Like the title says, I found that my (thankfully not huge) bag of rice has bugs in it. They don’t look like rice weevils to me, they honestly look more like suuper tiny flies or something with wings, but idk. I found a couple dead ones and then when I found a live larvae I poured the entire bag out into a pan and put it in the oven where it is now.
Its kinda gross but I assume if I kill them all in the oven I can put them in a fresh airtight container and still use the rice? Any idea what kind of bug they could be? Should I deep clean the whole kitchen and bleach the cabinets and sprinkle diatomaceous earth and make a sacrifice to the bug gods?
Does anyone bother with the whole “freeze it before storage” process to kill them? I assume in this case they got into the bag somehow, didn’t come from the factory like that, otherwise I would have noticed sooner (I go through rice slowly)
edit: yeah it doesn’t seem to be very many bugs, I went through it after it cooked in the oven a while. going to let it cook longer at a low temp to be sure and then do the new container plan
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I bought a container for dried dog food, which has seals and also a lid if you want to pour it. I rather scoop it out after removing the whole lid though.
I have one of those somewhere I have to find and wash out… The bag was a ziplock resealable kind but I think either it didn’t seal all the way or it wore through
Be on the lookout for any other food containers they might be getting into. They might actually be originating from somewhere else, and opportunistically getting into the rice.
Could be Meal Moths. You’ll want to deep clean the pantry and any food containers and lids. They hide in lots of different places. And then, as suggested, air tight containers for all types of loose/non-perishable foods. Otherwise they’ll definitely find a way in. Source: Trust me, bro.
Look out for anything starchy like flour, some grains or also sesame. I keep all those things in an airtight container (in their original boxes) and only get them out when i need them.
Best is to move everything out of the shelves, check every box and deep clean the shelf as well. I also found larvae in the holes for the adjustable shelves of the cabinet too.
I wouldn’t sweat it honestly I doubt you’ll even know that they’re there. We eat a lot of bugs just in due course.
Note baking your rice may affect the texture (though you can still cook it) so you might have to let it go. Less is more in terms of time under heat.
For the future put your grains in airtight containers. You can get cheap reusable storage containers at like Goodwill or flea markets if you live near one. Big mason jars also work and big FREEZER zipper bags (thicker!) will also work in a pinch. I wouldn’t trust the bag the rice comes in.
I don’t like bags because mice can chew into them. If mice haven’t been a problem then it doesn’t matter, and if they have then you probably learned this lesson already
