Holy Proboscis Batman We Have Weevils

[FSMike]

I think of bay leaves as a preventative. I've never had to get rid of any weevils.

[Reach]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Freeze the new unopened flour/rice/etc package (3 - 4 days) before storing. Then bay leaves.

This is what I do ~ freeze around 24hrs and it works. Bay leaves too just in case.

I have had mites (flour, rice) or weevils (pasta) if freezing wasn't possible.

The key in the future is to store these items individually in lockable tupperware so if there is an infestation it is contained.

Good luck getting the boat clear of those little pests!!!

[Edw]

Hired an exterminator once, he used baking soda, boric acid and alittle sugar to kill cock roaches, seems they can't pass gas. said it was it's lots safer if you have pets and kids about. But Boric acid has been used since th 40's to kill weeviles - it rots their shells.

[captmikem]

Bay leaves work, just about all grains (pasta cereal dog biscuits etc) have weevil larva in them, ashore we use them quick enough or keep them cool enough that we do not see them usually.

If you have weevils you can kill them and the larvae by putting them in a trash bag, squeeze most of the air out and fire a short burst from a co2 extinguisher to fill the bag and leave it over night. Co2 extinguishers are cheap to refill in most countries and I use them often with excellent results. Good for fruits and veggies as well, amazing the amount of spiders etc you find left in the bag. It will also kill a lot of bacteria and other microorganisms.

Handy stuff!

Michael

[Bulawayo]

We have the same comments as Anne Cate. Many people swear by bay leaves but we have not had any success with them.
We also avoid weevils in our Tupperware by adding a 35mm film container to each one with a wad of cotton wool inside with a splash of chloroform and several small holes punched in the film cannister lid. You'll never suffer from weevils again in your grains/flour/pasta/biscuits etc.

Originally Posted by SmartMove

Oh Wise Ones, I haven't posted much since we started cruising 3 years ago, but CF is always are go to source when we have a problem and I certainly have one now. In the craziness of getting the boat ready to leave her on her own while we went back to the States for three months, I overlooked two boxes of whole wheat pasta (one open). We came back to an invasion of weevils. I have gotten rid of the pasta and anything else that was suspect and vacuumed and washed everything down. Friends looking after our boat noticed them (thought they were ants) and bombed the boat. They reported many dead, but we still have more live ones. Anyone know how to rid the boat of these pests or am I doomed to live with them forever? There is no food source on the boat for them now. Can the larvae develop without a known food source? Thank you for your help!

I wasn't sure where to post this, so admins feel free to move it.

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[Red Herring]

Get Rid of Weevils - GETRIDOFTHINGS.com

[redhead]

After having lived in Puerto Rico for 6 years I know this about bugs:

To prevent future problems: freeze for 24-48 hours, put in something plastic with a bay leaf and then store as normal.

The boric acid thing: (to the best of my knowledge this only works on roaches and ants). Equal parts boric acid, anything sweet (honey, sugar, no matter) and water to make a thick goo. Dab the goo anywhere you have seen a bug and let it sit for 3-5 days. The bugs will eat it and take it back to the colony which will die.
Now you have cement-like dabs of dried goo all over to clean up, but no bugs.

I have emailed a friend of mine, a professor of bugs, down in Panama to see if he knows about weevils. I'll let you know what he says.

[SmartMove]

Originally Posted by redhead

After having lived in Puerto Rico for 6 years I know this about bugs:



To prevent future problems: freeze for 24-48 hours, put in something plastic with a bay leaf and then store as normal.



The boric acid thing: (to the best of my knowledge this only works on roaches and ants). Equal parts boric acid, anything sweet (honey, sugar, no matter) and water to make a thick goo. Dab the goo anywhere you have seen a bug and let it sit for 3-5 days. The bugs will eat it and take it back to the colony which will die.

Now you have cement-like dabs of dried goo all over to clean up, but no bugs.



I have emailed a friend of mine, a professor of bugs, down in Panama to see if he knows about weevils. I'll let you know what he says.

Cool, thanks!


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[Tetepare]

Weevils are beetles, not ants, not "bugs".


The following applies to weevils as well as dermestids (museum beetles) and those damned meal-eating moths.


They experience a full metamorphosis. Meaning: egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupa, adult. Often you won't see them until they are adults.


They do not have nests. There may be many of them in one place, but it's either the food source or where they get stuck.


They eat a wide variety of grain-based foods but will eat other things.


They may well be in your processed, sealed food from the store. More often than not, they got into it when it was at the store. Then they breed, breed, breed until you notice them, often not until adulthood.


Freezing typically will kill larvae and adults- but not eggs. Meaning the problem may go away for a while, but will return.


To get rid of them:
* Throw away all packaged and boxed cereals and meals. Or, eat them. But get rid of them. Make sure you clean up any messes from spilled, opened, or eaten cereals- look in corners, in the holds, etc. Even if the box or package has never been "opened" by you- it may be been discretely opened by "them".
* When you buy packaged foods like this, freeze it 2 days. Put the original packaging into a Ziploc bag and seal it. Name brand Ziploc is best. Then, put it in Tupperware (not cheap copies). You should be able to remove the factory sealed package from the box, label it with a Sharpie, and fit a whole bunch into Ziploc then Tupperware.
* If you can, make sure the food is dry- when you buy, when you stuff it in the Ziplocs. These bugs prefer moisture. Museum beetles, for example, will nary reproduce when humidity is below 50%

[Beavereater]

Here's how us exterminators deal with stored product pantry pests. I believe these products can be purchased on line. Demand CS for your adulticide and Gentrol for your IGR (insect growth regulator) follow the mixing and application instructions on the label and you'll be bug free.

[buzzstar]

Oh my. A vessel may need weevils. Just remember the little story about them delivered by Russell Crowe in Master & Commander a decade or so ago.

[DefinitelyMe]

You've already done the best thing, which is to remove their food source. The life cycle of a weevil:

- Adult weevil bores into a food (grain of rice, grain of wheat, bit of pasta etc.).
- Deposits egg
- Plugs up the end of the hole with some of it's own secretions
- egg hatches
- Larva eats it's way out of the grain/bit of pasta etc.
- Larva eats some more, then metamorphosises into the adult form

Incidentally, this is why some grains or rice float whereas others (most, hopefully!) sink. The floaty ones are the ones that have air bubbles in them where the weevils bored into it.

It's pretty much impossible to prevent grains from being infected with weevils since the infection can occur in the field when the crop is being grown and the larva is not killed by washing, surface pesticides etc. but it is possible to kill them by freezing and probably the other methods described here. I quite like the idea of the fire extinguisher thing, if only because it sounds quite fun!

Fret not, they will go away now that their food source has been removed.

[jreiter190]

Eat all the little buggers except the last and smallest one. That way, you have the lesser of two weevils

[Edw]

Originally Posted by redhead

After having lived in Puerto Rico for 6 years I know this about bugs:

To prevent future problems: freeze for 24-48 hours, put in something plastic with a bay leaf and then store as normal.

The boric acid thing: (to the best of my knowledge this only works on roaches and ants). Equal parts boric acid, anything sweet (honey, sugar, no matter) and water to make a thick goo. Dab the goo anywhere you have seen a bug and let it sit for 3-5 days. The bugs will eat it and take it back to the colony which will die.
Now you have cement-like dabs of dried goo all over to clean up, but no bugs.

I have emailed a friend of mine, a professor of bugs, down in Panama to see if he knows about weevils. I'll let you know what he says.

suppose i could done a quick search for any links on Boric acid and weevils

HGIC 2770 Less Toxic Insecticides : Extension : Clemson University : South Carolina

Uses of boric acid | Boric Acid

https://books.google.com/books?id=CO...eevils&f=false

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by jreiter190

Eat all the little buggers except the last and smallest one. That way, you have the lesser of two weevils

ROFL !!!! I haven't seen anything this funny in a long time - thanks for the laugh!