Stored Pantry Pests

Have you ever found small bugs in your flour or worms in your macaroni & cheese? This is a sign that you have stored pantry pests. Stored pantry pests eat grain, corn, legumes, milled cereal products, flour, bran, pasta, pet food, dried fruits & vegetables, cheese, nuts, and candy. These pests are often in packaged food when you bring it home from the store. Eggs and larvae commonly pass unnoticed from one part of the food handling system to the next. Stored product pests contaminate more than they eat, and about 10-15% of the total amount of the world’s seed production disappears into the stomach of these insects.

At Peoria Pest Control pheromone traps are used for detection and pesticides are applied to eliminate these pests.

Common Stored Pantry Pests are:

SAWTOOTHED GRAIN BEETLE

The sawtoothed grain beetle is one of the most common stored pantry pests. It attacks cereals, bread, macaroni, dried fruit, nuts, sugar, dried meats, and cake mixes. The sawtoothed grain beetle penetrates into narrow cracks, crevices, and imperfectly sealed packages. It is a tiny, slender, dark brown beetle that is about 1/8 inch long.

CIGARETTE BEETLE

The cigarette beetle is the most destructive beetle found in stored tobacco. They are native to tropical and subtropical areas. They can only survive in warm buildings in temperate regions. They are distributed through out the United States and Canada. The cigarette beetle is oval shaped, 1/8 inch long, and reddish brown in color with a golden sheen.

DRUGSTORE BEETLE

The drugstore beetle feeds on household spices, wool, hair, leather, and drugs. In homes, spices are their favorite food, especially paprika. This insect can perforate books, wooden objects, tin, aluminum foil, and lead. The drugstore beetle looks very similar to the cigarette beetle but appears dull and darker.

VARIED CARPET BEETLE

The varied carpet beetle feeds on woolens, carpets, hides, feathers, as well as rye meal, corn and red pepper. This insect can cause large irregular holes in material. Inhalation of large quantities of the larval spear-headed hairs may cause pulmonary irritation.

INDIAN MEAL MOTH

The Indian meal moth is the most common pest in wholewheat or graham flour and cornmeal. In the home, it infests broken grains and grain products, dried fruits, seeds, crackers, biscuits, nuts, powdered milk, chocolate, candy, red peppers, and dog food. They spoil more food that they consume. As they feed, they often produce a silk that loosely binds to food fragments. The Indian meal moth is a small colorful moth that has life cycle of about 2 months.

BEAN WEEVIL

The bean weevil is the principal pest of stored legumes (kidney beans, peas, lentils) and other seeds. They attack both the field and storage if they are stored in a warm place. If the field is infested material is brought into storage, the insects can infest dried seeds. The bean weevil is about 1/6 inch, stout bodied with a short broad snout and shortened wing covers.

CONFUSED FLOUR BEETLE &
RED FLOUR BEETLE

The confused flour beetle and red flour beetle are considered to be the most important pests of stored foods in grocery stores and homes. They infest stored grains and grain products, peas, beans, shelled nuts, dried fruits, cake mixes, spices, chocolate, drugs, snuff, and cayenne pepper. These insects leave a disagreeable odor and taste to the flour they infest. They are attracted to light but do not fly. They are 1/8 inch long, reddish brown in color, with short, stout antennae.

The confused flour beetle is more abundant in the North and the red flour beetle is more abundant in the South.