If you find bugs in the kitchen, then you can assume that your food supplies such as flour and cereals are at risk.
It will not be possible to completely remove insects by ordinary sieving, since the eggs of the bugs are so small that they easily seep into the openings of the sieve.
Today you will learn how to get rid of bugs in flour and cereals quickly and without the use of harmful chemicals.
How to get rid of bugs in the kitchen: types of insects
Types of Kitchen Pests
Most often, bread grinders, flour flakes, red flour eaters and food moths are found in the house.
Bread grinder
Bread grinders are small flying bugs of light brown color. In size, they reach 3 mm. These pests are attracted to dried bakery products, as well as coffee, tea, dried medicinal plants. They enter the apartment in packages of food and feed purchased for pets.
Flour bug
Also often in the kitchen cabinet you can see the flour bug. The insect is about 4 mm long. These red-brown pests are brought into the apartment in bags of flour or in bags of starch. It is not difficult for insects to penetrate into any boxes in which bulk products are located. They settle not only in wheat flour, but also in rye and rice flour, in oatmeal and semolina. Occasionally, they can be seen in buckwheat, dried fruits and rice. Flour bugs multiply rapidly. They lay eggs in cereals, flour, in the crevices of tables and cabinets. Hatching, pests crawl around the house in search of suitable food.
Ginger Mucoed
The red-headed mucoeater is a 2.5 mm long bug. It gets into the house with poor quality pet food. The insect prefers to eat cereals, grain or spoiled flour, the moisture content of which exceeds 15%. If the pest does not find food suitable for itself, then it simply dies.
Food moth
Food moth is another pest of flour and cereals in the kitchen. An adult insect looks like a gray butterfly up to 10 mm long. It appears in products as a result of their improper processing and storage. Moth also enters the kitchen through open windows or ventilation. It can often be seen in packages of pasta, in tea, cocoa, in a bag with dried fruits. On infected products, you will find a thin web and small yellow worms.
Many people are looking for the answer to the question of how to get rid of bugs in the kitchen. The fact is that all kinds of fungi and bacteria settle in insect-damaged products, which can cause allergies and even poisoning.
How to get rid of bugs in the kitchen: methods of struggle
If bugs are wound up in your kitchen, they should be taken out immediately.
1. If the degree of damage to food products is negligible, then do not rush to throw them away. In this case, the cereal should be weeded out using a sieve and heated in an oven at a temperature of 110 ° C.
2. Barn pests can also be destroyed by placing the cereal in which the insects settled for a day in the freezer.
3. If you find bugs and larvae in beans or peas, you can get rid of them as follows. Pour the beans with salt water and leave for a few minutes. When the larvae and the insects themselves float to the surface, the water must be drained and the dried legumes dried.
4. It is better to throw away heavily damaged products by pests, because by eating them you can cause irreparable harm to health.
5. To forget about bugs in a table or kitchen cabinet, you first need to get rid of larvae and eggs of insects. All cabinets should be freed from food and wiped with a solution of vinegar. For one liter of water, it is enough to take one tablespoon of liquid. Slots of drawers need to be filled with boiling water. Jars in which flour and cereals are stored should be thoroughly washed with laundry soap and then doused with hot water. If fabric bags were used to store food, then a salt solution is suitable for processing them. There is no need to rinse, then the bugs will not again lay eggs in them.
How to get rid of bugs in flour and cereals: folk remedies
Also, to combat harmful insects in the kitchen, you can use folk remedies:
1. Pyrethrum powder saves from flour bugs. This product can be purchased at the pharmacy. It is necessary to process the shelves of the cabinets once a week until the pests disappear completely.
2. Kitchen insects do not tolerate pungent odors. Citrus peels, garlic, bay leaves and nutmeg will come to your aid. Place these products in the corners of the cabinets after cleaning.
3. Aromatic lavender will help get rid of food moth. You can use both a small bouquet of these odorous flowers wrapped in gauze, and lavender essential oil, applied to cotton swabs.
4. In places where cereals and flour are stored, place cotton pads with aromatic oils of any of these plants: rosemary, geranium, cloves, basil or fir.
5. Sprigs of wormwood, placed in kitchen cabinets, scare away insects.
6. Insects will forget about your products if you place fresh walnut leaves with a specific smell in the corners of the cabinets.
How to get rid of bugs in cereals using borax
Borax is a multifunctional tool that is widely used in everyday life. With it, you can not only perfectly clean the toilet, but also effectively deal with mold, mice and kitchen bugs.
1. You can get rid of insects in the house by preparing balls according to a special recipe. According to the proven method, you will need the following ingredients:
• icing sugar;
• millet;
• borax.
Millet needs to grind on a coffee grinder. Mix all components in equal proportions and roll balls from them. Cabinets should first be washed and disinfected. In the corners we arrange the prepared balls. We update them from time to time.
2. Another mixture also helps with insects. To prepare it you will need:
• dry yeast;
• sugar;
• borax.
The components should be finely ground, poured onto pieces of paper and laid out in those places in the kitchen where annoying insects settled. Experience shows that after some time the pests will disappear.
These methods are not only effective, but also safe. So, compounds with borax are harmless to pets and people.
How to get rid of bugs in cereals: prevention
1. Keep your kitchen tables and cupboards perfectly clean.
2. Use tight containers to store cereals and flour.
3. Do not purchase products "in reserve."
4. From time to time, check the food supply for insects.
5. You can also make canvas bags to store food. Before use, they must be boiled for half an hour in a strong salt solution. Iron them when they are dry. In such bags, insects will no longer start.
6. Since pests are most often brought to the house from the store, after purchasing the cereal, it is recommended to put it in the freezer for a day or warm it in the oven. Under the influence of temperatures, the larvae will die and will not be able to populate the kitchen.
7. To avoid the appearance of bugs in nuts and dried fruits, store them in the refrigerator.
8. Ensure that the kitchen is regularly ventilated. Many insects do not tolerate fresh air.
9. If you find insects or larvae in the acquired cereals, it is best to immediately discard such a purchase. For this reason, do not buy potentially dangerous products at a lower cost.
10. Ventilation openings in the apartment should be closed in advance with a fine mesh.
11. In a container with cereals, it is desirable to put a clove of garlic. This does not affect the taste of the products.
12. Make sure that the surface of the sink and tables in the kitchen are always dry, as insects need constant sources of water.
13. Do not leave dirty dishes in the sink for a long time.
14. Hide the remaining food in the refrigerator.
15. Clean your kitchen regularly.
Insects in the kitchen is not a sentence. Now you know how to get rid of annoying pests that encroach on food supplies. Using some simple tips, you will forever forget about such a misfortune as kitchen bugs.
