It may have happened to you before: you go to pick up the jar with the flour and you see that it is full of little dark bugs. They are the weevilsinsects that feed mainly on rice and flour. Although they do not transmit diseasesthey are obviously a nuisance that you surely want to get rid of. We explain how to achieve it naturally.
weevil: what is it
Weevils are some insects of the curculionidae family (Curculionidae). They are similar to beetles, although very small, between 2 and 3 millimeters in lengthand have a hard, elongated brown body.
They are very common in kitchens, especially in areas where pasta, flour or rice is storedwhich are their favorite foods.
The females lay their eggs in places where there are grains and other dry products (flour, rice, seeds, legumes…) and, when they hatch, the larvae feed on them.
Although they do not suppose no risk to human healthcan affect the quality of food, since they contaminate it with their waste.
Why do weevils appear?
Weevils (or their larvae) may already be present in foods at the time of purchase. In this sense, it is important to keep in mind that the environmental conditions can favor their survival and development. They like warm and humid environments.
On the other hand, if we store food in open or cracked containers, weevils can enter and reproduce there. from other foods.
How to prevent weevils from appearing naturally
To prevent weevils from appearing in rice or flour, we can put into practice some simple but very effective measures:
- Store food in cool, dry places. The main thing to prevent weevils from appearing is to correctly store food in places where they cannot enter and reproduce, especially those on which they feed, such as flour, rice and seeds. To do this, it is convenient to use airtight containers and store them in cool, dry places.
- Check stored food often. To avoid infestations, it is also important to periodically check the places where you store dry foods to make sure that weevils have not appeared and if they are already there, you can isolate them from other products.
- Periodically clean storage areas. It is advisable to avoid any trace of food and keep the area where we store flour, pasta and rice clean and dry.
- Freeze foods previously. An easy way to prevent weevils or larvae that may already be in your food from reproducing and proliferating is freeze them for a few dayssince these insects cannot survive very cold temperatures.
Repel weevils with plants and spices. Some herbs and spices, such as mint, cloves, cinnamon or bay leaf (fresh)they could help prevent them from appearing and you can place them in the areas where you store food.
How to get rid of weevils naturally
If you already have a weevil infestation in food, you can try different natural methods to eliminate them:
- Weevils and their larvae They cannot survive extreme temperaturesso exposing infested foods to the sun for a few minutes or freezing them can be good ways to eliminate them. Once the insects are dead, they should be removed from the food.
- You can try natural pesticides like him neem oilhe peppermint oil wave diatomite or diatomaceous earth (a natural material that results from the fossilization of algae) can be effective in controlling weevil infestations.
If the infestation is significant, the best option may be throw away affected food to avoid perpetuating its presence and prevent them from spreading to other foods.