Gross Question, But Please Answer
Decorating By midialjoje Updated 6 Mar 2007 , 2:55pm by midialjoje
I haven't seen this topic on here ever before. I started using a large strainer to sift my dry ingredients about 6 months ago (and cake mixes, too--makes a huge difference!). Thank goodness I did. I was sifting flour a while back found bugs at the bottom of the strainer!!!! I was disgusted and threw the entire thing of flour away, assuming it was old or something.
But yesterday, the same thing happened. How often are these little critters in the flour??? and had I not been sifting it, I would never have known!!!!
wondered what others' experiences have been with this?????
thanks.
oohhh i dont know- my mom had a problem once when she brought bird seed in the house that had those moths and they got into everything - she had to get rid of anything like cereal rice flour muffin mixes etc it was awful-did you get the bags at the same place and time - maybe it was an "infected" batch from that store.... check your other stuff to make sure they don't get in your house or it'll be endless...
I'm guessing these are flour beetles. When you buy your flour, place it in the freezer for 48 hours. That should kill any eggs. If the critters have already hatched, the store may have had it on their shelf for too long. Is there another store you can go to?
I am pretty sure those are common in flour I can't remember what they were called, weevuls maybe? I bought a bag of flour and opened it to find these critters! I had found them 1 other time, but that was in an open bag, so I really didn't expect to find them in an unopened brand new bag! EEEEEWWW!!!
It sounds like weevils, and I haven't had a problem with them yet, but I keep all of my flour in air-tight acrylic containers. I believe they can contaminate other foods like pasta as well and spread easily in your cupboard.
Hope someone else can offer more information for you.
Angie
I've gotten those in the past. We call them weavels (spelling) down here .. once started, they're hard to get rid of ... put your flour in the fridge or freezer. That's what I did and they left the scene ... later on, I was able to put it out again. They'll get into cornmeal or any other flour type of staples you have in your pantry too... mean little devils they are.
i bought a brand new bag at the end of lastyear. when i opened it there were those beetle things in there also. i threw it out. even though my father-in-law who was here at the time, said "awww, those wont hurt you. the kids use to eat them in their cereal all the time. just extra protein, that's all." no thanks, so that went in the trash, along with my cornmeal, and 2 others bags of flour it infested! so now everything like that goes into the fridge, in a container. i still see one of those things laying on my conter every once in awhile- and i do not know where they are coming from!! there is nothing for them to be in!! 
I haven't seen this topic on here ever before. I started using a large strainer to sift my dry ingredients about 6 months ago (and cake mixes, too--makes a huge difference!). Thank goodness I did. I was sifting flour a while back found bugs at the bottom of the strainer!!!! I was disgusted and threw the entire thing of flour away, assuming it was old or something.
But yesterday, the same thing happened. How often are these little critters in the flour??? and had I not been sifting it, I would never have known!!!!
wondered what others' experiences have been with this?????
thanks.
If you are purchasing new bags of flour with this problem then I would be finding a new store to shop at. Maybe the grocery store you have been purchasing from has a problem, or, it could be the warehouse they are getting their goods from. Probably it is the grocery store itself though. Can't be for sure but I know I would be driving across the country to get bug-free flour if I had to. Yuck! Gives me the creeps and I am sorry you are having this problem! I keep all of my flours, sugars, cornmeal and oats in a fridge because I don't even want to ever see a bug get in my stuff! 
Yes, these are weevils--they have been around since the beginning of time. They can be in open or unopened flour so I always store all my unopened flour in the freezer until I need it. Keep opened flour in an airtight container not just a "canister". Don't worry, it's nothing you did wrong they're just another of God's little creatures that make you scratch your head and say ...."what was she thinking to create these critters" !
We had those last year, & omg are they a pain to get rid of if you don't catch them right away!!!! Mine got in the house in a box of cornbread. If you start to see them in any other food, rice, cereal, etc. they say to throw out all the "bad" stuff & relocate all the food in the cupboard for atleast a month or more and store everything in airtight containers. I've even heard some people say that they can get into kitty litter, ewww. But if this is the first time you've seen them, i'm sure you'll be fine.
Everyone has already answered what they are. I would suggest buying flour from another store if you could. I had it happen two times and the flour came from the same grocery store. I stopped buying it there and no problems since. It is very common just check your other dry goods in your pantry to make sure they haven't spread and store your flour and sugar in an airtight container.
Where do you all get the name "weavils" from? I thought they were called mealy moths? My husbands mother never contained anything once it was opened, so it got really nasty! I had a really bad case of them in my pantry, to the point were we had to put everything in containers adn wash the walls. Throw out what was infested. adn we bought pantry traps for them. WE don't have a problem with them anymore!
I'm so glad I asked!!!! I wish I knew which store I got it from--I'll get rid of everything and continue checking.
Next question--now that someone mentioned "mealy moths", we had moths show up all of a sudden a while back and for the life of me couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I emptied the entire pantry, scrubbed the walls from top to bottom and haven't seen any since. Are they related?????
I've never stored flour in the fridge or freezer before, but you can bet I will be from now on.
Thanks to all of you!
oh my Gosh!!!! Got them before. You don't need to throw out flour...You need to throw out pasta, cereals, some spices ( they get into the cap and infest), I think the only thing they stayed away from was pepper. If you have boxes of pasta in a bag your o.k. However, I would take everything out of the box. They attach themselves onto the boxes. Even if they are unopened, throw it out.
Spray your cupboards and counter with a good cleaner. I used greased Lightening, it's what I had on hand. Put everthing in the freezer for a while until you know you got rid of them. They are buggers to get rid of, it took me two rounds of cleaning, because I didn't realize how invasive they were.
So what do these things look like? I have never seen them before.
when in the bottom of the strainer, just looks like a little bug--too big to get through the strainer--that's how I saw it. If you look in the flour closely, you can see them, but I wouldn't have looked if I didn't see it in the bottom of the strainer.
as for the other question--are the small moths I had flying around completely different and not related????
what do you mean you don't need to throw out flour--that's what they were in?
Yep - they are weevils, part of the beetle family, and there are many varieties that are quite comfortalbe in our pantries. There are also moths that will mature into winged creatures that will venture out of the pantry and into wool rugs (and other equally horrifying food sources). They can hide in both products and packaging. In the past, when food supplies were frequently hard to get, people just sifted the "live portein" out, saving every little particle of flour or meal that they could. Freezing kills, cooking "sanitizes", but either a store or a distrubuter in your area has a problem. Shop elsewhere for a while and keep a watchful eye on your pantry.
I read a thread here somewhere not too long ago about all of these bugs...keep flour in freezer...the moths like dry pasta...Gross!!!...after reading the thread, I threw out my flour that was in the pantry, and some spag. noodles I'd had a while...
no bugs, but was soooo grossed out that I check everything...someone also said to check baby cereal.
yuk!
Here is what I used for my mealy moths! I swear by these things!
http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product.asp?product=140335zz&dept%5Fid=17000&subdept%5Fid=17120
I spent an buttload of money on a cart with three big bins and lids - it is very air tight, the bins hold 50 pounds each, and it is on rollers. We recently closed our restaurant where I used this and I brought it home! It is great - if you use alot of flour, cake base mixes, sugar it is a great investment.
I bought 300 pounds of flour from a bakery warehouse and one of them was infested. We threw the rest of that bag away and got replacements for the rest. If it is a new bag, take it back - - - the store may look at the rest of the flour on the shelves and decide to pull it based on date or batch code.
It is disgusting, but better than finding mouse poop . . .
I hate to tell you that regardless of what you throw out it is part of nature. Those bugs come in wheat. They are part of the natural process.
Even if you keep various things in airtight containers, eventually, if you do not use it you will find these little creatures.
Keep your flour in the freezer and bring it to room temp before using. That will keep the eggs from developing into larvae.
Most of the processed wheat things that we buy from our local grocer are not cooked but dried and therefore these little creatures are hitch hikers. The eggs are in any case. If the food sits too long they develop.
They are gross but not harmfull. You honestly would not eat any food if you knew how it was treted and processed.
Sorry, your baking will take care of any that you don't see.
Flavour and free protein.
When I was a child our pantry got infested with the moths. My mother learned that bay leaves keep these bugs away from the pantry. We always lay them around our grains and put a leaf in open containers. I haven't had a problem yet.[/b]
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