Stored Food Pests

Stored food pests, or "pantry pests," is a term that exterminators use for insects that specifically infest stored food products. In practice, this includes certain species of beetles, weevils, and moths.

Although many insects have adapted to eating stored food intended for humans, the ones described here account for the bulk of stored food pest calls responded to by exterminators in the St. Louis area.

Indian Meal Moths
Indian Meal Moths are very common common pests of plant-based foods, including corn meal, flour, and other milled grain products. They also will infest other dried plant products including potpourri, dried flowers, etc. Adult Indian Meal Moths are about half an inch in length and are gray, black, and brown in color. The larvae are cream-colored and can be found in and around the foods that they are feeding upon.
Sawtoothed Grain Beetles
Adult Sawtoothed Grain Beetles are small, reddish-brown insects that are reddish-brown in color. They have a distinct sawtooth pattern on the sides of their thorax. Their larvae are cream-colored. Sawtoothed grain beetles closely resemble merchant grain beetles, but the sawtooth pattern is not as pronounced on the Merchant. In addition, adult Merchants fly, but Sawtoothed Grain Beetles don't. Other than that, their behavior and control are very similar.
Drugstore Beetles and Cigarette Beetles
Adults drugstore beetles are brownish in color and are good fliers. They average around 1/8" in size. Cigarette beetles are quite similar in appearance, but lack the longitudinal lines found on the wing covers of the Drugstore Beetle. Their larvae of both species are cream-colored. They'll eat almost anything, but commonly infest cereals, cookies, crackers, cocoa, tobacco, various spices, and animal feed.
Confused Flour Beetles and Red Flour Beetles
Confused Flour Beetles and Red Flour Beetles are about 1/8" in length as adults. Adult Red Flour Beetles can fly, but Confused Flour Beetles cannot. The larvae or both species are yellowish in color. Both species will readily eat almost any grain-based food, but they are commonly found infesting flour, cookies, crackers, pasta, pet foods, dried fruit, and cereals.
Dermestid Beetles
Dermestid beetles are primarily meat-eaters whose species include larder beetles (shown here), carpet beetles and cabinet beetles. Dermestid beetles commonly infest meat-based foods such as beef jerky, dried sausage, dog and cat foods, and dried soup bases. They'll also eat things that we don't typically think of as "food," such as wool, furs, cashmere, and feathers. ( Many infestations of Dermestid beetles can be tracked to a mouse, bird, or other animal that died somewhere inside a house.)
Rice Weevils and Granary Weevils
Rice weevils (shown here) and granary weevils bore through the outer shells of whole grains during their larval stages, and eat the grain from the inside out, often leaving little but the shell by the time they're done. They commonly infest whole-grain, seed foods such as rice, wheat, bird seed, oats, rye, barley, nuts, and so forth. If necessary they can also survive on milled grain products, processed cereals, or other non-seed, plant-based food.

Control of Stored Food Pests

Proper control of stored food pests begins with non-chemical methods. These include:

• Closely inspecting stored foods and discarding infested.
• Thoroughly cleaning cabinets and cupboards, including removing any larvae or pupae.
• Sealing all susceptible food products in insect-proof containers such as tight-sealing plastic containers or freezer-grade Ziploc bags.

The next step is professional control. At Buckingham Pest Control, we use a variety of treatment methods to treat stored product pest problems. These may include the use of sticky traps, pheromone attractants, insect growth regulators, and precision application of residual insecticides when necessary. Once the immediate problem is taken care of, continued monitoring will be needed for a time period that varies according to the insect specie.

For an individual assessment of your stored product pest problem and a professional consultation and treatment plan, contact Buckingham Pest Control. We serve the Greater St. Louis, Missouri area.