↑ CONTACT US ↓
BILOELA
Phone: 07 4992 6552
ROCKHAMPTON
Phone: 0404 486 102
WHERE EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE IS ROUTINE
FOOD PESTS
Pests of food commence causing problems at the sites of production on farms, and there is continual exposure through silos, mills, food processing and manufacturing plants, storage facilities, bakeries, shops, restaurants and homes. Specialised protection and control processes are usually required at each site.
Following the purchase of a variety of stored food types, pests can be brought into the home within infested products. Many foods used in the home have their origin in various grains, such as maize, wheat, oats and rice and these may be attacked by many different food pests. Because many pests of grain such as rice pass most of their life cycles within the individual grains, their presence is often not detected until the adults emerge.
FOOD MOTHS – What to do
The infestation of stored food, particularly grain products, is often due to the larvae of moths. These are usually detected by the presence of web-like material which bonds together the food and the faecal material of the larvae. When such an infestation occurs, the food should be discarded. Larvae are able to penetrate some thin plastic containers and packaging by chewing through the seal or the surface of the material.
Store all susceptible foods in quality, well sealed containers or keep in the freezer e.g. flour keeps very well in the freezer.
Call the professionals at ProPest Pest Management Services
to discuss your options and arrange a convenient time for a technician to address your concern/s.
The most often encountered pests of stored products are beetles, moths and their larvae.
Some of the insects which infest food are the drugstore beetle, cigarette beetle, lesser grain borer, rice weevil, granary weevil, hide beetle, saw-tooth grain beetle, yellow meal-worm, Angoumois grain moth, Mediterranean flour moth and Indian meal moth.
When seeking more information on the habits and control of stored product pests, the identification of the insect is an important first step.
Correct identification often leads to the source of the infestation which may be in a different food in a different location.
The life cycle of a moth is usually around three months and shorter during summer, consequently infestation can occur several times in one season.