What is a Weevil and what the *^%$ are they doing in my cupboard!

[CountessDracula]

OK admittedly I am not the type to clean out my kitchen cupboards every week, but I generally manage every month or so. So today I am clearing them all and OMG there are bloody weevils in two of them!

Well, my brother assures me they are weevils. I thought they were things you got in biscuits when beind deported to Australia. I have cleared them all away, chucked out everything that was open like bags of flour and sugar and disinfected the cupboards.

What I want to know is how did they get there and how to I ensure they don't return.

shudder....

Right, thanks I will go and buy some nice containers and do as you suggest. Thanks

Wow Dino, how have you managed to stay away?

maybe Michelle from Lakeland would have some nice containers and anti-weevil devices I could have. Cod?

What do weevils look like??

Sort of like pirahas but very small

oh alright, like tiny seedlets but they wiggle, sort of brownish colour

ewwwww, think i might do my cupboards tommorow. lol

Weevils are little insects that infest things like flour, pasta, rice, cereals. They look like minute white or pale grey/green beetles. If you get them in your food, it is NOT YOUR FAULT! You have most likely bought a bag of something with them already in.

They are harmless. If you accidentally eat food containing weevils the only result is a higher protein content...

however...most of us feel spooked at the thought of it and want to clean out our cupboards. Not only that but they will spread through your pantry into everything else.

Empty the offending container(s), wash in hot water and washing-up-liquid. Check other containers and if in any doubt do the same.

If in a sealed container they will not be able to escape into others. The only one that is suitable is Tupperware. I speak as an ex-Tupperware Manager for 10 years.

Thanks Jan Don't feel quite so waynettaish now!

No you didn't Dino! You were both saying the same things. (or should I call you Dinella?)

Yes, they can climb in through the ties. Yuk....

I have found weevils a couple of times. The worst affected item was an open packet of ground rice - yuk. I once boiled some pudding rice which looked fine but once it was boiling lots of tiny dead things floated to the top. A friend of mine who bakes her own bread just scrapes any she finds away from the top of the flour and carries on using it! As someone said, just more protein.

I will add cleaning cupboards out to my list

I don't inspect my flour now, just pour in the bowl and hope for the best.

I have containers from lakeland for flour!

thisone here hold a bag of flour

You apparently need to vacuum out the cupboards as well, in case you miss any of the little critters lurking in corners a damp cloth can't quite get into. Though I suppose you could use these, to save getting the hoover out. .

I've only seen them in flour. A friend's aunt used to call them weasles! I once got so angry with dh, I made toad-in-the-hole with weevilly flour, pretended I wasn't hungry, and he ate it all! Well - they were cooked!

Now I know what those little critters are and how they got there! Before DP and I were together, I gave his flat a good clean after his lazy cow of an ex left (the kitchen was supposed to be her area to clean) and found these everywhere (not just kitchen either!!!). Have to admit at the time my stomach was turning at seeing these things and never knew what they were.

Once again MN has boosted my knowledge

Thanks Coddy, I've got some of those so when I have a kitchen again will put my flour in it.