Flour Beetle Infestations
While many other food beetles can infest grains, cereals, flour, cake mixes, dried pet foods, seeds, nuts and chocolate, red flour beetles and confused flour beetles tend to be the most common beetles infesting pantries in the US. Flour beetle infestations generally occur when infested products enter homes from dried goods infested on grocery store shelves, in warehouses or in grain storage silos.
However, flour beetles do not attack sound, whole grains, but do infest flour, cereals baking mixes, dried pet foods and other dried goods, when the female flour beetle lays eggs in the dried foods she’s eating, depositing eggs each day for several months. As flour beetles can live up to three years, females can deposit 300 to 400 eggs during their lifetimes.
Signs of flour beetle infestations include:
- A gray tint in dried food products
- An unpleasant odor to dried food products as well as an off-flavor
- Sightings of adult beetles near stored dried goods and in other rooms in your home
When flour beetle larvae hatch, they eat the dried food where they hatch. At about 1/8” to 3/16”, flour beetles grow from eggs to adults in about seven weeks, with four to five generations per year.
As a homeowner, should you suspect flour beetle activity, contact a professional pest control company, such as Truly Nolen to schedule a free pest inspection and devise a plan to eliminate flour beetles and other pantry pests from your home.
Flour Beetle Photos
Flour Beetle Photos
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