Have you ever noticed flour bugs in your rice, cereal or pasta? Let’s talk about what they are exactly, how they got there, whether or not it’s safe to eat the food and what you can do to keep them from coming back!
Buying items in bulk is one of the best grocery saving tips that continues to work month after month, but I do wonder if the 50 pounds of flour sitting in my closet (in it’s original thick paper bag) is the best way to store it.
Growing up, my mom had mentioned something about flour bugs, but I’ve never seen them before. Or maybe I’ve just never noticed them before?
I admit – seeing flour bugs or even bugs in your whole grains, rice and pasta can be pretty gross – but all is not lost and in fact, it’s pretty common!
Why am I finding flour bugs?
This is a pretty loaded question, and one that often comes with more questions too. The best way I can think of addressing it all is to lay it all out, question-and-answer style.
Does flour go bad?
The short answer: Yes.
The long answer: The more processed the flour is, the longer it takes to go bad.
Flour is made from a whole grain, with the most common whole grain being wheat. Once the grain is no longer whole, the oils from the outer portion of the grain can go rancid (or sour, stale, etc.).
Freshly milled flour will go rancid much more quickly than store-bought all-purpose flour will. That’s because freshly milled flour will contain both the germ and the bran (natural oils are found in both of these places). All-purpose flour though, only contains the endosperm and very little oils.
This is why home bakers who grind their own wheat will make flour just before they use them in recipes.
Related: How to make flour without a grain mill
Where should we store flour?
Going back to the level of processing, all-purpose and other non-whole grain flours can be stored in a cool, dry place without any issues for about one year.
Whole grain flours should be kept in a refrigerator for the short term, about 2-5 days. If you need to store whole grain flour for longer than a handful of days, the freezer is the best place.
How should we store flour?
If the flour will be used fairly quickly, it can be left open or in a container with a lid.
Think about local bakeries and delis – they’ll often have a bucket of flour open on the counter or a lid may be slightly ajar. They will use a good bit of flour in a single day, so sealing it up tight isn’t an issue.
If the flour will be used within a month or two, it should be kept in a sealed container.
One to two months is considered “quick” in terms of flour usage, so you can keep your flour in a container that is NOT sealed (i.e. the same thick paper bag, rolled down) but the chances of the flour going rancid increase.
If the flour will not be completely consumed within two months, it should be stored in a sealed container.
What type of storage container is best for flour?
Depending on the quantity of flour on hand, there are food-grade buckets are available in a wide variety of sizes.
1 gallon buckets with lids would be best for daily use or the pantry. They’re light enough to move from counter to pantry and back, but big enough so that you’re not constantly refilling the flour every time you make bread.
3.5 gallon buckets with lids are best for keeping on the floor of the pantry or in a nearby closet. This is where you’d keep the majority of the flour, refilling the 1 gallon bucket with the flour from the 3.5 gallon bucket. These will be too heavy to easily use in daily baking, but not so heavy that you couldn’t slide it on the floor or pick it up if you absolutely had to.
5 gallon buckets with lids are best for long-term storage in a basement or garage or excess pantry. This size will be too big for most people, but is ideal for those who buy whole grains in bulk. You’d keep your whole grains in this bucket and bring the smaller 3.5 gallon bucket to this one when it’s empty for a refill. Then you’d grind your flour and fill up the small 1 gallon bucket.
Why are there flour bugs in grains?
If you notice little brown bugs in your flour, cereal, grain or rice, those are called weevils. Weevils look like little grains of rice, but they’re brown and they move. On their own.
Ever notice your flour tangled in something that looks like a cobweb? That means your flour is infested too.
Have no fear – flour bugs don’t just suddenly appear in your flour one day because you forgot to mop some mysterious sticky substance that one of your children accidentally spilled in your pantry. If you see flour bugs, they were already there when you bought it.
The female weevil lays eggs in the wheat kernel and it can sometimes survive the milling process. The eggs will hatch if they’re in warm or humid conditions, or have reached their maturity. The flour bugs eat the grain and then seek to mate… while eating more grain.
Why are there flour bugs in my boxed cereal?
Weevils aren’t particular about what they eat. If you find them in any other seemingly sealed spot, they’ve weaseled their way out of their original infestation spot and meandered to your rice, or cereal, or coffee.
Essentially, this means what you’ve already eaten was infested too.
Weevils are also not particular about containers. Thin cardboard boxes that cereal comes in, thin paper bags that flour comes in and even the plastic bags inside cereal and cracker boxes are no match for weevils.
The best containers to keep your dry goods in while keeping weevils out are these food-grade containers with lids that seal:
What can I do to prevent eating beetles?
1. Clean the Area.
First, get rid of the infested item.
Remove everything from the area, vacuum out any cracks and sanitize the shelves with white vinegar. If you’re sensitive to the smell of vinegar, make citrus-infused vinegar instead.
Check areas regularly for re-infestation as it may take awhile to completely rid of all flour bugs and larvae, and clean your storage area regularly.
2. Store dry goods properly.
Freeze newly purchased grains and flour for at least three days to kill any eggs. Some sources recommend freezing for up to one week. (Note that freezing will kill the eggs, but not remove them.)
As a general guideline, don’t buy more grain than you will use within four months. Store grains in a tightly sealed container, not a bag. Weevils are HUNGRY little devils and can eat through bags. (See my storage recommendations above).
3. Prevent Future Infestation
Adding whole bay leaves and garlic cloves to the area seems to deter flour bugs from setting up shop in your pantry. Garlic may leave a trace flavor in your baked goods, so if you don’t want that, go for the bay leaves instead.
Other Ideas for Preventing Flour Bugs
I haven’t tested all of these ideas myself, but if bay leaves and/or tea tree oil haven’t worked for you, readers also suggest:
- Food grade Diatomaceous Earth
- Lock & Lock Food Storage Bins
- Applying tea tree oil to a few cotton balls and place them throughout the pantry
- Dried Chilis
Will eating beetles harm me?
Other than give you the heebie jeebies, they’re harmless. In fact, the heat from baking kills the eggs and any beetles that may have made their way into your batter. So while the odds of us eating weevils – or have eaten weevils in the past – are high, the mortality rate is low.
Flour Bugs are very common. But there are ways to prevent them from showing up.
- Store your flour in food grade buckets with sealed lids – use 1-gallon, 3.5-gallon, or 5-gallon depending on where you are storing and how often you access your flour. Same goes for grain. (These storage bins would work well for everyday use.)
- Make sure to keep your pantry or storage area clean. Add bay leaves and garlic, cotton balls soaked in tea tree oil, or sprinkle the area with diatomaceous earth.
- Don’t sweat too much if you find evidence of the bugs. They won’t harm you! It’s just not too fun to eat bugs…
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Fareen
How do you get rid of the eggs once they’ve been killed in the freezer? This will haunt me now 😳
Tiffany
The only way I know is if you sift the flour, but even then, you may not find them.
Andy
Yeah, thanks for the article. I found hundreds of them in some old pet food that had grain and things in. Thought that when I got rid of that, I’d get rid of the problem. I kept finding the odd one here and there, including floating in my water filter!
Then I found this, and learned that they are flour bugs. So I checked my flour, and discovered that the one with the best before date of November 2017 had black dots in, and on closer inspection they were weevils. So I got rid of that bag of flour. Normally I go by the “if it looks/smels/feels ok, then damn the use by date”. I hope that’s the end of it!
Tiffany
I hope so too!
Louise
So glad I found this article! I was really worrying why we were finding these little bugs in everything! At first I thought it was our rice…then noticed them in our sugar, then flour, then sesame seeds, and just now I opened my large Costco bag of flour and found so many in there!! Ugh!
It makes me feel better knowing that we are still safe having eaten the flour and rice….just gross to see! I hope they don’t keep coming back…will try your tips above. Thanks!!
Tiffany
You’re most welcome!!
gmoney
Thanks for all the tips especially Tiffany
gmoney
Found those little critters in my 5lb bag of sugar. I pored it out and saved the bag to take back to the store but decided to throw the bag away, since I didn’t want any leftover critters. Found more in flour, oatmeal container etc. Cleaned shelves with bleach and white vinegar. Put bay leaves on shelves. That was today. Hope it works.
Rita M Miller
thanks, Tiff, we all could use a smile now and then!
Rita M Miller
Tiffiny, I have a “weevil” type experience to share : ) I was low on food in my cupboard and found an old box of spaghetti, ok I can cook this as I had a can of pasta sauce. well, I cooked 1/2 of the box then drained, put back into pot started to pour the sauce OHHH NOO! ittle bitty brown/black spots in my spaghetti! ( this was the only food I had left ) as I hate shopping. So I went to the sink and started to wash off, pick out the “weevils.That was useless! dumped it all in trash put more water on to boil and cook rest of the spaghetti,first inspecting for “weevils”.NONE FOUND!! WEEEEE!!started to boil spaghetti I put salt and pepper in the water….OK bright woman, It was PEPPER I saw in the first batch, not weevils!! ohhh how I laughed at myself.
Tiffany
LOL – this made me laugh Rita!! Thank you for sharing! ♥
Stacey
I’ve actually seen the weevil in my flour stored in my cabinet in its rolled down white bag, ha ha. I’ve thrown some of the flour out and cooked with the rest while the little critters still crawled. I figured that if i cook it in hot oil that it will die and not cause no harm. (I seriously thought it was wheat germ). Well other than creeping me out it caused no harm. Next time I’ll freeze my flour or store it in my glass container with a lid
jan
I have to admit that I haven’t read all the posts so forgive me if this a repeat comment/question.
I found weevils in a zip lock sealed bag of organic whole wheat flour the other day. I have to say I was freaked out to see all these little brown squirmers on the top of the flour. Anyway, my question is that if the bugs were in the flour when I bought it then what are the chances that they remained contained In that one bag? I also had a bag of bran, also zip lock sealed in a thick plastic bag (original container) but since I could not tell the difference between the bugs and the bran because they are the same colour. So, threw the bran out too. Do you think I need to do a big clean or do you think the weevils would have been isolated to the flour?
Thank you for this site!
Tiffany
Hi Jan! Short answer – dump what’s contaminated, wipe down the shelves and put bay leaves everywhere. Then check open bags carefully to monitor. 🙂
Maxina
Okay so my roommate and I need serious help!! Today I went to make this white rice (store brand from Walmart never opened) and once I opened it I noticed a few bugs dead and a few alive in my rice. My roomie has another organic brand of rice with no bugs and still unopened. I have most of my flour in big glass jar that I just bought and the rest in the bag rolled up & I have a bunch of pasta in there too. My roomie and I are both a bit paranoid when it comes to food (expired food, mold, etc..) so when we become suspicious about something we most likely just toss it. So I’m looking for some advice before I go and throw out every item in my pantry.
Anything helps really! Were Both in our twenties and still trying to get used to living alone and independent & my moms not answering the phone!
Tiffany
Maxina – honestly, I’d toss the rice with the bugs, keep everything else, wipe down the counters and stick some bay leaves everywhere. 🙂
Maxina
Thank you Tiffany! Mom just called me back and told me to do the same thing!!
Linda
It is awesome comment.
Thanks Tiffany
Jessie Mojica-Angui
This bugs wants to get caffeine too, you know. Lol 😉😁😉
Jennifer
I like this article and the comments. Never thought much about these bugs, till tonight I got out the flour to make cookies & there were dead & live ones!! Gonna get bay laves & actually just this week got out my mother-in-law’s round storage containers! Coincidence?!?!? Weird. Good advice & help here!! Thank you
andrew susay
Dried chills works too. Place them in a container already infected and they just seem to die out. I also leave them in the pantry cupboard as well.
Audriana
This is so gross. I’ve never heard of this until recently. I keep my flour in a metal container like those you get popcorn in at the store. And pancake mix in it’s packaging. Never ever seen or heard of this. I’m so freaked out now. So what’s best to store it in? Glass? The fridge?
Heather (contributing author)
Airtight containers or the fridge can definitely help. And don’t worry too much, I’ve had flour and grain for a long time and haven’t had problems. This is just a potential issue for those with real food ingredients stored up!
Sanjay
We in India use boric acid in powdered form to keep out weevils. We normally store rice for one year purchasing in bulk about 50-150 pounds at one go depending upon size of family. It is freely available. Only rice should be throughly washed twice or thrice before consuming. Quantity used is 200 grams of boric powder for say 50 pound of rice.
Leslie L.
I have plastic sealed container of wheat flour that had previously been in my freezer for a few months. I took it out of the cabinet to use (on shelf for 2-3 months?) and it is covered in tiny bugs. By tiny, I mean 1-2mm long, super tiny. I thought putting the bag straight in the freezer after purchase would kill all eggs. Help!
Tiffany
I’m so sorry Leslie! Many times the bugs are already there when we buy it, so putting it in the freezing won’t do much good. It might kill the existing, but it won’t make them disappear if they were there already. At least it was just the one bag though. If you had stored it in the pantry, they’d escape and contaminate everything!
John Haidra
Flour bugs can be prevented by putting salt in the flour.
Then no bugs can be created in it..! We use this way for centuries in Middle East.Whenever we have a lot of flour ,we usually buy them in packs of 50kg =111 lb.
The idea if you have for example a pack of 5lb=2.25kg you will need 45 gr.=1.5 0z to salt it =2%.You can have a one gallon plastic canister for a 5lb flour bag,which usually sold in grocery store or online.
After you put salt shake it well until it mixes good then put the lid on it ..then you can store it for months without fear of bugs.!
anywhere in your kitchen or home..
Whenever you need to cook you do not have to add salt because it is already salted.!
Try this idea it is proven ,and you will see results by yourself,it is easy fast, cheap, convenient, and everybody can do it.!
Sharon
There weevils and flour mites that are commonly found in any type of grain (think flour, crackers, cereal, and even chocolate). Years ago I moved into an apartment that had these when I moved in. The exterminator came and sprayed. He said to wait a few days before I put my dishes back into the cupboards. He also explained that you bring them home with you when you buy any type of grain. He recommended putting any grain in the freezer overnight when you bring it home. The adults and eggs are still in the grain, but it prevents an infestation. I have followed this rule. I found that Tupperware with non-round shapes did not keep bugs out and at the time Tupperware said they were not air-tight. I had a problem after initial freezing and air-tight containers. I decided to thoroughly clean my cabinets, including the tops of the cupboards. There they were, sprinkled on top. Since then I have used bleach. pinesol and other cleaners and once the wood is cleaned they seem to stay away. Once again we had a problem until my roommate discovered a little powder on the counter top when she was doing dishes. They were in her wood cutting board. I also found them in my wood trivet. After soaking it in water (I was willing to take the chance of ruining it) they did not survive. I had a new roommate and had the problem. We found them in a box of tart tins that had a little bit of flour on them when she put them away. I was told again by an exterminator that yes, they can live in wood. I now clean my cabinets inside and out and on top when I move into a house or apartment. In apartments you may have to do this more often depending on your neighbors. I freeze grains on purchase and when I use a grain such as flour I wipe down the outside of the container when I put it away so I’m not supplying a food source. I also no longer use wood trivets. I have not had problems in years. It is easy to think you have covered your bases, and these measures are tedious especially if you bake as much as I do and have the variety of grains I have. But these bugs can be relentless so you have to be too.
Annie
Wowww both weevils and flour mites live in wood? I have flour mites now and I’ve had multiple breakdowns, I removed all the good sources about 2 weeks ago but they hid in cardboard stuff and paper I’m so sad like they’ll never love. Can they survive in cardboard stuff and paper without any food it’s getting me so depressed if ordered DE but if they’re hiding it won’t work well right? Please helpppp
Kyare - Team Crumbs
Annie, follow this post and it should help.
Viola
I found dead maggots in my newly purchased rice. I wouldn’t be concerned if they were alive,
but they are all dead. Does it mean the rice is full with pesticide so they couldn’t survive? Is this
something normal or should I be concerned?