July 30, 2017 - 7:57am
killing bugs
Sorry about this post, but we need to talk. I get my bran by the pound from a self-serve bin. Works great. Except I learned long ago that you needed to freeze the bran when you get it home to kill whatever eggs insect beasties have laid in it. I usually freeze for 24 hours, and keep the mix well sealed.That's always worked. But this last batch hatched a couple of moths in the bag a few weeks *after* getting frozen for that long.
Now, I'm not anal about bug eggs. It's just protein, and you get a lot more on them fresh in the salad greens you consume. But I'd like to avoid wholesale infestations. Strategies for pest-free mix? Maybe a few days of freezing?
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Weevils, which I think are the main danger are killed in the freezer very quickly, within hours, although it may depend on the size of the package. If you encounter a hardier insect, your first move shold be identifying it. FWIW, I simply a have a second fridge, all my flour and grain is there.
Thanks. These are not weevils, but small moths. Yes, I wish I could store my grain in the freezer, but that isn't possible. I suppose I could throw a few moth balls in there, but ... ick.
24 hours may not be long enough to kill off the bugs or eggs. If it's a moth, then it could be a re-infestation or it means that something hatched and grew. Either way, refreeze your bran for at least 48 hours.
Check the other grains/flours/spices etc in your cupboard - there may be something else lurking that you haven't noticed yet.
Yes, 24 hours is evidently not long enough. Pretty sure it isn't reinfestation. The bags are well sealed. But indeed, these moths look a little like "pantry moths" that we had a few years ago. No sign of those in other things, that we also now keep well sealed.
If you have pantry moths, read about the 4 stages of life of a pantry moth, and what it takes to eradicate them, i had an infestation once, it took quite some time to kill them off. I haven't had a problem recently, but I understand others take a different tack to kill off the larvae - freezer for a week, sealed container with dry ice are some of the suggestions I have read.
Yes, the issue isn't how to get rid of pantry moths in the pantry. Had them, froze everything overnight, and they were gone. The issue here is that I froze my bran for 24 hours, and that evidently wasn't enough. A week, you think?
Yes, I have read that a week is enough to kill off the eggs and larvae.. If you had a pantry month infestation, I doubt you solved it in a day. Usually, but the time you see moths in the house, there are eggs, larvae, and puppa elsewhere in the house - at least there was in my house.
Pantry moths seem to hate ground cloves.
We've had a few infestations in the past and after getting rid of them (usually by having to throw out a lot of dry goods) we've found that sprinkling ground cloves in the bottom of the pantry and leaving a couple of open containers with ground cloves on the shelves has stopped them returning.
You also end up with a nice clove smelling pantry.