The kitchen is a special room. It maintains perfect cleanliness and order, because this is the place where food is stored and food is prepared. However, many were faced with such an unpleasant phenomenon as bugs in the groats. They appear suddenly and with great speed begin to spread throughout the kitchen, climb into the dishes and travel on the shelves. A nightmare, and more! Do not worry, getting rid of bugs in the cereal is quite simple, you just need to follow the recommendations.
Where did they come from
Do not reproach yourself for lack of hard work. Insects for the most part do not care if they are clean in your kitchen or not. The bugs in the groats settle because this is the source of their life, the main food. Most often, pests come home from stores where food was stored in violation of sanitary standards. Sometimes this happens even in warehouses. The bugs could get into the grits even during packaging, just by bringing the sealed bag home, you did not immediately notice it. Insects crawled out and chose the gap in the wall cupboard. And already when the bred offspring began a victorious march through the kitchen, you sounded the alarm.
A huge number of species
Of course, the reason for the appearance may be improper storage of products. Moreover, beetles very quickly breed and capture everything that is located around. They crawl into bags of dried fruits, tea and tea bags with spices. Do not refuse pasta. In general, you can’t delay if there are bugs in the croup.
How to get rid of this scourge? First of all, you need to try to determine what kind of insect honored you with its presence. Let us briefly describe each of them, and only then move on to the methods of struggle.
Types of pests and how to get rid of them
Are there bugs in the croup? We take a magnifying glass and carefully study the invaders. This is the only way to understand how to deal with this scourge.
These types of bugs can settle in cereals:
- Small Khrushchak. Most often comes from the store along with infected cereals. Hides instantly in crevices and corners, remaining unnoticed. It can start in any cereal, regardless of variety and price.
- Red-haired mucoeater. Violation of storage conditions, rotting of products - all this creates favorable conditions for the development of the pest.
- Bread bugs. Tiny creatures are brownish in color. They lead a rather secretive lifestyle, so it can be difficult to notice them until the population has grown.
If bugs are started in the groats, then it is necessary to take measures until the pests are too fruitful. Start looking for a source. Usually this is some kind of bag with cereals. Maybe he is no longer alone.
spring-cleaning
This is the first thing to do if you notice the presence of insects in the kitchen. And you need to start with the cabinets in which cereals are stored. All packages must be obtained and carefully sorted out.
- The surviving cereals should be poured into lockable containers or bags.
- It is advisable to pre-treat them with soapy water and dry well.
- View other products.
- If there are signs of damage, place the cereal bag in the freezer. Until you decide what to do next, this measure will prevent the reproduction of insects.
- Treat the cracks with boiling water.
Such simple measures are very effective if there are bugs in the cereal. The name of each individual species is not so important, because the methods of dealing with them are very similar. Most importantly, continue to remain vigilant even when the enemy seems to have been defeated. From the surviving larvae, new individuals can hatch, and the development cycle will repeat. Of course, I do not want to start all over again.
Can affected cereals be eaten
This is a personal matter for everyone. Some will immediately throw away any bag with signs of insects, while others will try to rinse and sort out the groats. But is it not dangerous? In fact, eating such a product is undesirable. If you bought cereal in a store and immediately noticed insects, it is better to take it back. So you save money, nerves and time.
Thoroughly sorting, washing and sifting cereals, you will still miss a certain number of larvae and their waste products. This is unlikely to benefit your health. But with flour everything is a little easier. Each hostess must sift it before use. Therefore, all bugs and larvae remain on the sieve. And after that, additionally warm it in the oven at a temperature of 50 degrees.
Well, now back to the main topic of our conversation. What if there are bugs in flour and cereals?
Control measures
Of course, today there are a large number of insecticides. All of them allow in two counts to deal with any insects. But we are talking about a kitchen where food is stored and food is prepared. Therefore, it is best to do without them. Moreover, folk methods of struggle are no less effective and do not require special costs.
The first step is to pour out the contents of each package and carefully inspect.
Rinse the cabinets thoroughly. For complete destruction, it is better to do this procedure several times. You can take laundry soap or any bleach-based cleaner.
Spices will become your assistants. Arrange bay leaf and garlic on shelves. They really do not like pests and nutmeg.
Heat treatment
Of course, the radical method works best - to collect all the cereals and throw them into the trash can, and then wash the entire kitchen. And if you try to get rid of bugs in the groats, but not from the products themselves? Of course, each mistress has different views, but such a scenario also needs to be considered. If you still want to use cereals for food, then you need to thoroughly clean it from insects and prevent their further appearance.
If it’s winter outside, it’s best to just take the bag to the balcony. If the temperature is below -15 ° C, then only a few hours will be enough for all insects to die. For this reason, it is recommended to store flour in the winter on the balcony, and not to bring it into the heat. Then you are guaranteed to save yourself from unnecessary headache. Spread it in small portions and sift it carefully.
But the cereals are better to calcine. Sort the bag, then pour the contents onto a baking sheet and place in the oven. Only 15 minutes - and all livestock will be destroyed. Now you need to sift the cereals and be sure to rinse thoroughly before cooking. Black bugs in cereals die and spill out with eggs and larvae.
If there is no time for processing
In other words, if you planned to use the product for dinner and found bugs in the cereal. There may not be an alternative in the kitchen, so try another option. As you know, these insects do not know how to swim and do not tolerate immersion in water. And if it is also hot, then this is guaranteed death. In parallel, boiling water is a disinfector. Therefore, a glass of cereal, intended for cooking dinner, you need to pour cool boiling water and leave for several minutes. During this time, the grains will settle to the bottom, and garbage and bugs will float.
Another thing is if a large sack of flour is struck, and the summer is hot in the yard. But in this case, ultraviolet light will help. At hot noon, take a large iron basin or baking sheet to the street and sprinkle flour on it. Of course, it is desirable that there is no wind. A few hours will be enough for adult insects to die or leave an unfavorable place. And larvae and eggs under the influence of ultraviolet radiation lose their viability.
Do not let the pest into the house
You already know what to do if there are bugs in the croup. How to get rid of them is described above. But how to make unpleasant insects no longer return to your house? Our tips will help you get rid of unpleasant guests.
- So, the kitchen is in order again. All insects are exterminated. Now you need to wash all the drawers and cabinets again. By the way, vinegar solution is excellent for these purposes.
- Groats and flour have the ability to crumble and clog in the cracks. Therefore, it is recommended to cover the shelves with thin paper. Glue fragrant seasonings that pests do not like on the adhesive plaster walls.
Better yet, make food out of reach for insects. Metal or glass jars are best suited for this. Pour cereals into them and store tightly closed. Even if insects are bred in one of them, having arrived from the store, they will be limited by the size of one container. It will not be so unfortunate to simply throw away its contents and buy a new cereal.
Prevention
We examined the basic methods of controlling bugs in cereals and in the kitchen. How to get rid of them, if the defeat is very strong, is also obvious. Just throw the bag away. What else can you do? Ventilate the kitchen regularly and make sure that the room is dry, because humidity is the first condition for the appearance of these "guests". And of course, you need to constantly maintain exemplary order. Flour or cereal scattered on shelves attract pests.
Instead of a conclusion
Today we talked about simple and affordable ways to get rid of household pests that settle in flour and cereals. They are able to multiply quickly and affect various foods. Therefore, the sooner you start the fight with them, the more effective it will be. Please note that these methods exclude the use of chemicals and insecticides. If you wish, you can supplement them with an arsenal of methods of struggle, but it is much easier to deal with the invaders in improvised ways. Perfect order, vinegar and aromatic herbs, laundry soap and hot water - more and you don’t need insects to forget the way to your kitchen.