So here is the issue...my DH is a homebrewer. He has been for several years now. It's one of his only hobbies. He stores his equipment and supplies, including several 50 pound bags of grain in his office. This is the only spot we have for it. There is no way we could store it in the garage or outside. And we can't build a shed or anything. Well one (or more) of his grain sacks has a weevil infestation. I am finding weevils all over the office...in drawers, in nooks and crannies. There are tons of dead ones along the baseboards. It's beyond ridiculous. I have not yet noticed them in my kitchen, but I am sure that will be the next place they invade. All my grains are sealed in tupperware containers already. I have been vacuuming the office daily, and emptying the cleaner in the outside garbage and then rinsing it out to make sure I haven't missed anything. Any time I find a "pile" of them alive, like the sheet of paper I just found, I have been putting it a ziplock bag, freezing it and then disposing of it outside. Anything else I can do to ward off this infestation???
Thanks for the advice ladies! The freezer is not really a choice. We do have one, but not one that will hold six different bags of 50 lb bags of grains. But we did buy some 5 gal paint buckets and sanitized them to hold the grain. I don't think the hubby is too happy about this, but he is going along with it. :) There is something a little funny about it all. Hopefully our little critters will be out of here soon.
I don't know, but I got a laugh out of this. Sorry don't mean to be mean or unsympathetic, but there is something funny about this.
I feel sorry for you. I know I wouldn't want to deal with this, and I would not be happy with my husband if I did.
He needs to store all of his grains in tupperware. Put it in there and seal it - leave it for a week or more before you open it. The weevils will all go to the top of the container and die there due to lack of oxygen. It's the only way. Good luck!
LBC
I agree with Ladybug. All of his grains need to be in airtight containers. You may have to just get rid of this batch and start over with new grain in sealed bug-proof containers. A friend of mine grinds her own grains for baking, and she uses large pourable pet food containers to store her wheat berries. I think she found them at Walmart, but I'm not sure. It'll take a while to get rid of all the weevils, but eventually you'll stop finding them everywhere. =) Good luck!
We had them once (leftover from the prior owners of our home). The exterminator took care of them.
A little humor - in the Depression my grandmother had weevils in the flour. They picked them out for company but didn't bother otherwise. They are great protein!
If ya'll can afford it, you can also purchase a chest freezer (I haven't shopped them, but people keep telling me they are very reasonably priced now) and store the grains in the freezer until ready to use.
I always store my flour in the freezer after a time in college where the flour in my apartment with roommates got weevils. I had never heard of them before that time!
The good news is there are a couple of ways to get rid of the little buggers!
God's Grace to you,
Lisa :)
I would call an exterminator if the problem persists.
They tend to be worse in the heat and humidity. I had an infestation in New Jersey (where we had no central air) and tossed all my grains. I wiped everything down and started over with everything in airtight containers, or in the refrigerator if I had room. If tossing them is not an option, as Ladybug said, put the grains in airtight containers and most of the weevils will be at the top in a couple of weeks.
For storage of such large grains, you may want to consider 5 gallon buckets. You can find them specifically for food storage, but I buy the ones from home depot and keep our chicken feed in the bag it comes in and put the entire bag in the bucket.
HTH.
M.
My mom used to keep our flour in a non-airtight container so she would put mint tea bags in with the flour and we never had any weevils. I'm not sure what to do about the ones you already have except an exterminator. Since it's around food stuff you may want to go with an organic option. I use RidAll Pest Control ###-###-####) and have been pretty happy with them. They are a little more expensive, but I don't like to have the harsh chemicals around my babies. You can look them up at www.ridallpest.com.
Good luck! I hope you get rid of your problem!
Don't let anyone tell you that Tupperware is weevil-proof, because it is NOT!. I just threw out all my flours and sugar because of an infestation. I could give Tupperware a reprieve if it had just been in one container... I could have transferred the little critters there from the original bag. But EVERY flour and sugar container had them, which means they walked there all on their own. Right past those lauded Tupperware sealed lids! I sneer at Tupperware! :) All the grains I have, stored in canning or Triomphe-style jars, are weevil-free. I've never seen one large enough to accommodate a 50-lb. sack of anything, though. Good luck!
I didn't know what weevils were so i looked it up and I found this website maybe it will help: http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-weevils.htm
Ugh!! I had this problem years ago when I first moved to Texas. We had a lot of pets and were purchasing all their food and litter from the local feed store. When I started noticing the moths (or some type of flying bug) and the weevils, I went into an exterminator's shop and they told me what to do and I purchased a can of organic spray which was quite pricey. They told me to put the food in the freezer and then to move it to an airtight container later. I was reluctant to do this as I thought it would make their food soggy, but I was quite surprised when it didn't! I bought lots of containers (walmart, which is the cheapest, then the name brand stores, such as the container store, etc.) that stored and stacked efficiently. I never had the problem again. But I still keep all of my pet items in airtight containers and my sugar, flour, etc. as well. Good luck! Oh, and I buy my dry dog food in huge bags (40 or 50 lbs.) and store it in the orginal bag in an airtight trash can (walmart) in my garage. No problems at all!!
