[carleighsmommy]

I need some advice for keeping critters out of patry items. I have been the victim of those little worm like things in the past by buying something that was already infested and had to throw out a lot of things. Is there a trick to storing stuff to keep bugs out? I really don't ever wanna have to go thru that again.

I know my canned goods are safe but what about pastas, stuffings, etc?

[queenbear]

Is it possibly pet food?? There are several of us who got infested by Goodlife cat food..
I have never had a problem with pantry goods. I have all my stock in the basement in kitchen cabinets.

[foggy]

Flour can be frozen for 24 hours to kill any bugs that may be in it. Then just remove from freezer, sift and store in airtight containers with a bay leaf.

I store things like pasta, rice, popcorn, beans, oatmeal, and wheat (we grind our own for flour) in 5 gallon buckets (some smaller) that I got free from the bakery dept in local grocery stores... just ask and they will save them for you (or find a bakery that does wedding cakes). The buckets may smell like icing but you can wash them in hot soapy water.

I put bay leaf or food grade diatomaceous earth in with the items if I have it. It's a great bug buster. Anything that doesn't have a skeletal system eats any of it and it dies... it acts like glass on them and cuts them to pieces when they ingest it. Sounds gross but I've not had a buggy worm issue in years.. not since I brought home bugs in pasta boxes I had gotten on clearance at a Kmart 6 years ago. I've had a few pantry moths recently that came in a bag of walnuts from Walmart and I bought some pantry moth traps and got rid of those.

[tripletsnthree6]

What is this?? " food grade diatomaceous earth" Foggy? Where would I get some?

thanks

[LyndaSLP]

Try BAY LEAVES

You want the whole BAY LEAVES - not the ground stuff.

I toss a couple leaves into my containers of flour and sugar. I toss a couple onto my spice shelf. I toss some on each of my food shelves. Have never had problems with bugs.

[foggy]

Originally Posted by tripletsnthree6

What is this?? " food grade diatomaceous earth" Foggy? Where would I get some?

thanks

Link to Wikipedia description: Diatomaceous earth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


You can google it and find sources to order it from... but here's one that has it on sale at the moment

Diatomaceous Earth, Food Grade—5-lb. Bag - Garden Harvest Supply

A little goes a long way. For a 5 gallon bucket, I usually put about a half cup and then just shake or stir the bucket contents up to mix it in.


NOTE: I am in no way affiliated or whatever with the above site. Just sharing a place to find it.

[carleighsmommy]

Originally Posted by queenbear

Is it possibly pet food?? There are several of us who got infested by Goodlife cat food..
I have never had a problem with pantry goods. I have all my stock in the basement in kitchen cabinets.

Not pet food- from what I could tell it was an easy out bottle of mayo. There was a little white wormy thing about 1/2 inch long complete with a 'web' under the flip top lid. There was also some in a box of cheese potatoes but just in the box, not the bag the potatoes came in. Still threw them out too though.

Several years ago I picked up a bag of flour at the store and luckily needed to use it that day so it never went into the pantry but there was little black bugs in it. Flour and sugar have always gone in the freezer since then.

[SLance68]

Don't bother with bay leaves whole or ground - I just had to clean out my Mom's pantry and it was full of bugs and bay leaves. I use one thing that works perfect everytime. Ziplock freezer bags. When I get home from the store all pasta, cereal & dry goods go into a bag and then into the pantry. No bugs in my cabinets or stuff. None in my Mom's now and everything in hers is in pretty blue Glad bags.

[foggy]

Don't let plastic bag fool you because those little worms can and do eat through the plastic. That's how I found them in the cabinet from the bag of walnuts from Walmart.

[sunshinejanie]

Plastic bags get really expensive and I have had this problem with little bugs too. I have had to throw out flour, baking mix, cornmeal, ect. I am so tired of it. Usually when it gets cold here they go away until the next summer but, we are having somewhat of an indian summer here so, I still have the problem. I am going to try the bay leaves though and I might just have to break down and buy a bunch of airtight containers.

[teamom05]

My Grandma always told me to freeze flower and sugar to keep the bugs out.

[z24racerchic]

My grandmother kept everything in her freezer breads, cake mixes, muffin mixes, flour, sugar, everything and for Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers she would take the plastic trays from TV dinners (that she had washed and saved) and make tv dinners from the leftovers and freeze them....The woman never threw anything away, comes from living through the depression...which we might go through ourselves....she even saved the styrofoam trays meat comes wrapped on, cleaned them and used them in drawers for organization.

[foggy]

My grandmother and mother was the same way. I got a lot of that in my genes too apparently as I'm always thiking about another use for something before it gets tossed out. I'm not a packrat by no means but I don't throw out glass jars such as ones from mayo or mustard because I can reuse them store things in if necesssary.

[joshmamabear]

we use CO2 before we store them in sealed buckets. no critter problems that we've noticed. so far, so good.

[sweetpea101506]

This is why I stick to stockpiling everything BUT food. I would probably get so sick if I saw a bug in my food!

[bensmomma]

Has anyone ever this problem with cereal? I have tons of cereal and betty crocker instant potatoes. should i be on the look out?

[angelpoet04]

Several things like flour, rice, soy beans, pinto beans, red winter wheat; can all be frozen for a time(to kill any existing bugs or eggs they may have laid), then you can transfer the flour, etc., into air-tight containers. Bay leaves worked down in Texas, to keep Weavils out of our flour, but that is the only time I ever remember those working.

One thing you can do, is call/email/write, the manufacturer of the product in question and ask their recommended storage and how to combat possible pests.
Also check with your local Agriculture Extension Agency and they can be more specific about possible food pests, because they are in your area/climate, etc.

Hope some of this helps someone!

Rozeann

[shoppingfever]

Originally Posted by bensmomma

Has anyone ever this problem with cereal? I have tons of cereal and betty crocker instant potatoes. should i be on the look out?

Yes! I threw out 3 large trash bags because my stockpile in my pantry was infested. Cereal, instant potatoes, flour, sugar, boxes of hamburger helper- I sat and cried while dh opened every single item in the pantry to check for bugs. All I could see was all my hard work cutting, clipping, finding the deals here, all being thrown in the trash. We threw it all out and started over. I had just really started couponing last summer and this was August that it happened.

I started keeping sugar, flour, etc in the fridge. I just recently started putting things back in the pantry so for the last five months, some of it sat on the dining room table, and the rest of it on bookshelves in the "man cave" which dh hasn't been too thrilled about. Did some research and I have read that Lowes and other places carry these strips to prevent the bugs but not sure if they really work or not. Have not had a problem since then but it is only a matter of time I'm sure!

[vaneska]

I found moths in my rice 10lbs package and have to throw away all flour-pasta-grains
I HATE MOTHS can stand them.

[Mommy2McKenna]

Okay...this is disgusting....I am going home and checking my pantry.

[dixiedarling]

ok so i totally ordered a mason jar sealer for my foodsaver and putting everything in mason jars and sealing them. this will keep bugs out, right? i can't do bugs. I lose it and would never eat whatever it is again. They can't get in cans or through glass right?

[SLance68]

Originally Posted by dixiedarling

ok so i totally ordered a mason jar sealer for my foodsaver and putting everything in mason jars and sealing them. this will keep bugs out, right? i can't do bugs. I lose it and would never eat whatever it is again. They can't get in cans or through glass right?

I think that is a pretty safe bet. Expensive but safe. I would bet that they would be fine with just closing them by hand instead of vacuum sealing.

[z'smom]

From what I have seen and experienced, the culprates for bringing the buggies home are 1) Pet Food - I store it away from all other food - like in a completely different part of the house
2) Flour - Freeze it
3) Some of the boxed grains from the natural food companies (cous cous etc.) - I no longer buy them any more

HTH I hate them. They can chew through the packaging of some foods.

[dixiedarling]

I do triples like crazy now and don't want any of my cereal getting bugs in it. I LOVE cereal and so does BF and the kids. We would all be seriously grossed out. I just want to make sure there will be no problems. thanks. Oh and i am trying to find some jars through my local freecycle.

Originally Posted by SLance68

I think that is a pretty safe bet. Expensive but safe. I would bet that they would be fine with just closing them by hand instead of vacuum sealing.

[SLance68]

I would suggest checking garage sales for Tupperware type containers for cereal. I have some in Tupperware and most of it in Ziploc freezer bags. I know some have said that the bags don't work but I haven't had a problem using them for 20 years. Keep in mind I live in Florida and I swear we have more bugs per square inch than anywhere else in this country.