Get Rid Of Flour Beetles In Your Lewisville Pantry Once And For All

The flour beetle, Tribolium confusum, also referred to as the confused flour beetle is a common pantry pest that you could find in your Lewisville pantry. Confused flour beetle? We think not! They know exactly what they're doing when they invade your food. But do you know why confused flour beetles get into your food? If you are confused, we have a few facts that will help you get a better understanding of these pests.

How Flour Beetles Get Inside

Confused flour beetles and red flour beetles are the most common flour beetles in the United States. Both are a reddish-brown color. Both are about 3 to 6 mm in length. And both get into homes in one of two ways. They will come in from the outside through gaps, cracks, and holes, or they will be carried in within food packages. The reason the confused flour beetle got its name is because it has often been confused with the red flour beetle.

Food Items That Flour Beetles Infest

The list of food that these insects can infest is quite a long one, but they do have foods that they prefer. Some of the more common items are cereal, spices, coffee, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, and of course, flour.

Flour Beetle Prevention Tips

• There are many pests that can get into your home and find their way into your pantry or kitchen foods, most of which can be kept out of your home with routine pest control treatments performed around your exterior. Flour beetles, and other pantry pests, require a little more effort. Here are some tips to help you keep these insects from being a part of your meals or snack times.
• Closely examine products before you purchase them from the grocery store. If you see the tiniest rip or hole, select another package for purchase.
• Consider storing pantry items in sealed glass or plastic containers. This will serve two purposes. Those containers will help you to see adult insects, mealworms, or eggs in your food before you eat them, and they'll prevent an infestation from spreading.
• Do an inspection of your home's exterior. Seal any gaps, holes, or cracks you find, no matter how small. Replace damaged door sweeps and weatherstripping around exterior doors. Make sure all your doors and windows have no gaps around the outside edges of the frames, or holes in the frames. If wood-damaging pests have created holes in your door or window frames, you can use a caulking gun to patch those holes temporarily.
• Inspect your pantry and food-storage rooms. Use a caulking gun to seal up cracks, crevices, and holes.