals were often stored in large bags, so there are many folk recipes that recommend what to do if bugs are wound up in the cereal. Garlic cloves can be laid out on the shelves with cereals. You can’t cut it - it can start to rot and spoil the food. As the garlic dries, change to fresh.
Prevention from pests and musty smell - hot pepper. You can also put a mixture of starch, salt, flour and bay leaf on the bottom of the cans with cereals. Chestnut and zest of any citrus fruits will help to remove food moths and midges.
Jars made of plastic or glass can be wrapped in foil - bugs do not like metal containers, so the risk of infection of cereals will be lower in such packaging.