Buying and keeping bulk items and how to get rid of the moths

[RGC1982]

We eat a lot of rice, so I decided to purchase a 20 lb. bag of Jasmine rice from an Asian grocer. I carefully poured it into an air tight food storage container that was immaculate, and placed it on the pantry shelf. Light is low and it is at room temperature, 74 degrees or or so. Now, weeks later, I am dismayed to find winged insects and much smaller (larvae?) insects crawling around inside that I did not see when I first opened the bag of rice. I know that they are just found in these sacks, but this caused me to throw the batch out. So my question is, how do people who typically buy rice in bulk handle this problem? Would freezing the bag help before putting it into the container? Is the pantry too warm? Would it freezing affect the rice texture? Does anyone else have this problem? Maybe it was just the grocer I purchased it from.

[dolores]

Since I would imagine the eggs were microscopic, you wouldn't have seen them!

Ick.

[RicRios]

Here's some useful info re. Pantry Pests:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNO...

[lynnlato]

These pantry moths can be found in any grain, nuts, cereal, etc. They will infiltrate your pantry and reek havoc if you don't do away with them asap! We somehow got them in our pantry several years ago and it took an act of congress to get rid of them. The only way, really, is to strip everything from your pantry and discard any previously opened oatmeal, cereal, nuts, chocolate, or other grain. They are sneaky devils and will hide in between the box flaps, in nooks and crannies on shelving, everywhere! After you strip and clean keep a close eye for new larvae. It's an ongoing process to keep them away.

I'm sorry for you! I'm still scarred from our experience, clearly!

[revsharkie]

My husband is the Orkin man and he says those are probably Indian Meal Moths. They actually lay their eggs on the stalks of the grain living in the field, and are milled into your product. They then hatch and molt and all that stuff in your product, but they don't reproduce there. He says if you throw out the infested stuff, you should be rid of them.

I have had them in my kitchen a couple times, once in a canister of brown rice and once in some cornmeal. I threw the stuff out, both times, and haven't seen them again.

[lynnlato]

That's exactly what they were. However, ridding my pantry of them wasn't as easy as throwing away a few things. They layed eggs in the nooks of my shelving, behind the fire extinguisher... basicly any small space they could find. This was in our old home and several years ago so we are free of them now but it was an effort to get rid of them. But, yeah Indian Meal Moths... ick!!!! They were slow fliers and small moths.

[revsharkie]

Mike says those aren't eggs; they're like the cocoons that the finished moths come out of. He said it's not utterly unthinkable that there might be a few that get confused and lay eggs other than in their normal place--but they'd have to mate first.

[lynnlato]

Yes, cocoons is what they were. But it was more than "just a few". They were not an easy fix. As noted in wikipedia;

After larvae or moths have been found, it is important to throw out all grains (cereal, bread, pasta, rice), spices (salt[citation needed], etc.), dried fruits (raisins), and any other food source that is not in a very tightly sealed container. The moths are able to get into surprisingly tight spots, including sealed bags and Tupperware containers. They are also notoriously difficult to get rid of.

Some people place questionable items in the freezer or refrigerator during the cleanout phase.

Nontoxic traps are also available to cut down on the movement of adult moths. For example, one type of trap is a triangular box with a lure inside and sticky walls. Moths are attracted inside by the lure and then stuck inside the box. Moths often do not even need a lure, common glue traps work well to reduce the number of adults.

[Leslieville]

As well as the procedures mentioned above,You can buy Food moth traps. These will help while you are doing these other preventitive measures. Check the web for dealers near you.

[meatn3]

You can freeze the rice. It will be fine. The moth traps work well - I have found that the natural foods stores that sell bulk items will often sell the traps to you. Ask, many times it is not on the shelf, they have sold me some of the ones they order for the stores use. Heat does seem to encourage the moths. I keep grains in tightly closed containers, away from heat sources. I also use crumbled bay leaves on my pantry shelf. Since I have been using these measures I haven't had a problem in many years. Good luck. My sympathies, it is an aggravating task.

[willownt]

It's good to freeze things to kill the bugs. My mother keeps all her dried things in the freezer (rice, cornmeal, flour) as a preventive measure. I don't have room for that.

* Had a question about bulk food storage but found this thread helpful:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/333887
so am deleting my question

[ctflowers]

If you have indian meal moths (and eggs which you can't see) in the rice, you need to throw it all out. Also, if the moths are in the rice, they are probably in other items in your pantry. You need to throw out all rice, oatmeal, grains, pasta, etc....scrub the entire cabinet, including all the nooks and crannies, doors, shelves, etc. These critters are very difficult to get rid of.

We finally had to call a pest control company to come out and spray the cabinets...that finally got rid of the problem.

I've heard advice that you should never buy bulk product at the grocery store...you know, the nuts, seeds, etc. that they sell by the pound & you scoop out with that shovel thing? They are a prime breeding ground for the indian meal moths. Also, if you have birdseed, make sure to keep it outside in a garage in a airtight container.

[EllenMM]

I had this problem years ago. After I cleaned out the contaminated food and got rid of everything else in the cupboard, I washed it all down with some Fantastik-like spray. Then, after asking around, when I restocked, I placed several bay leaves in each of the corners of the shelves and that seemed to eliminate them. I've never had the problem return.

[pikawicca]

I had these a few years ago and they got into everything -- even the cornstarch! I eventually had to throw out all my grains and pulses. Did a thorough cleaning, then put all incoming grains, etc., into ziploc bags. This worked. What a pain, and an expensive one, at that.

[lynnlato]

It's an awful thing, isn't it!? I feel so sorry for anyone who has them. Ugh!

[ctflowers]

They can easily get into the ziploc bags though...just a word of caution.

[pikawicca]

Never had that happen, Thank God! They were my last line of defense!

[lynnlato]

Yeah, unfortunately I had them get into sealed bags also. I think I brought them into the house after buying some things at an Indian market. Mind you, this happened 5 yrs ago and I'm still tramatized! :-)

[artlee]

We had them after buying a big bag of rice from one of the big Asian mkts. It took us almost a month to finally get rid of them. I doubt I would ever buy rice from that mkt again.

[RGC1982]

Well, fortunately the rice was NOT stored in my pantry, so it seems okay. Pest control guys said to keep traps around for a while...

[CulinaryCutie3]

Am I the only with shivers up her back after reading all these posts?? Cripes.

I have been purchasing goods from Indian stores for nearly 20 years now with no problems. However, I will be reconsidering what needs to go into the freezer for detox after reading all these stories.

All of my dried goods/flours for White People Food has always gone into the freezer for 48 hours for detox. Per my grandma's directions, which have not failed me yet (knocking furiously on wood right now!)

[chefschickie]

We've had them in pretty much anything..... it's very frustrating! even in all my spices. Quiet surprisingly, there were about 50 in my Dillweed, eeeeeeeeeeew all dead though.. even in the cocoa powder... we keep rice and flour in the freezer.... I always thought it was a warm weather climate thing (we are in Florida).... is it all over the country???

[RicRios]

Bugs come WITH the stuff. Nothing to do with destination. As the link I posted above says, "Stored-product pests are usually brought into the home in an infested package of food".

[chefschickie]

Geez! sorry Ric, what was I thinking?!?!
Never ever had it up north and it's absolutely unheard of in Holland.
so, easy there...ok