watch your flour its that time of year

[andrew4232]

i had the misfortune to make a weevil loaf the other day, so am now sieving the flour before i put it in the container and 2 out of 4 of the new lots have been crawling, i know it happens after the hot weather, i took it back to the shops concerned no worries it was just changed without a problem so keep your eyes peeled

[carolhm]

Cheers for the info Andrew

[maggymay]

Hi Andrew

If you put bay leaves in with your flour or any dried product you won't get any nasties.Give it a try it does work.

[Deniz1]

I bought a packet of Ryvita the other day it was full of them.

[Keithcaley]

maggymay,

That sounds like a number one tip!

I've got bay trees growing like weeds, so I'll be giving that a go, Pronto...

Thanks very much!

[Philoz]

So you mean the crunchy bits aren't 'wholegrain'.
I feel a bit sick now.

[Philoz]

But when I think about it-you buy a bag of flour or a loaf,and assume you are getting basic carbs.
But as an added bonus you are getting a protein feast -For free!!
Now That's what I call a balanced diet-Carbs and protein Combo.

[Keithcaley]

Phil - I prefer the 'Packet of crisps in one hand' - 'Mars bar in the other hand' type of balanced diet...

Or should I have a packet of Pork Scratchings in one hand for the protein?

[carolhm]

I love it here

[flowerfairy]

They were in my spaghetti too. Mmm, quite nice boiled,

[mamachina]

Keep your flour in the freezer - (they wont multiply if there are any) thats what we did in Africa - it also makes it easier to pick any dead 'uns out later!!

[Deniz1]

Yuk

[come_on_aylin]

You have to watch rice too. As Mamachina says, put the packs in the freezer or keep them in the fridge - it seems to work but don't forget to get flour back up to room temperature before you use it in baking otherwise it might not turn out as expected - that's my excuse anyway.

[sophie]

Oh my lord, this is the first time I've heard about it in this country, yuk. I know the Ryvita thing came up on C44, , it was just someone winding hundreds of others up regarding maggots. You only have to look at the wrapping to see where they got that one from!!

[flowerfairy]

I had weevils in my flour bought at Tesco's. I'll bet a lot of you have eaten them without even realising.
As suggested, keep it in the fridge. Nuts are equally as bad, especially if you buy them loose.

[dippersgirl]

I've had them and always sieve my flour. With rice and pasta and nuts you can often see them, or shake the packet and if there is a lot of dust in the bottom, that's a sure sign.
My sister used to buy a lot of organic food loose from the specialist shop and she has flour moths flying round the kitchen ever since, they are so difficult to eliminate.
Get a sieve you can dishwash!!!

[sparkymike]

If I put the flour in the freezer, won't it freeze as a block? Also the bay leaf thing sounds like a great idea but will the aroma of bay leaf go into the flour, no good then for sweet baking. I have had weavels in my flour last year, thought it was me being a bit unlucky,
Thanks Mrs SparkyMike

[maggymay]

Hi Mrs. SparkyMike,

The bay leaves won't scent your flour. I buy 25kg bags of flour and put about 10 leaves in and all through the hot weather no prob. The flour was kept in a cupboard. This will work for any dried product eg: rice, pasta, they repel any insects.
Maggymay

[sparkymike]

Thanks Maggiemay !!! will give it a go.

[andrew4232]

well i never knew that any ideas why it works ?

[Keithcaley]

Probably because the bugs don't like the 'smell'

There is a similar practice of 'companion planting' which is quite interesting, - it can be used to either discourage pests, or to attract beneficial insects.

[Halffull]

We used to have "ships biscuits" back in the 60s and they quite often had weevils in them, nothing like a bit of additional protein

[Bilko]

Flour weevils; see them in you flour, cereals & pulses containers, rice, seeds, nuts and cake mixes, or their larvae.
Any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. Are usually less than 6 millimetres (0.24 in), and are herbivores. There are over 60,000 species in several families. Weevils are damaging to crops. Their presence is often indicated by the granules of infested items sticking together in strings. Harmless, not known to carry disease; larvae are 98% of what they consume.
60,000 species world wide in several familes; over 5,000 described in Cyprus.
Some say that bay leaves help on the pantry/cupboard shelves, but not in the container, which should be airtight.