How to Get Rid of Weevils in Your Pantry

I’ve had a number of unpleasant experiences over the last few years that have ended up inspiring blog posts. For example, after my daughters and I contracted it, I wrote a post on easing the symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease. Likewise, after experiencing complications during the delivery of my third child, I wrote about including “just in case” cesarean preferences in your birth plan. Now I’m writing about another experience we can add to this list: Weevils in the pantry.

A few weeks ago I found a couple of black grain weevils crawling on the floor just outside of the pantry in our kitchen. I began searching the pantry and found a bag of rice that was infested with them. This was a new experience for me, so I had to look up how to address this issue. Here’s what I found and what has worked to rid our home of these pests.

What are weevils?

Weevils are little beetles that chew into grains and lay eggs in them. Unlike pests like ants that enter your home through doors, windows, or cracks, weevils enter in your groceries. It is a little gross to think about, but the reality is that these pests likely get in foods at the plants where they are packaged or at the grocery store. Female weevils lay eggs inside grain kernels. The eggs hatch and the larvae live inside the kernels for 1-5 months, feeding on the grain as they grow. Once they reach adulthood, the weevils emerge to mate. At this point they look for new kernels to invade.

Because the eggs and/or larvae are inside the grain kernels, it is nearly impossible to tell if you are purchasing a product that contains them. Yes, this means that we all unknowingly consume these from time to time. They don’t cause disease, so this isn’t cause for alarm. Unfortunately, weevils can chew through plastic and paper packaging, so they easily move about and infest foods throughout your pantry. Larvae have been found in a wide variety of foods including grains, cereals, pastas, nuts, tea, and even chocolate. Grain weevils (dark brown-to-black in color) and rice and maize weevil varieties (dark reddish-brown with red or yellow spots) are of particular concern when it comes to pantries.

How to rid your pantry of weevils

• Find the source. The first step in ridding your pantry of weevils is to figure out where they are coming from. Look through everything in your pantry and identify foods that are contaminated. Throw these away. Don’t toss them in an indoor trashcan because they can exit the trashcan and infest your food again—take them to an outdoor trashcan.
• Freeze salvageable food. Even if you don’t see weevils in packages of pasta, bags of rice, canisters of oats, etc., these items may have eggs or larvae in them. Remember that weevils can chew through plastic and paper packaging. They may even be lurking inside boxes that contain airtight bags (such as those found in box-type dinners). Thus, anything that can be frozen should be placed in the freezer for a minimum of 4 days (this will kill the eggs and larvae). If something can’t be frozen, then place it in a sealed container and observe it for weevil activity.
• Clean the pantry. Pull everything out of the pantry, even non-food items like canned goods and aluminum foil. Vacuum the shelves, paying close attention to any cracks or crevices. Once you are done vacuuming, dump the vacuum canister in an outdoor trashcan and rinse out the canister. Wipe down the shelves, door, and walls of the pantry with vinegar, eucalyptus oil, or another disinfectant.
• Consider using an insecticide. If your infestation is severe, you may need to spray pantry shelves and interior walls with a household insecticide labeled for killing weevils. Personally, I would avoid doing this unless your infestation is severe because of the risk involved in using an insecticide in a food storage area. However, if you do need to use an insecticide, then read and follow the directions on its label. You may need to wipe down the pantry again after using it.
• Set out traps. Some companies manufacture non-toxic, pesticide-free pheromone traps that attract and trap weevils and moths. If you set these out in the pantry, they will catch any weevils that you missed.
• Prevent another infestation. Though these steps will get rid of any weevils you currently have in your pantry, it is entirely possible for you to get weevils again because they may enter your home in new groceries. Thankfully, there are easy things you can do to keep another infestation from happening.
  • Regularly clean the pantry and inspect it for any insect activity.
  • Dried bay leaves may repel weevils, so you can place these on pantry shelves and in canisters of flour and other grains.
  • When you get home from the store, place dry food packages (flour, cornmeal, pasta, nuts, rice, beans, breakfast cereals, etc.) in the freezer for 4 days before storing them in the pantry. This may seem extreme, but it will make sure these don’t contain any live eggs or larvae.
  • Store foods in airtight glass or plastic containers. Because weevils can eat through plastic and paper packaging, it is not sufficient to leave foods in bags or boxes.

We live in Texas where the bugs are plentiful, so we should have invested in airtight storage containers a long time ago. We’re getting a few of these each month and they are super helpful in keeping foods safe from bugs and preventing them from getting soggy due to high humidity!

We’ve had success with the Chef’s Path Box Set of 4 Extra Large Airtight Food Storage Containers, Vtopmart Airtight Food Storage Container Set, and Utopia Kitchen Cereal Containers.

I truly hope you are not experiencing a weevil infestation right now. However, if that’s why you are reading this, then these tips should help you get things cleaned up! If you need additional information, then check out my sources:

• How to Get Rid of Weevils
• How to Prevent and Get Rid of Grain Weevils
• How to Make Your Kitchen Free of Weevils

Have you ever had weevils in your kitchen? How did you get rid of them? What tips can you share?

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Encouraging Hearts and Home, Farm Fresh Tuesdays, and Busy Monday.