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  OMG flour bugs in crackers!!
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OMG flour bugs in crackers!! Sign In/Join 
posted
I have tossed all opened boxes out. have not thrown out sealed sleeves of crackers etc. I know I have to totally empty the pantry and scrub the shelves, than what do I do?? Spray insecticide, close up pantry for a few hours than wash again?? I can't remember what I am supposed to do, except take off screaming! LOL Thanks Sue
 
Posts: 799 | Location: Lexington, MI | Registered: Sep 18, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Sue, I have never had any bugs in crackers or anywhere else in my pantry, but then it might depend on the geography - no humidity here; very dry all together and I completely clean out my pantry shelves every six months so not much help... sorry.

Maybe toss EVERYTHING and start over??? Scrub down the shelves with an anti-bacterial like Clorux Cleap-Up, Formula 409 or the like and then line with the spongy liners that you can wash in either the laundry or the DW?

Good luck ~ let us know what you decide to do! Cool

PS. I would save the unopened sealed boxes of crackers and serve them on Thanksgiving ~ sounds like there is nothing wrong with them! Smile
 
Posts: 6247 | Registered: Jan 01, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Picture of KeepYouInStitches
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Weevils? They can get in any grain or grain based product. Throw out the products with the bugs. The rest are probably okay.

If it's moths and worms you have to do a more thorough cleaning because they could be left in the cardboard packaging.

Storing products in air tight containers helps.
 
Posts: 14749 | Location: Daingerfield, TX | Registered: Feb 07, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Picture of nettiejay
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When you're scrubbing down the pantry, pay particular attention to the corners and crevices where shelves meet uprights/walls. That's a favorite place for the adult insects to lay eggs, and you must get rid of the eggs to get rid of the bugs.
 
Posts: 3915 | Location: zone 6b, Missouri | Registered: Sep 19, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Picture of Froo Froo
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Sue, I stumbled upon this link/product which may be of help.
http://blog.ecosmart.com/index...-the-shocking-truth/
 
Posts: 16716 | Location: Right here, duh! ;) | Registered: Nov 03, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Well I went out and bought airtight plastic containers tonight. Will do the major cleaning tomorrow. Froo Froo thanks for the link, was very intresting. I must have bought a infested box of something? I remember a girlfriend buying instant oatmeal. She opened a pack and it was full of bugs. She sure got her money back. Thanks again Sue
 
Posts: 799 | Location: Lexington, MI | Registered: Sep 18, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Picture of KeepYouInStitches
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Spent the weekend with step-son and his family as we celebrated my oldest grandson's second birthday...had a blast with the kiddos!

Step-son was showing off the new canisters (he is more "into" the kitchen than his wife). When he took the lid off the big canister, a couple of moths flew out. Oops. I told him he needed to check for worms...
 
Posts: 14749 | Location: Daingerfield, TX | Registered: Feb 07, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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OMG... Yukker doodles.
 
Posts: 5778 | Registered: Feb 08, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Picture of KeepYouInStitches
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Years ago...
1st husband was a truck driver. When the oilfield fell on its rear back in the 1980s, he started hauling food - dry, refrigerated, and frozen. One of the rules is...if you are shorted when you load you pay for it on the other end...and not wholesale either you pay retail price! The other part of that is if you are over...it's yours.

You don't always have control on the loading end, but you do on the unloading. Once with a delivery he had an extra case of chicken tenders. The receiver started to unload it. DH said -uh-uh...that's going home. We had a PALLET full of cheese one time...we kept some to eat and some to freeze (works for cooking) but gave most to family, church family, and other friends. Most of the drivers shared with other drivers.

One specific guy did not...he came home with a pallet of 50 pound bags of rice...and proceeded to try to sell them. He sold only a couple...and had all those bags of rice in his storage shed. Eventually he started giving the buggy things away. DH brought one bag home. We had some very serious "words" about that bag of buggy rice. IF we were starving, I would've picked out the bugs, rinsed, repeat, cook...but we were NOT starving. A pound of rice was about 50 cents. We do not live in some third world country.

My elderly neighbor took it off our hands...she remembered the depression...I shudder to think about the amount of "protein" they ate with their rice...how long do you think it too two old folks to eat 50 pounds of buggy rice? blech
 
Posts: 14749 | Location: Daingerfield, TX | Registered: Feb 07, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I had a terrible time about 2 years ago with moths in the pantry, also. I researched the miserable little things and found that we had "indian mill moths." I am quite certain that they came in the house with a contaminated carton of parakeet seed. I hated to do it, but I threw everything away that wasn't canned. I bought airtight containers for any food I replaced, and kept my new flours in the freezer for quite awhile. I hated to think of the value of all the food we lost. I came across a product called "The Pantry Pest Trap" by the Safer company. I hate spending the money on them (they are such simple little contraptions) but it is MUCH better than facing the loss of all that food again. They work great as long as I replace them regularly. Hope this helps, I feel for you---
 
Posts: 235 | Registered: Aug 08, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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If you have mealy moths you will need to get rid of everything that has any kind of grain in it...including corn starch (corn).
When I bring anything into the house that has grain...like oatmeal, rice, flour, etc....it goes into a freezer for 24 hours. "IF" there is anything in it, that will kill it all...adults, larva & eggs.
Also any pet foods of any kind that come inside go into the freezer too...they are all made with grains of some kind and are usually the worst carriers of bugs.


"The soil is the source of life, creativity, culture and real independence." David Ben-Gurion
 
Posts: 2896 | Location: SW Ga. 8a/b | Registered: Apr 21, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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