Rice or Grains Infested toss it out!

So I didn't know if I wanted to talk about or even post this, but after some research I thought it might be best. So a couple days ago I went in my pantry thinking lets organize this and get some things jarred up for a better organized system and also be able to see what I have better. I did my spices and my canned goods. Then moved to grains. I had this big bag of white rice I wanted to put in a big gallon canister yet after I opened the bag and started to pour the rice in I saw all these little brown bugs moving around and I mean a lot. I didn't notice it before. I even made some rice like a week ago and didn't notice them. Now I'm disgusted! Gross! Did I cook or consume these grainy little critters and not notice it. The thing though is that I didn't notice till I got closer to the bottom of the bag. Now I'm thinking I don't want to toss all this rice out so I decided I'd wash it. I mean it goes through a similar process, right? I thought to myself I'll use my salad spinner and collect the rice in there. Sift out the bugs into the water and let them go out the top of the water and the bottom of the sifter into the bowl. I moved the rice around a lot to rinse wash these critters off. I saw these bugs drown and fall into the sink. There were so many of them! Eventually the water and rice looked clean. I spread a huge thick 2 inch layer of white rice on a cookie sheet covered with a thin cotton kitchen towel and put in the oven just to dry out on its own over night where moisture wouldn't get to it.

Ok when I started this process with the rice it was midnight. That's when I get these quirky ideas of cleaning and organizing. I blame insomnia some times but then most of the time I just get this spark of an idea and I just have to do it in the moment. So by the time I was done sifting, rinsing and letting the rice dry it was 1 am. So I went to bed and gave it 12 hours to sit. I thought ok I don't want to cook it and let it get all over the place. I didn't want it exposed to air or more moisture for it to rot. So I wanted to trap it in a cool dark place to dry. It kinda worked. I sifted through it with my hand and it was getting there. I didn't see any bugs or movement. The rice was starting to look normal and smell good. So I let it sit again covered in the oven. No heat or anything just letting it naturally dry out. While during this process I took it upon myself to look up what these bugs could be.

They are called weevils or flour bugs. I googled it and they can end up in your flour, cereal or rice. Gross!!! They look like grains of rice and are brown. You don't have to worry, flour bugs don’t just suddenly appear in your flour. If you see flour bugs its because they were already there when you bought your rice or flour. These female weevil bugs lay their eggs in the wheat kernel and it can sometimes survive the milling process. Interesting, huh! The eggs will hatch if they’re in warm or humid conditions, or have reached their maturity. Which I think is what happened in my case. Cause I live in Florida and we get a lot of humidity. Even though my stuff is stored in a cool dark pantry. The flour bugs eat the grain and then seek to mate while eating more grain. So it's best to store your flour or grains in the fridge when you first bring them home. That I just learned and will be doing that from here on out.

I have to mention when I went to do my oatmeal I had the same issue. I wanted to combine my new oatmeal with the old oatmeal. I poured a whole box of fresh oatmeal in first then the old stuff on top. There really wasn't much left of the old stuff. So as I'm pouring it out of the bag, which I will mention was Bob's Red Mill in the plastic bag and yes it was sealed tight. All these bugs were crawling all over the top of the oatmeal. So I started to dump it all out in the sink. Till the oatmeal I had left where I didn't see any bugs left was half of my canister. I was so mad and disappointed! These dang weevils were everywhere and infected my new oatmeal still cause I saw a few still in there. I was infuriated! I tried to save the good oatmeal that I had. I thought most of it wouldn't have been touched by this crawling infestation. I dumped so much oatmeal in the sink. Most of it was all fresh and I just bought it a day ago. After all that effort to save the oats I still saw a couple of these dang weevils. I had to try and return it to the store. I told them that there were some bugs in there. I didn't go into too many details but in the end they let me exchange it. Thank the lord! Ok, moving on...I just learned weevils can end up in your rice, dip, dried beans, cereals and dried corn. If you see traces of bugs, your best choice is to throw them out as well. This helps eradicate your infestation.

Tips I learned for storage are:

Store your flour in food grade buckets with sealed lids. You can use 1 gallon canister and up to 5 gallon depending on where you are storing and how often you access your flour. Same goes for grain. (These storage bins are great for everyday use.)

Always make sure to keep your pantry or storage area clean. Apparently there are some natural ways to keep these critters from coming with: bay leaves and garlic, cotton balls soaked in tea tree oil, or sprinkle the area with diatomaceous earth.

Don’t worry too much or sweat over it if you find evidence of the bugs. They won’t harm you! It’s just not too fun to eat bugs.

To avoid having bugs in rice make sure to inspect all grains purchased closely, and discarding any infested foods. A thorough cleaning of your pantry, and a wipe down of the shelves with white vinegar, also helps.

Do NOT worry and get a professional exterminator or treat these infestations with

chemical treatments for bugs in rice. These toxic insecticides should not be used in or around foods, or sprayed in areas where food will be stored. Use a home remedy for rice weevil eradication as listed above.

It is possible to prevent weevils from laying eggs and their pupae and larvae from forming and getting into your food so you don't have to get rid of your food. When you get home from the grocery store freeze the product at 0 degrees Fahrenheit for three days, or heat the product to 140 degrees Fahrenheit for one to two hours. Make sure the food can withstand heat; for example, not all nuts and seeds can maintain this temperature.

Hope my story and educational advice on weevil flour bugs finds you well and helps you begore you lose your food to these nasty little critters!

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