Weevils!!

I put a fresh bay leaf in my flour containers with the flour and have never had flour weevils since I've been doling this. Don't know why it works but it does and you cannot taste it in the flour.

Just to add a point of interest, the sign language sign for biscuits is tapping your left hand on your right elbow (or vice versa if left handed). This is because, as previously explained, in times gone by biscuits were tapped before eating to dislodge any insects. There you go! X

I had the little blights in a box of Weetabix many years ago. Took it back for a refund, and always keep cereals & dry stuff in lock & lock. Never had a problem since.

Today I will be throwing out all the bags of flour in my cupboard. I have not used any flour in a while.

OMG! I never knew!

I feel quite ill!

And I will be having a major clean in my kitchen cupboards and purchasing some lock & lock containers too. You learn something new every day.

Are they actually weevils or the grubs of pantry moths? Can you see any little moths in the cupboard where you keep the flour etc? These were always a problem when we lived in Switzerland and they sold little tablets you put in the cupboard which would get rid of them. The moths seem to be able to get in anywhere and i got them in coffee, flour, rice until I realised what the problem was.

The ones I had were tiny little insects, a bit bigger than a full stop. I gathered up a few to look at under a microscope. Quite interesting really.

As far as I know, in more than 50 years I have never had weevils in my flour, despite only being an occasional baker who keeps flour in a tin in the kitchen cupboard. I do sift it when making cakes but don't usually bother when using it for dusting fish etc.

The other day I bought a rather nice tin from Aldi and told my DIL that the one I had been using had been bought over 50 years ago and produced all the cakes and Christmas puddings since, as well as her 3-tier wedding cake. She made me laugh by begging for the old tin to keep as a souvenir.

Man picked up biscuit.Weevil popped its head out.Man picked up second biscuit.A larger weevil popped its head out.Man ate first biscuit.Why did you that?It was the lesser of two weevils.

Having just made my Christmas cake, it's cooking as I type, I am now wondering if I have any added protein in it.

Love this thread, it's making me laugh and learn at the same time.

I had weevils in some quite new flour for the first time this summer. I did some research and came to the conclusion that they are already in the flour and await the right conditions to hatch. I now buy 500g bags, put them in lock containers and use them up quickly.
I'll now put a bay leaf in as well. Thanks for the tip! Another use for the 10ft bay tree ?

Weevils are completely harmless to eat and most often get into the flour because the eggs are already in it when it's packaged. If you don't use it for a while and it stays undisturbed in the warm cupboard they will hatch and proliferate through all the other things up in the same cupboard. They like some things better than others so you have to search through everything. Even though they are harmless, I would never eat them purposely! Yuk!! I keep all my flour etc in plastic boxes up in the cupboard. That seems to at least protect the other stuff that's up there if one bag has them resident. lol

"Weevils are completely harmless to eat " .... tell that to the weevils

I will never use flour again, so no baking that's for sure or anything else that requires flour. I still feel sick!

Would microwaving kill the eggs ?

I suspect it would, but would it harm the flour. I use the microwave to kill woodworm in wood before I turn it, just 30 seconds.

I’m resurrected this thread rather than starting a new one as I’m wondering if all the measures everyone took have continued to be successful. I always check my lockdown stock of flour before I use it and, up till now it’s been ok. But the other day found some weevils in an opened bag of flour and then found them in an unopened one. Even though they’d been in a large plastic container the weevils had spread to other things, even a ziplock containing dentastix fir the dog. I’m currently going through everything. Thankfully I keep most things in tins or containers but, even so I’m finding them in obscure places. I started adding bay leaves to things and then read that they’re toxic to dogs so I’ve had to remove them. I assume I can put the contaminated bags of flour in the garden waste bin? Thank goodness I started to put the dogs kibble in containers after finding a larder beetle in the house a few years ago! I remember reading once that organic wholemeal flour was more likely to have weevils in them so I’ll definitely put that in the freezer!

What is 'gf' flour?

Ali08 ... gluten free flour.

I think we should be grateful for the extra protein
It wouldn’t bother me but….
I do find flour doesn’t last nearly as long as it used to before getting a sort of light brown film on the top and not smelling fresh yes I keep it in glass containers with sealed lids
but I don’t bake regularly
Guess the answer is to only buy a small packet and use it straight the way

I had weavils once, in a different house,when I kept flour in a top cupboard, without special protection. I threw the bags out and cleaned the cupboard. Since then I use lock n lock for every single bag of flour that I buy and have never seen any weavils again. I get my flour direct from a mill and it is very fresh

I do know that some tiny things lived inside a few blueberries that I grew, unsprayed of course. Oh well, they were all frozen and it doesn`t bother me

I think the clue lies in the fact you buy from a flour mill and I and probably most others buy from the local store Karmalady and have no idea how long anything has been hanging around

I keep my flour just in it's paper bag in the fridge and so far don't think I get creatures in it. BUT I am off to put my glasses on and check....I will report back!

I have 2 of the old very tall Sweetie jars, one for SR and one for Plain flour.
Never had weevils since the flour was stored in them, but I think you are right, the eggs are already in there, maybe temperature of storage makes them hatch or not.

I found nothing alive but it was past it's sell by date so I have put it in a sealed plastic bag and will put straight out in outside bin! I will buy a smaller bag and freeze it before I store it fridge ... just to be sure!!

DanniRae

I keep my flour just in it's paper bag in the fridge and so far don't think I get creatures in it. BUT I am off to put my glasses on and check....I will report back!

I had been doing that too, for over 40 years, but two or three years ago discovered that 'all' the flour-containing products in my baking cupboard had been invaded by them, including things like custard powder.

Since then, I have been freezing all new bags of flour until the old ones in the cupboard have been used up, in the case of bread flour, it will be in the freezer for several months.

Then last week, when cleaning the cupboard, I discovered that the blighters were back, but hadn't had time to spread very far this time.

As for whether or not my freezing had been working, I am pretty sure that the answer is 'yes', as the likely 'incubator' in the cupboard turned put to be a flour shaker that my OH had plonked in the cupboard months earlier and which didn't even have any sort of lid on other than the shaker top with big holes in it!

MayBee70. I don't know if that answers your question, but I do think that my freezing has worked, but a vigilant eye is also a good idea so that if the critters get in anyway, they aren't given time to spread and multiply.