The granary weevil (also known as the pantry weevil) can be found in stored food products. This insect does develop wings, which gives them the ability to travel great distances from the field to storage facilities. Inside the food storage warehouses is where they begin to infest food products. They chew through the grain kernels that exist in whole grain foods such as
- Rice
- Cereals
- Seeds
- Flour
- Cake mix
- Cornmeal
- Spaghetti
- Crackers
- Cookies
- Oats
- Barley
- Wheat
The adults can chew from the outside as well as lay eggs. Once the eggs are layed by the female, they develop through several stages inside the grain kernels and eventually hatch. In warm conditions, the larvae can develop in a short as a month. Adult weevils often live for about 7 to 8 months while some can live up to 2 years.
For items that are going to be kept, it is recommended to place the food product in the freezer for several weeks to kill the adult weevils and the larvae. In most cases, it is safest to discard the contaminated items. Treatment would involve disposing the infested material, clearing out the pantry and treating the areas where the insects are located.
