Buggy Rice!

[TurtleMama]

So I was in my pantry this morning, seeking my rice to grind up and make gluten-free pancakes.

 

Found the rice, got the measuring cup, opened it up, and saw BUGS!!!!

 

By the power of Google, I discovered my teeny-tiny unwelcomed guests were rice weevils...I didn't even know that there WERE rice weevils. They had apparently infested a large bag of rice I'd purchased from Wal Mart, because they were in my 3 1/2 gallon rice bucket too. I had to throw the rice away. Waaaah! Fortunately, my 50-pound bucket appears to be clean...although I'm thinking I should make room in my chest freezer and freeze it for a couple of days just to be safe. Does anyone know if it's okay to freeze the whole bucket? Should I take the gamma lid off and replace it with some plastic wrap or something? I've seen that one should freeze their grains before storing them, but, shamefully, I never did.

 

 

If I can freeze the grains in their buckets, I will freeze all my wheat and everything, too, over the coming couple of weeks. I guess I should check them first for bugs. Ick!

 

I am feeling like a bad preparedness advocate.

[JCK88]

Oh..yeah..I've been there, too. Now, I simply freeze all rice and grains before storing and it doesn't happen anymore.

 

However, you should know that rice weevils and most other bugs that infest grains are edible. During a crisis, you might not want to just toss the food out. You may want to sift out the bugs and don't tell the family.....LOL

[CrabGrassAcres]

Put buggy rice or other grains into the freezer. Wash the grain just before you use it. Can't afford to be tossing stuff.

[Mt_Rider]

Oh ick! Sorry for your loss. But I've done as CGA suggested too. It's not like something turning foul/toxic. Just ick. [don't think too hard about the farming process any grain has gone thru anyway.... ]

 

I freeze whole bags or buckets of grains/beans/flours in my cars during the cold winter months. I try to time the large purchases then cuz...it's easier than trying to fit 50# in my freezer.

 

I leave them for several frigid nites and then bring them in...and mebbe freeze them again a few days later. [for late egg hatch]

 

 

MtRider [ thinking there is room in my stuffed freezer for mebbe a cup of something right now ]

[TurtleMama]

That's good to know, ladies...I hated throwing that rice away, but one of the websites I saw said that the buggies laid their eggs in the rice grains. When my hubby saw that, he ran the bucket out to the trash can faster than you can say "crawly critters!" LOL

 

I'll make sure he just doesn't see any of our grains during any emergency situations that might crop up... hehehe!

 

Do either of you know if it's okay for me to pop the rest of my buckets in the freezer to prevent this in my other stored grains, or do I have to take them out and put them in baggies or something? I just want to make sure it doesn't happen again...and I promise I'll always freeze wheat/rice/etc. before I ever store it from now on!!!

 

Thanks for the help!

[cowgirl8]

cowgirl has a food bug phobia...

[Fullpantry]

Oh bless your heart!! I've been there and done that!!! TOTALLY gross! I always freeze before storing, but have found that I need to store in large mason jars with screw-on lids to keep the critters from finding it again!! (I live in the "buggy" south!) I don't have a clue if you can put your whole bucket in the freezer or not, but I feel your pain!!

[Canned Nerd]

Freezing only needs to be for about 72 hours for it to kill any larvae and could be done in a few plastic bags at a time.

 

I put all my rice in to FoodSaver bags for storage which does the same thing as freezing. The vacuum environment will kill any larvae that may exist and will also provide a good storage media so other pests won't get inside.

 

[mommato3boys]

TurtleMama, I don't buy Wal-Mart brand rice anymore just for that reason. As a matter of fact I try not to buy rice from them at all. I lost about 30lbs of rice last summer because of bugs in the rice. I now store all rice in the freezer even my daily use rice. Rice is to expensive and I refuse to have bugs in my house again.

[Leah]

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/ricewee.html

Rice Weevil and Granary Weevil

 

The rice and granary weevil are pests of stored grain and seeds. They develop inside whole grain kernels as small, white, wrinkled, grub-like larvae. There is generally no external evidence that the larvae have been eating and growing inside the seed until after about one month when the adult weevil chews through the seed coat and emerges. The adult weevils are 1/8th inch long and have slender, hard-shelled bodies that appear pitted or scarred with tiny holes. They are brown to reddish brown in color. The rice weevil has four faint yellowish spots on the back of the abdomen. The granary weevil is uniformly colored with no spots.

 

Presence of rice or granary weevils inside the home usually indicates there is infested whole grain or seeds. This may be food seeds or beans in the cupboards, popcorn, saved garden seeds, dried seed decorations, decorative Indian corn, "bean bags," old grain-based mouse bait, or other stored seeds.

 

Rice and granary weevils are harmless to people, houses, furniture, clothing and pets. They cannot bite or sting and they do not carry diseases. They will not feed on furniture, the house structure or other items. The harm they do is destruction of the seeds they infest and the annoyance of being in the wrong place.

 

Control requires locating and eliminating the infested whole grain. Small quantities of grain can be "saved" by controlling the weevils with heat or cold. Heating grain to 140 degrees F for 15 minutes or freezing at 0 degrees F for 3 days will kill all stages of weevils in the grain. Larger quantities may require disposal or professional fumigation.

 

Cupboards or shelves holding infested items should be emptied and thoroughly vacuum cleaned, paying special attention to cracks and corners. Insecticide sprays are not recommended for controlling insects in stored food cupboards. Washing shelves with detergent, bleach, ammonia or disinfectants will not have any effect on insect pests. As a precaution against reinfestation, you may want to store susceptible foods in sealable glass, metal or heavy plastic containers or in the refrigerator or freezer until you are convinced the infestation is gone.