Food manufacturers carefully monitor the quality of their raw materials, as far as people's he alth is concerned. However, products can be infected with bugs, which are then found when opening a package with cereals. This is the so-called Surinamese flour eater.
Beetles can appear in all cereals, and no one is immune from this. The beetle is dark brown or black in color, reaches a length of 2-3.5 mm. It is sometimes difficult to notice a pest with the naked eye.
Description of the insect. What does the Suriname flour eater eat?
There are several stages in the development of a beetle: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Once in flour or cereals, the beetle begins an active life. Adults and their larvae feed by leaving husks, feces and other debris. The Suriname flour eater can damage a variety of food products: grains, flour, cereals, confectionery, dried vegetables and fruits, oilseeds, nuts, etc.
The life span of a flour eater is about three years, during which it lays 100-600 eggs. For one laying, 20-30 eggs are born, which after 1-2,5 months will become adult beetles. If the conditions for the flour eater are the best, such as, for example, a temperature of 25-27 degrees and a humidity of 65%, then the reproduction rate will be maximum. It is almost impossible to notice the eggs of the flour eater, they are white and no more than 1 mm long.
Surinamese flour eater is afraid of the sun and bright light, and cereals are known to be stored in dark places, this creates an additional favorable environment for his life.
If you touch the beetle, it instantly tightens its paws and pretends to be dead. Many, believing that the beetle is dead, sweep it with a broom into the trash. From there, the beetle successfully crawls out and continues to harm.
If an unfavorable environment is created for the flour eater, it closes the spiracle and moves in search of better living conditions.
The beetle dies at temperatures below -15, so it is recommended to put cereals in the freezer to exterminate them. As for high temperatures, the beetle can feel great even at temperatures above +50.
Where does the flour eater live?
Surinamese Mukoed is unpretentious and can appear anywhere and live in any place. The most comfortable environment for the reproduction and existence of the beetle is granaries and mills. Thus, when packing cereals, he appears in houses.
It is extremely difficult to get rid of unwanted neighbors, since beetles lay their eggs everywhere. It's not enough to just throw away a bag of grits, more drastic measures need to be taken.
Beetle damage
Few people will like inapartment Surinamese flour eater. What it is dangerous for is, first of all, the fact that the beetle destroys stocks of cereals. This can be a big hit on the budget of the owners, since the products infected with the pest are no longer suitable for food. The mucoeder transmits toxic substances to the products, after the use of which allergic reactions and gastrointestinal disorders may occur. For this reason, it is necessary to carefully monitor the cleanliness of cereals, even if you have never encountered this problem.
Fight against flour eaters at work
Eliminate the likelihood of a flour eater is the main task of food companies. Grain storage and production facilities are treated with special chemicals.
In addition, methods of heating, cooling and cleaning grain are used, cereals are thoroughly dried and stored at low temperatures. This helps prevent the bug.
Quality departments monitor the purity of each batch of products sent to the counter. However, the unscrupulous attitude towards this stage of production is present and bearing fruit - bugs appear in the kitchen of buyers and infect other products.
We eliminate the pest
If suddenly you find a flour-eater at home, you need to study the information on how to get rid of bugs in cereals. Fighting insects is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. They lay their eggs in completely different places and imperceptibly to the human eye. You may not see them in a cereal bag, but theycontinue to breed. There is no way to instantly get rid of bugs. However, the Surinamese flour eater can disappear from your home thanks to some methods.
To fight you will need:
- disinfectant;
- glass jars with lids;
- garlic;
- nutmeg;
- bay leaf.
All contaminated food should be discarded. Even if it seems to you that there are few bugs there, they will still continue to breed further. It is worth reviewing all cereals, bags of flour, crackers, in a word, all bakery and cereal products. Flour is the bug's favorite treat and should be discarded immediately.
It is necessary to thoroughly rinse all kitchen cabinets with a disinfectant. It is better to do this several times. Uninfected cereals should be placed in bags and left in the refrigerator. If after some time you have not noticed signs of the presence of a beetle, then you can pour the cereal into jars and close the lid tightly.
Next, you need to put bay leaves in the cabinets, and peeled garlic in the corners. Pour nutmeg on the adhesive plaster and also spread it in the corners of the cabinets. After such procedures, the bugs in the kitchen are unlikely to appear again.
Prevention
To eliminate the appearance of beetles, you need to take some preventive measures. It is not enough just to keep bags of cereal in the refrigerator. It is necessary to make bags from canvas material, which are boiled for half an hour insaline solution. After that, dry them and iron them. If you store cereals in such bags, you can protect yourself from the appearance of a flour eater. You can also put the purchased cereals in the freezer for several days.
If you have bugs in the kitchen, then do not despair, thinking that you are an unscrupulous hostess. A flour eater can be brought on clothes or with grits from the store, and there is not a drop of human guilt in this. The main thing is to know how to get rid of bugs in cereals, and act immediately.
Clean kitchen areas regularly, treat with disinfectants, check all products carefully.
