Identifying Pantry Pests

Bugs in stored food are common and most certainly undesirable. How do you know if your pantry is infested with pests? What foods are most likely to be affected? What are the most common pantry pests and how do you know if they are in your food?

I’ll be answering all these questions. Knowing what to look for is the first step toward ensuring that your food is not contaminated by pesky bugs.

Which Food Types Are Most Commonly Affected by Pests?

Pantry pests usually contaminate food that has been opened and then stored without being properly sealed. They can also find their way into unopened paper, foil, cardboard, or plastic packaging by chewing through the container.

You will often find pantry pests in the following types of foods:

• Cereals like rice, flour, crackers, cornmeal, cookies, and cake mix
• Pasta products
• Cured meat
• Seeds, dried, beans, and popcorn
• Tea
• Nuts
• Powdered milk
• Dry pet food
• Chocolate
• Spices
• Dried fruit and raisins

How to Identify Common Pantry Pests

There are three types of insects that are commonly found in food.

Moths

Indian Meal Moths

Indian Meal Moths have reddish-brown wings, turning gray near the top, with a span of ” to /₈”. The larvae grow up to about” and are white with shades of yellow, green, pink, or brown. It is the larva that lives in stored food. When they mature, the moths can fly long distances in search of new food supplies in which to lay their eggs.

You will be able to identify the presence of India Meal moths by a silk web in the food container.

Meal Moths

These moths are easily distinguished by their body shape, which is 90a to the wings when at rest. They have a wingspan of approximately ” to 1”. Their wings are dark reddish-brown, growing paler toward the tips with a yellow to olive green band.

Distinguishing white wave patterns makes it relatively easy to identify these moths. The larvae are white with a black head, turning orange toward the end of the body.

They are not very common and feed mostly on seeds, as well as flour and grain products.

Beetles

There are numerous beetles known to feed on dried foods, seeds, nuts, meat, and chocolate:

• Saw-toothed Grain Beetles grow to about '/ o” and are a dark reddish-brown color. They are easily identified by their saw-like teeth on either side of the thorax. Larvae are about '/8” with a pale cream coloring.
• Drugstore Beetles have an oval shape about 'lb” in length. They are brown with an easily identified head shape that bends downwards. The larvae are a white/yellow color measuring about '/8”.
• Cigarette Beetles are similar to Drugstore beetles, being around ’/8” with a brown oval body.
• Flour Beetles have a long elongated body, measuring 3/ 6”. They are reddish- brown. The larvae are pale cream to white and are ’/4” long.
• Warehouse Beetles can be recognized by a dark mottled pattern on brown to yellow wings. They measure '/8” to 3/ ”. The larvae have a narrow body about '/4” long with yellow/brown coloring. They can be identified by their hairy appearance.
• Spider Beetles have long legs that give them their name, as they look a lot like spiders. They are a reddish-brown color and grow up to 3/Q6”.The larvae are hard to see, with a C-shaped body and white coloring.

Weevils

Maize, Granary, and Rice Weevils

These insects are noticeable by a long snout. They are dark brown, usually less than 3/ 6”. They eat exclusively grains and seeds. The larvae are white.

Bean Weevils

These oval-shaped insects measure about '/8” in length and have mottled patterns of light and dark brown. The larvae are also C-shaped, small, and white.