Our office receives calls from residents with questions about pests found in stored foods. In addition to contaminating food, these pests can cause additional problems. The mouth, throat, and stomach of people may become irritated after eating products contaminated by the warehouse beetle. And some pests have the potential to add microbes that could produce mycotoxins (highly carcinogenic compounds).
Management of these pests once established is possible, but may require substantial effort. To learn how to detect these pest in your home, and perhaps more importantly learn what can be done to prevent their establishment, please see UC IPM’s Pest Note publication Pantry Pests.
Indianmeal moth adult and pupa.
Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.
Adult red flour beetle.
Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.
Adult lesser grain borer.
Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.