I've recently had the misfortune of having to deal with a boll
weevil problem after having one crawl out of a box of cereal! Just that
one seemed to trigger dozens of them infesting the pantry. After
getting over the initial disgust and throwing away most of the grain
products that were open or not stored in tightly sealed containers (the
weevils can infect all types of grains...rice, cereal, cornmeal, flour,
etc) I consulted "Hints from Heloise".
She suggests storing grains in the freezer or at least putting
them in the freezer for at least seven hours to kill whatever larvae may
be already inside. You can also put the grains in the oven at 150
degrees for 1/2 hour and perform the same task.
Basically I cleaned the cupboards, replaced the shelf paper, and
disinfected as well as I could before putting everything back. Then I
went out and bought Rubbermaid type containers for everything that
wasn't already in one, and now after doing the freezer or oven trick, I
can see if any little guggers are crawling around.
Since then I have heard that quite a few people have experienced
this problem. Apparently it can happen to you only once or several
times over despite how diligent you may be. The situation is much worse
in warmer weather as well.
So far...so good!
--
Karen Stachowicz
NY Operations
(212) 322-1365
email: kstachow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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