to think that flour with a use by date of July 2010 shouldn't have sodding weevils in!

[Rockbird]

OK, I admit, it's been in the cupboard for a while although unopened. Obviously, this flour is not going to last until July 2010 and the chocolate cake I was just about to make for DH is not going to happen. Little Homepride gits.

WTF do they come from??

They are in your cupbaoard I'm afraid. need to empy the cupboard and get rid of weevilly stuff and then keep flour etc in plastic boxes or tins for a fw months til the little buggers have gone

EEEEEEKKKKK!!!!

I have had to reorganise kitchen cos of them. Cupboard has been disinfected and is out of use until I can bear to put ANYTHING in it again. Fortuantely its just one cupboard on its own, doesn't join to any others so I don't need to move house to escape em

What are weevils? Are they harmful if cooked in a pancake? My flour is very old...

We got them a few years ago, found them in a bread mix. Then started investigating and found one or two in practically every cupboard in the kitchen had to strip and bleach the lot I'm afraid to say. This was two days before we were having a house party for DD's Christening .

The source (ie the most heavily contaminated item) appeared to be some bird seed which we kept in the kitchen in a plastic box. Bird food has never entered my kitchen since, lives in the shed.

All dry goods now encased in airtight plastic....

My ma had weevils in her flour. That sounds like a song.....

Oh we had a major infestation like that when we first moved in here for the same reasons. MIL had given me a shedload of birdseed (me? That well known bird lover which unfortunately I didn't keep in the shed, thought it was like muesli. That did require major cleaning out of kitchen. This seems localised though. Cupboard looks ok and I've just made the cake with flour that looked fine and dandy, ironically dated Feb 2010...

Am definitely going out for tupperware tomorrow though. Ugh. Had forgotten about that, didn't realise they were weevils as well.

Nothing to do with the date on it though. Weevils get into flour, they don't read teh packet and pick old batches!

I keep flour in the freezer, have done since we lived in Singapore for a couple of years.

www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th7a.htm these are the little devils that get in our flour and cereal packets

Eurrrrghh. Will have to inspect my cupboards now!

you dilly ,thats not the actual size.... they are 1/4 inch long

if they were 4 inches long they wouldnt be in the bag ,they would have carried it out of your cupboard

@ runnybottom's date-reading weevils

Erm.....my MIL says that they live in the flour and only appear when the bag of flour is getting towards the end of the sell-by date and its not to do with them living in your cupboards!

So can I go and tell her shes wrong? Can I? Please?

I worked in a bakery for yeas and MrsBrendeanCole I'm afraid your MIL is right. they do live in the flour .
they will only hatch out in the right conditions. The plastic tubs stop them because of the lack of air.

Years even !

your MIL is right little feckers live in the flour - tis a horrible feeling when you go to make victoria sponge and the fecking flour is MOVING!

[feels sick]

[orders plastic containers for everything]