You might be familiar with cockroaches or house mice, but what about pantry pests? For Connecticut homeowners, there are a couple of common pests that you’ve got to worry about breaking into your home:
Cigarette Beetles: Also known as the tobacco beetle, cigarette beetles are small, reddish-brown insects that will infest your favorite food products when tobacco products aren't readily available.
Indian Meal Moths: As one of the most troublesome pantry pests in the state, Indian meal moths enjoy going after your cereal products, dried fruits, pet food, and even birdseed. They’ll cause damage by spinning webs as they crawl and webbing food particles together.
Saw-Toothed Beetles: With flat bodies and “saw-toothed” projections along their bodies, these beetles usually get into your home through food that’s already infested.
Rice Weevil: Also called grain beetles, a rice weevil’s favorite part of their diet is any kind of grain product – like rice, oats, cereal, macaroni, or even certain spices.
Pantry pests can be tricky to get rid of once they’ve gotten inside your cupboards and begun infesting your food. Here’s what you need to know about how these infestations start, how to prevent pantry pests, and what to do if you’re already dealing with one of these pests.
How Do Pantry Pest Infestations Start In Connecticut?
While pantry pests can make their way into your home from the outdoors, it’s more common for these infestations to start when you bring in packaged food that’s already infested. You may pick up an infested package of rice or cereal at the grocery store, and once you bring it home, a few insects can turn into a full-blown infestation.
Most pantry pest infestations start with an adult pest laying their eggs in the food product and giving their new larvae plenty of easy access to the food source. As long as they’ve still got a place to reproduce, pantry pests like cigarette beetles or Indian meal moths can grow their numbers quickly.
Keep in mind that pantry pests aren’t dangerous. These pests won’t bite and aren’t known to transmit any diseases, but they can still contaminate large amounts of food.
How To Prevent Pantry Pests In Connecticut
While you may not completely be able to prevent pantry pests if you end up bringing in food that’s already infested, there are a couple of preventative measures you can take:
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Make sure you’re checking packaged food products that you bring home, especially grain or tobacco products. If you’re not sure whether it’s infested, you can always place the food item in a clear plastic baggie and see if any pests show up inside the bag.
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Make sure you keep any pantry or cupboard food items in tight, sealed containers since larvae can chew their way through cardboard and paper, or get into containers that aren’t sealed tightly enough.
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Don’t combine new food products with old food products unless you’re completely sure that both items are pest-free.
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Eliminate pantry pest food sources by cleaning your cupboard out regularly and dealing with any food scraps or particles left behind.
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Before filling old containers with new food, be sure to clean the container so that you can prevent existing pantry pests from contaminating the new food.
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Get rid of potential entry points for pantry pests, including gaps under doors or tears in your window screens.
If you notice cigarette beetles, rice weevils, Indian meal moths, or any other pantry pests, it’s a good idea to clean your pantry out completely. Once they’ve infested one or two food products, there’s a good chance that pantry pests have made their way into everything else.
How To Handle A Pantry Pest Problem In Connecticut
Unfortunately, getting rid of what’s in your pantry isn’t enough to rid your home of an infestation, and attempting to do it on your own can just allow more time for these bugs to reproduce. The most effective way to handle a pantry pest problem is with professional help from Big Blue Bug Solutions.
If you’re noticing signs of an infestation and suspect that you’ve got a pantry pest problem in the cupboards of your Connecticut home, you shouldn’t wait – call us at Big Blue Bug Solutions today to find out more about our pantry pest control and removal services.
