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Farm Kitchen:  mealworms in grains and pasta...yechhh!  |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 12:40:16 PM
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I am not sure whether to post this under Kitchen or under Cleaning Up. Sorry to ruin anyone's appetite under this forum!
My question has to do with my second episode finding mealworms in several of my packaged dry goods. We keep a fairly stocked pantry at the farm, and we are there at least every other weekend, sometimes more. Ths past weekend, I had to throw out about 8 boxes of dry goods, from a box of uncooked spaghetti to a muffin mix, to a couple of packages of Red Beans and Rice mixture. This is the second infestation I've had, the first one being about a year or so ago.
Everything from now on will be stored in tins or plastic Ziploks, but I would like to know if these are coming in from the stores, and growing inside the boxes, or do I need to go digging behind walls of the pantry - I have this horrible image in my mind about a huge mealworm colony living inside the wall of the house, just waiting with slobbery jaws (do they have jaws?) for me to bring them fresh supplies!
I shop at different stores (no out of date sale items or anything like that), and I don't stock up too much on these things, but the rice mix packates and muffin mixes are not more than 3 months old, at most? It just seems unlikely that this much of our storebought dry goods have the larvae already in them, or do they? At this point I just pitched the stuff, since I didn't really think it was one single grocery supplier issue.
Of course, the MaryJanes Budget Mix is not affected; although I keep it in a sealed container since I buy the bulk-sized bag.
Any thoughts or recommendations?
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 2:44:37 PM
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When it comes to baking mixes, flour and corn meal, I freeze mine for at least 48 hours and then store them in zip bags. I hate the thought of finding bugs in my food and thinking of the waste. Freezing kills any unfriendly inhabitants.
If those boxes have not been opened, then they were already there. Blecch  .
Have you seen The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio? (A movie that came out a few years ago with Julieanne Moore as the mom. True story.) This poor family is down to the last bits of food, a soup mix, and the mom makes it up for her family and there are definitely bugs in it. All of the children complain but she tells them that they are not bugs, they are spices. I guess they weren't moving though.
If you keep your foods in separate containers, it will help prevent an infestation into other foods. You will only have to deal with the offending creatures in one bag or box.
I'm sorry you had to deal with that nastiness.
Karin
Farmgirl Sister
# 18 :)
Wherever you go, there you are.
www.madrekarin.blogspot.com |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4115 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4115 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 4:20:18 PM
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I wonder if it would help putting bay leaves around on your shelves. Though if the boxes are unopened, if won't.
Michele |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Jan 28 2008 : 8:46:46 PM
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i have bay leaves everywhere in our dry storage and our pantry and we have no buggy issues. I had one buggy issue once when we first moved in and the bay leaves worked like a charm! Hope you get rid of it! feed it to your chickens...they like bugs...then at least it isn't a complete waste.
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Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
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"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Jan 29 2008 : 05:42:25 AM
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The packages weren't opened, so I suspect they were already in there. I am always careful about sealing up the opened bag after I use some of the product. Thanks for the tip on freezing them first. I have heard about scattering bay leaves in the pantry to ward off ants, but I may try that too. Can't hurt!
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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Sage
True Blue Farmgirl
207 Posts
Pam
Worland
Wyoming
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - Jan 29 2008 : 1:25:47 PM
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I agree sooooooooooooooo gross!! I used to manage an apartment house so I was always cleaning up old stuff left in kitchens when people moved. The eggs or larvae can be found in grain based foods and in cardboard packing material like boxes. I've found the bugs in food that was in sealed boxes, in paper products, and even in unopened spices and pet food. It's always a good idea to freeze anything wih grain or dry food in it that you won't be able to use in a month or two. I've found that the bay leaves work great and I use ziplock type bags to protect mixes etc.
I think this is more a problem with the suppliers and their packages than the consumer.
www.heritagedesigns.etsy.com |
Edited by - Sage on Jan 29 2008 4:53:27 PM |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Jan 30 2008 : 05:58:41 AM
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Thanks, Sage! It's just a blow to my housekeeping pride to find icky stuff in my supposedly clean home!
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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ivmeer
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Amanda
Pawtucket
RI
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Jan 30 2008 : 06:58:23 AM
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They're not living in your walls. They come home with you from the store.
This happened to me, too (although in my case, I think it might have been carpet beetles). You're doing the right things. Hope it gets better. |
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Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2008 : 01:07:55 AM
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I was thinking , when we cleaned out my uncles cupboards after he passed on , there were boxes of stuff that he had never opened and they had those little crawlers in some of them, and there were little borer (tiny) holes in the boxes near the bottems.
Shirley |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 03:48:57 AM
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We get infestations of ants and tiny yellow mealy bugs in flour.
I started keeping everything in tight fitting containers if it's not going to be used right away and in the freezer.
If you still have the boxes, look carefully at the sides and bottom for tiny holes. It's happened on more than one occasion here in unopened boxes---or what I thought was untampered. |
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mima
True Blue Farmgirl
1573 Posts
1573 Posts |
Posted - Feb 02 2008 : 07:25:55 AM
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Do you know you should be able to get free large buckets with lids from the bakery section in your grocery store? We give them away all the time! Cake icings,garlic spread, cinnamon roll spread etc come in them and we clean them out when were done, and recycle them or give them away!!! They make great storage containers!!! Good luck!
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars,or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." Helen Keller |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2008 : 10:18:08 AM
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Debi/Mima, that's a great idea about asking for the buckets at the store. And, thanks everyone, for the other info. There was only one box that had little holes/frayed area; the other boxes appeared to be untampered too, until I opened them up. This still gives me crawly feelings, but I don't feel like such a negligent housekeeper anymore.
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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Farm Kitchen: mealworms in grains and pasta...yechhh! |
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mealworms in grains and pasta...yechhh!
