Flour mites

[mayazayanamelia]

Long post!

Can anybody please advise as I am losing my sanity :-(
We have an outbreak of flour mites, i threw out everything opened and unopened in the kitchen apart from tins. Cleaned cupboard with flash bleach and dried out units any new shopping in air tight containers. However 3 weeks in and I am finding several a day especially in bottom cupboards and on plinth. I bought diatomaceous powder food grade and put it in the cupboards and under unit by opening the plinth. Had several days of just finding odd one or even none only since weekend another influx even when i use washing machine i find a few crawling after its been used. I presume its the moisture. Probably ones not hatched long but I am going crazy that they may spread to rest of house from what i have read online. I have broken down crying and checking all cabinets etc everytime i walk in. Can anybody tell me anything else i can do? I work full time have kids and im actually making myself ill with all the constant super cleaning and worry.

I usually recommend diatomaceous earth but if it isn't working you will have to be a bit more brutal.

I lived in a rental house which seemed to have a selection of all the bugs available, including 'things in cupboards'. In the end I used a flea spray in the kitchen units. I emptied everything out and put it in another room, threw away anything dry or in a packet because they live in paper and card as well as flours and powders, and cleaned them, when dry I gave a spray of Frontline or Acclaim and shut the door of each one as soon as I had sprayed. Left them shut overnight, with the kitchen door closed, then open all day and night with the kitchen door closed.

Keep pets out of the room, especially small furries and fish, or anything that is not a cat or dog really and even then it is best not to expose them if you can help it.

You need to store foods in plastic bags inside containers with tightly fitting tops, no packets. If you don't want to throw it all out and don't mind using it, then put it in the freezer to kill the mites.

I am assuming you have weevils - tiny speck like creatures, although there are other things that live in grain and dried beans and pulses but they are bigger and beetly or moths.

Keep using the DE in cracks as it will reduce them if they are still there. It is not an instant fix but I can understand you not wanting to wait for it to work.

I had these in quite new packets of flour. I now only buy 500gm packets, store any unsused in Lock & Lock containers and search through flour before use.
Poor you, I can't imagine how you feel to have an epidemic!

I have bought the ziplock bags and put everything i can in those then in containers. All good was thrown away and I haven't actually found anymore in the foods touch wood, got rid of all flour and i bought 5kg flour bag (we make alot of bread) and i have split it into ziploc bags and put it un freezer. Im just finding them in the cupboards or i side cupboard door or in a few of the spare dishes i keep in one cupboard. They have decreased but not enough killed 2 absolute tiny ones walking near washing machine door. I have ordered a spray of DE and pytherin called Protector C hoping that will do trick. I am a natural worrier and it os a large house and i have kept it so clean yet these crawlies have left me feeling horrible. Husband doesn't understand but I just cam't stand them. Thank you for your advice I will try all of that as well.

You have my sympathy OP. When DS was little I had a horrendous outbreak of flour mites. They were in all cardboard boxes in yhe cupboards. When I was horrified that I may have eaten some, a pest controller said I was just getting extra protein!

The pest controller said that it can be down to cheap flour. He recommended a diy treatment of using fly spray in every nook and cranny of the kitchen cupboards. So sent my DS away and sprayed like crazy. The house reeked for days afterwards.

I got rid of most but not all. Solution in the end was to move house!

So to this day I can't bear to have flour in the house. I'm also paranoid about pasta and rice too. They are kept for minimum periods and get chucked asap.

Oh no I can't move as we have only just extended and renovated the whole house and moved back 18 months ago. I am still upstairs and i feel sick thinking about going downstairs. Im hoping the spray i have ordered will kill them all. A ftiend also had an outbreak anfmd said took over 1 month to clear them maybe I am just impatient, I have nothing un the bottom drawers apart abit of cutlery. I will take another look got any cardboards boxes type items as I have thrown everything out. Im just so scared in case they go to the rest of the house as I googled it and some people had posted it. Its soo depressing
All flour is in freezer and nything used watched and dried straightaway. X

So last night after crying my eyes out i put more DE all of the plinths. Still found 3 this am in two drawers and the cupboard under sink. Came home to find 2 and another two since as I am constantoy searching for them. Put DE in all the 'seams' of the cupboards and also more in the back of one cupboard. Also found a tiny leak in a metal pipe under sink. Can't fix it ourself so will call someone in to get it fixed as saw oe in the container we placed to catch the water. Hopefully spray will arrive tomorrow, if that doesnt work then will get everyone out of the house and spray it with flea killer and fumigate it using the flea bombs. Also lady from spray company said to use steam in nooks as it will burn the eggs but i thought moisture will make it worse?

Here's a link to some useful tips on dealing with the problem. I hope the link works.

m.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-and-Prevent-Flour-Mites

One point about drying them out is spot on. I remember the pest controller talking about humidity levels, but at time didn't know about dehumidifiers.

If you don't already have one buy a dehumidifer and stick it in the middle of the kitchen. There is another thread here about dehumidifiers. The one I have and recommend is the Meaco DD8L.

You can set it to different humidity levels. It even includes one for drying clothes quicker.

Before I renovated the bathroom I had a problem with tiny insects due the bathroom being damp and mouldy.

Having the Meaco on the automatic setting on the landing nearby helped enormously and I wouldn't see the the tiny insects. So give it a try.

You are assuming they are flour bugs which are weevils and are tiny, just specks.

I am thinking, after giving the advice above, that these are not flour mites at all but plaster beetles which are found when houses are renovated.

You haven't described the ones you have so it is hard to give the right advice. Flour weevils are very hard to spot, like little specks of pepper moving about in your flour. Plaster beetles are something else entirely.

buildingdefectanalysis.co.uk/damp/plaster-beetles/

If you don't read the replies you get before posting again in a panic you will miss the advice you are being given. I am saying this to try to help you because I know how it feels to be invaded by something you feel unable to eliminate.

Beaware I found your link really interesting. I agree that flour weevils are tiny. I now believe they are in the flour when you buy it and hatch out when the packet is opened. I've even had them in Waitrose flour, shock, horror,!

Not so long ago there were weevils in a LOT of flour in many shops. Supermarkets were accused of not storing it properly but the problem is once they are there they get in all of the bags. I check mine every time I use it. They hide in the folds of the paper bags.

There was also a recent outbreak of grain weevils in bird seed (these are a bit bigger than flour ones but look like the weevils you find in plants which are beetle sized).

There are little bugs that live on wallpaper paste, and then there are the plaster beetles... and many other little creatures that share our homes and our food.

I read the article linked to and now just feel itchy! But I was thinking they probably aren't flour mites. Warm air holds more moisture so a dehumidifier would be worth investing in.

Hi, thank you all for your replies. I have googled and they seems to be the same as what they call Pantry Mites/ flour mites. I am pretty sure the ones we have are the same as some are like a full stop like so tiny barely can see them where the others are slightly bigger speck and abit of a beige colour. The ones i found yesterday all seemed newley hatched so maybe I am just being impatient. They definitely started in the area flour was kept in the drawer next to washing machine and also we had a big container which also had them on the other side of the kitchen. We moved the washing machine last night to spray with Protector C which we bought from HSD supplies. We opened the plinths and sprayed some inside and outside of them and again didnt find anything crawling so praying I am winning the battle. Also on inside and outside of doors and seams of cupboards. Touch Wood nothing else found anywhere else in the house and they don't look like plaster beetles. We lived here through last summer and didn't have this issue. Husband thinks I am just crazy and thinking , spending money and time on these things! I called renotkil and the lady there really helped. They do have a product called Insectrol and if I can clear kitchen then spray it and leave it down for either 2 days or best 2 weeks and it will break any cycle as stops them laying eggs and and kills the eggs as well. Its more or less an instant kill for anything crawling. Humidity checker does state it is 69-71% which I know is high. I will be buying a dehumidifer much to my husbands annoyance as he thinks I am spending to much money. Thank you again for your replies I just don't have any one to talk to about this. X

This is what some look like although our infestation was no where near like this. I am finding just the smaller ones now that are barley visible and maybe just one of these. It states pantry / flour mites. I may not have mentioned i found them in the flour, cereal container that was at the back of the cupboard but been left slighlty open but not used and also round a packet of bread flour. None of the other plaster bettle or other beetle pictures etc match the description.

Update for all you lovely people, after spraying with the Protector C spray overnight went downstairs and found several tiny dead bugs stuck to the cupboards doors? Even a small fly which had sat on them. Also whilst cleaning found my weighing scales which were underneath the breakfast bar and side where I had kept extra flour (not in an airtight container like an idiot) amd i had previously seen a couple in there so thought I would check it again and yes found 3 bugs. Decided to check if spray would be an instant kill and it did the job. Sprayed cupboards again although i should have to as it supposed to last 6 weeks but piece of mind. Hoping to see none or more dead ones. I suffer from depression so even though it may not seem like a huge deal to most it gets me down. Also will invest in a dehumidifer as soon as I have abit of money. The humidity check fluctuates between 69-71% in kitchen so its high. My own fault as have condensor dryer and in winter months sometimes i was rarely opening the windows or doors when turning it on. Thank you again for your replies much appreciated. X

Any spray that is used for pet flea control will kill them and leave a residue for 6 months as long as it isn't washed off. You just need to spray everywhere. I am not 100% sure they are flour weevils as I can't see clearly enough in the photo but whatever they are, the spray should sort them out, Indorex, Acclaim etc. easy to buy online.Just keep it away from food and don't inhale it.

AllToads thanks you, after so many days i have found 1 on a kitchen cabinet. I sprayed it for instant kill but took a picture again had to zoom in as didnt have a magnifying glass.. i am upset that i have found one but still hoping that its not been quite 1 month yet. Will be cleaning the cabinets again with bleach weekend even so they are spotless and spray using some insectrol in the crevices. I just cannot deal with even one. Thanks for all your advice

Just keep killing the ones you find, eventually they go. We had an outbreak earlier this year, it was horrible but made me have a good clear out of that side of the kitchen! They also hate tea tree and eucalyptus oil if you wanted a more natural solution. Also read that freezing your flour for a few days when you buy it kills any eggs that might be in there. Good luck I feel your pain x

Zeitgei5t thank you for your reply, i only found 1 a few days ago but still paranoid amd checking nunerous times a day. To be honest I have cleared everything out, all flour kept in freezer anf buying smaller quantities, evetything else is put in ziploc bags and in air tight containers. Im going away for a few fays and will clear kitchen and use insectrol spray in all the cupboards everywhere as kills any eggs after speaking to rentokil person. Kitchen was all very clean but literally picking up the smallest crumb dropped by anyone straightaway. Also have been using eucalyptus oil but wasn't helping too much. Thank you once again it is nice to know I'm not alone. X

The sprays I suggested above will not need re-applying for 6 months. In the meantime you will need to keep an eye on anything new appearing.

Finding out where they come from would help to eliminate them.

AllToadsLeadToHome, well si ce sprayi g with protector c havent found anymote in the kitchen been a couple of weeks and to be honest we cleared the source of flours etc originally. They seems to be coming from the plinths and inside the nooks of the cupboards.

However i was in the dining room bent down to clean thouroughly and found four under the table. I can't tell you how much i cried. I killed them and used protector c l. They most likely got there when we had the infestation and don't know so i was taking plates etc across without checking them thoroughly. I thoigh without food they wouldn't survive but seems not to be the case. Also have a cardboard box witha tv unit waiting to be fixed so maybe they are living off that. Sprayed that as well. Im going to get the spray you recommended and spray the rooms. Thanks.

mayazayanamelia - As it's been a month now may I ask how everything's holding up? Just found an infestation, binned all food in the cupboards, hoovered, cleaned with bleach, dried with a hair dryer and they're just multiplying.

Washed all of our glasses in a dishwasher, put them back in a cleaned cupboard and the next day they're all over them. We just want a quicker fix than waiting them out as it stops us from being able to use our pots and pans!

Thinking of getting Protector C or DE.

Thank you x

Hi Gherkin16,

Poor you i know how you feeo. The flour mites have all gone, i bought the protector c and it was a life saver. Also bought DE powder and puffed that under the plinths. The protector c i sprayed in, under cupbaords behind washing machine etc. Also i keep all flour in freezer now and everything is in ziplock bags and in containers. Touchwood i never see a return of them. Although i have ended up with booklice. House was recently renovated and is holding moisture so now purchased a dehumidifier so hopefully all will be dealt with. You can clear whole kitchen and use Acclaim or rentokil spray. Make sure you wash all utensils before using again. Good Luck. X

I thought I was the only person going through this nightmare as described I'm besides myself with worry cleaning and checking all the time after doing what everyone said I'm so down in the dumps at crying point going mad with these terrible bugs please help with more advice I'm on to my ninth day

oh god this would be my nightmare

never had them and dont even know if i would notice but if i ever use flour i have a good stare at it and only use mcdougalls flower now as hoping more expensive will be "cleaner"

how are things?