Little brown bugs in the kitchen

The first step is to find out the reasons why pests appear on your territory and what products and cereals they prefer.

It is important to know that bugs appear where there is access to food. This can be not only open cans or bags, but also scattered crumbs in cabinets and on tables.

Pests give their preference to cereals and pasta. By the way, other pests, such as moths, are not against eating such food.

What bugs can appear in the kitchen and how they enter

When you realize that these pests have infested your cereals, it is important to understand what kind of pest it is and choose an effective way to destroy it. There are several types of bugs that spoil bulk products:

• bread grinder;
• flour bug;
• red mucous eater;
• food moth.

Bread grinder

Very small bugs that are light brown in color. They can fly. Favorite delicacy of pests:

• Bakery products.
• Medicinal herbs.
• Tea and coffee.

The method of entry into the home is through contaminated store products or animal feed.

flour bugs

These pests give preference to flour products. They will not refuse to eat starch, rice, semolina and other cereals.

The method of entry into the apartment is that the owners themselves can bring them into their home along with boxes of cereals.

Flour bugs have one peculiarity - they multiply quickly. Female bugs lay eggs and hide them well in crevices in the kitchen or on the shelves of your cabinets. Newly “born” bugs scatter around the house at lightning speed in search of food.

Rufous common mucoed

The maximum length of the pest does not exceed 2.5 millimeters.

It enters the premises along with low-quality animal feed.

Food preferences are given to:

• Flour that has expired at a moisture content of no more than 15%.
• Grain and other cereals.
• It’s easy to fight it; you need to block the paths to power sources.

food moth

Its length can reach 10 centimeters, so it is difficult not to notice it. These pests prefer such cereals as:

• buckwheat grain;
• semolina;
• rice cereal;
• Hercules;
• flour.

How can you tell if you have small bugs in your grains? It's not difficult, you will see a web that consists of small yellow worms.

What are the types of such beetles?

Before you begin work on exterminating this insect, you need to clearly know what type of beetles appeared. This will help you get rid of it most effectively.

Perhaps a grinder appeared. This is a beetle that feeds exclusively on wood products. His favorite is old furniture. It can also feed on old books; over a certain period of time, it grinds the pages to a flour-like state and lays eggs there. After that, this is the habitat of the larvae of the borer. And they are precisely omnivores.

The flour beetle is also not the rarest guest in the kitchen. It mainly occurs in flour and cereals. The size of such a beetle can reach only 2-4 mm. The color range varies from dark yellow to brown. Mucoeds are much smaller in size and are not picky about food. In addition to flour and cereals, they also feed on wooden furniture and books.

In addition to these two types of beetles, carpet beetles can also appear. This variety is not distinguished by its harmlessness. It can really harm both the entire home and human health. The carpet beetle is known in various forms, but not everyone can get along in an apartment. The main inhabitants of the apartments are the following:

• ham. The body is black, the antennae are yellow. Oblong in shape. The most common type;
• carpet The larvae of this insect are mainly dangerous. The beetles are brown in color. Feeds mainly on dust. Adult beetles do not feed at all, as they have a huge supply of nutrients;
• The fur coat beetle is the most harmful beetle compared to the rest. The color is black spotted. Uses food as food;
• Kozheed Smirnova. The diameter of the beetle reaches 3 mm. Coloring page brown. Lives mainly on lamps and window sills.

Such an insect can appear at any time of the year. The place for them to enter a living space can be either an open window or ventilation holes. Some species disappear with cold weather, while others, on the contrary, live throughout the year.

First of all, you need to look for bugs in open bags of cereals. It is thanks to the open space that it is easiest for beetles to climb. If there are a lot of beetles in such a bag, then you need to take active action, because they have already penetrated into closed containers with cereals. The hole that such a beetle gnaws is very small and is not visible to the human eye.

It is necessary to inspect the entire food supply; beetles can infest not only cereals, but also sugar, pasta, and flour.

There will be no such insects in salt; they have a negative attitude towards it.

The ideal location for beetles is beans. This is a favorite delicacy of such pests. Beans are best stored in the freezer. If this is not possible, then even a closed bag and container will still get a beetle.

It is not uncommon for beans to harbor a special type of beetle. Do not forget that the larvae of such beetles have been in beans before, they just remain dormant for a long time. As soon as the beans are transferred to a warm room, the larvae turn into full-fledged beetles, after which holes and spots appear on the beans. Therefore, to prevent pests, beans must be kept in the freezer.

Attention should also be paid to medicines and spices. Beetles love mustard plasters very much, even despite their bitter taste. Therefore, it is also necessary to check the mustard plasters. The packaging with patches and tablets also deserves special attention. You need to thoroughly check the entire medicine cabinet. It happens that if you put things in order, the beetles themselves crawl out into a visible place. Spices and seasonings can also harbor pests.

Coffee, dried fruits, and tea also do not go unnoticed by beetles. Housewives constantly forget about these products. And if a brown beetle gets into a coffee can, it will be very difficult to find them. If you make a drink, then such beetles will emerge. And the sight is very creepy. Therefore, it is simply necessary to monitor such containers.

Preventive measures against bugs

To ensure that you do not encounter “uninvited guests” in your kitchen who do not bring joy, it is important to follow simple rules of prevention that will help you live in peace.

• After purchasing various types of cereals, put them in the oven for a few minutes (25 - 30) and warm them up at a low temperature.
• Bulk cereals must be placed in the freezer for one day. Attention! Pack all cereals in a dry container.
• Dried fruits. It is better to immediately treat them under running boiled water, then rinse them and store them strictly in the refrigerator.
• After the store, inspect all purchased products, including cereals. If you see contamination in the packaging or signs of contamination, dispose of it immediately. Don’t just throw it in the trash, but rather recycle it for good.

Cereals or other bulk products can be stored in metal or plastic containers - jars, bags made of natural linens.

The most common reason for the appearance of bugs is the inability to monitor the shelf life of products. In order not to create all the conditions for a good life for pests, buy cereals, dried fruits, tea and coffee for a short period of time so that you do not have them for years.

To do this, you need to know which cereals are stored for how long:

• Cereals such as rice, semolina, flour and buckwheat can be stored for no more than six months, after which they need to be disposed of.
• The maximum shelf life of oatmeal and millet is 4 months, after which these products must also be disposed of.
• Polished rice. Here it breaks all records for shelf life. It has been proven that if this type of rice is stored for a long time, it becomes even better, acquiring more taste.

As long as you follow the above procedures, you won't have to worry about encountering bugs in your home.

If somehow pests somehow entered your kitchen and began to infect your food, then you need to resort to methods of destruction.

Prevention of recurrence

There are certain preventive measures to prevent the appearance of unpleasant insects:

• Purchase products as needed. Long-term storage contributes to the appearance of pests and loss of taste.
• Use a dry, cool room to store cereals, with good ventilation.
• Storage of bulk products in glass containers with tight lids and perforated plastic bags. Linen bags and metal containers are also suitable for this purpose.
• In winter, store cereals on the balcony or loggia.
• Compliance with product expiration dates. For example, millet cereals are stored for no more than 3 months, buckwheat and rice - up to 6 months, flour and dried fruits - 1 year.

Important! If pests are found in a package of cereals, then you need to immediately check the supplies and conduct a thorough cleaning of your home. A solution of soda, salt and vinegar is suitable for this purpose.

There are no ideal ways to remove bugs. You cannot be sure of the integrity of the cereal manufacturer, even if vacuum packaging is used.

Therefore, the key to preventing the appearance of beetles is to regularly clean the kitchen area using disinfectants, inspect food supplies, and adhere to storage deadlines.

Thermal method of pest control

Thermal method – treatment of containers with cereals at elevated temperatures. The temperature may exceed more than 50 degrees in the oven. You can also put your savings in the freezer, as mentioned earlier. Bugs die at high temperatures above 50 degrees and at low temperatures - 15 degrees.

Once you've eradicated all the pests from your cabinets and surfaces, it's time to treat any leftover food where the bugs were living. Place leftover food in water and all those bugs that were not eliminated will simply float to the surface.

It is better to completely get rid of all existing products, since they have already been infested with larvae and are not suitable for use.

What insects live in cereals?

In houses and apartments, several types of insects most often live, feeding on cereals, flour products, dried fruits, nuts or spices:

1. bread grinder;
2. red (Surinamese) mucoed;
3. flour beetle;
4. food moth;
5. weevil.

Bread grinders most often live in bakeries and bakeries; they are rarely found in houses, unless they were brought with some purchased products. They are brown bugs up to 3 mm in length. They can fly, often flying towards the light towards the windows. In addition to dry bread and crumbs, any grains, tea, dried plants, dry paper (books), and animal feed can be eaten.

The red (or Surinamese) flour eater is a fan of eating flour, grain or cereals. This pest lives and reproduces only in high humidity; it does not spoil well-dried grain and flour. Externally, these are reddish-brown bugs about 2mm long. The beetle larva is small - no more than 0.8 mm; it is difficult to see it in the rump. The mucoed is very prolific. But in an ordinary apartment with good ventilation and normal air humidity, mucous eaters do not live long. They enter the house with poorly dried, low-quality raw materials.

The mealworm is a small red-brown insect 3-4 mm long. Likes to live in different types of flour, semolina and millet cereals, oatmeal. Less commonly colonizes stocks of rice, buckwheat and dried fruits. These beetles multiply quickly both in cereals and in kitchen furniture and dishes.

Chemical effects on pests

If you have tried the methods listed above and nothing helps, use the most powerful weapon - chemical treatment.

What drugs can be used? "Karbafos" and "Anti-bug" .

“Anti-bug” has special power and will help you get rid of not only “kitchen guests”, but also other pests in your home that spoil wood, parquet and cause other damage to your property.

Before use, be sure to read the instructions and follow safety precautions. Be sure to wear gloves and masks.

You can also use the drug "Rogneda" . It belongs to the category of good antiseptics, which will also help you in the fight against insects (flour beetles, weevils, cockroaches and other pests).

"Lovin Fire Protection" . This medication should only be used when there are no children or pets at home. It will help you quickly and effectively get rid of “uninvited guests”.

Prevention of skin beetles

To never again encounter the appearance of small brown bugs in your apartment, do not forget about prevention:

In the summer, protect the windows with fine mesh nets; Place the same nets for ventilation; Cover all cracks or crevices with polyurethane foam or plaster; Make cosmetic repairs Before sending seasonal items for storage, spray them with a light solution of permethrin. When you want to wear it again, wash it first;

Periodically arrange sudden temperature fluctuations; Spray fur coats and hats with an aerosol and place them in bags before storing; Ventilate the room at any time of the year; Inspect clothes and interior items from time to time; Keep the house clean.

See also: How to properly store cereals to prevent bugs?

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