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Who Else Might Be Eating Your Cereal?

Pests can linger in more than the basement or the baseboards. Any dark, unused corner of your kitchen pantry could easily become home to invasive pests lurking in your grains or processed food. Infestations can start from purchasing infected grain or external entry through the typical cracks and crannies of a home.
What Are Common Food Pests?
Indian Meal Moth:
This moth is commonly referred to as a “weevil.” Larvae create silken webbing that clumps food particles together, one of the first signs of an infestation.

Confused Flour Beetles and Red Flour Beetles:
These small beetles easily make their way into loosely sealed storage containers. Both the Confused and Red Flour Beetles feed on milled grain products (i.e. flour) but leave whole grain kernels untouched.

Sawtoothed Grain Beetle:
These kitchen pests feed primarily on processed food products like cereal, bran, sugar, and oatmeal.
How Do I Recognize Them?
Fluttering Around the TV: Indianmeal moths are attracted to light like other moths. If you consistently notice moths hovering, check your food storage.
Bugs in the Kitchen: The first indication of an infestation is small insects in the kitchen cupboards or counters.
Check the Crevices: If more insects can be found in the cracks of your cupboards, start searching through your food containers for insect larvae.
What Can I Do?
Dispose of Infested Food: Look closely at all packaged food for signs of insects, larvae, or damage to the packages themselves. When you find evidence of an infestation, seal and wrap the bags before immediately disposing of them outside.
Secure the Rest: Store grains and other dried foods in sealed, insect-proof containers such as glass, thick plastic, or metal.
Add the Pantries to Your House-Keeping List: Regularly, thoroughly clean food storage areas. Don’t allow crumbs or loose grains to pile up.

Call the Experts: If the infestation is more prevalent, put a stop to it once and for all. Contact ANTEX Exterminating for a free quote.

Worried you might have an infestation? Call us at (910) 822-0099 to set up a free consultation today.