PANTRY PESTS

In the above group of illustrations all adults are designated a; all pupae, b; and all larvae, c. (All are greatly enlarged.)

PANTRY PESTS

Several kinds of insects get into the dry food products that are kept in kitchens. Among them are weevils, grain and flour beetles, and larvae of the meal and flour moths. These pantry pests are the same kinds of insects, common throughout the country, that attack stored grains on farms and in elevators and food products in mills, food plants, warehouses, railway cars, and retail stores. They cause tremendous losses.

The adults of most of them can fly into houses and start infestations, or the insects or their eggs or larvae may be brought in with dry foods that are infested because a container is improperly sealed or broken. They spread from one container to another on pantry shelves.

Control: Infestations in houses usually can be controlled easily by following five steps.

Clean the shelves. Cereals and other dry foods get spilled, and particles sift out of packages. Pantry pests can live on the food that stays on shelves or lodges in corners or cracks. Brush the shelves and then scrub them with warm water and a cleanser.

Spray with DDT. After the shelves are dry and before the food is replaced, spray a 5 percent DDT solution on the inside surfaces of cupboards or cabinets. The tiny crystals of DDT left after the spray dries will remain effective for several months. Insects that crawl over the crystals will be killed before they have a chance to lay eggs and start new infestations. Wait until the spray dries before putting packages back on the shelves. The dry DDT deposit will not harm food inside packages.

Inspect food packages. While the spray is drying carefully examine all packages of food. You may find insects in flour, meal,cereals, crackers, breakfast foods, macaroni, spaghetti, and noodles. Some of the beetles develop in large numbers in chili powder, red pepper, paprika, and other spices. Do not overlook such things as nut meats, chocolate, cocoa, dehydrated foods, dried fruits, dry soup mixes, dog biscuit, and bird seed. The meal and flour moth larvae produce webbing in or on the product where they are feeding. Flour or meal sticks to the webbing and it is easy to detect an infestation by the stringy masses of material.

Destroy heavily infested products or feed them to birds, pets, chickens, or livestock. Food is not ruined just because one or two beetles may have crawled into it. A few beetles or larvae in flour, for instance, can be picked out or the flour sifted through a fine sieve. Sterilize food that will not be used right away and store it in tight containers.

Sterilize with heat. Most dry food products can be freed of insect life by heating them in the oven at 140 F. for about one-half hour. Small packages can be heated just as they are. The contents of larger packages should be spread on cake or pie pans or on cookie sheets so the heat can penetrate more easily. If insects or their eggs are in food, they will continue to develop even in a tight container if you think the product might be infested, give it the heat treatment.

Store food in tight containers. Store sterilized or insect-free foods in clean metal or glass containers with tight covers. Lard buckets, fruit jars, or coffee cans are good to use. If a container has previously held infested food, heat it in boiling water or in the oven. Use up the contents of one package before opening another. Store the unused remainder of a newly opened package in a container with a tight-fitting cover to keep insects out.