I had this happen a month ago. But they didn't look like weevils more like extremly tiny ants. First found them in a jar of Natural peanut butter that was in the pantry that had already been opened but the lid was on tight how could they get in there....at close inspection I had to toss everything except cans and even than I had to remove labels and wash the can they were under the labels basically lost the entire pantry.

Could you not have used a permanent marker to label the tops of the cans before you removed the paper labels?

Could these possible be sugar ants? They are tiny! If so, get some terro traps, they are very effective.

Could these possible be sugar ants?

Or possibly ghost ants?

No, definitely weevils. I've replaced everything, I put the packages in the freezer for a day and a half, now I have it double-contained in plastic canisters and then inside jumbo ziplock bags. Hopefully this will suffice. Of course I had to completely clean out the cabinets and pantry where I kept the stuff, threw out opened stuff even though I didn't see the buggers in it. I had phoned the pest control company that we have a contract with, not for them to come out and do something but to ask if there was some product out in the stores that is safe to spray in the cabinets, they said there isn't anything out there and they don't do it either. So I also soaked some cotton balls in peppermint essential oils and put them strategically in the cupboards since I've heard they don't like the smell. I also put some life savers in there, too, they are individually wrapped.

Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP)

Program Description

The Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) gives food assistance to low-income households with food loss or damage caused by a natural disaster.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS) must approve states to operate D-SNAP in a disaster area. The President must declare Individual Assistance for the disaster area and your state must request FNS approval to operate D-SNAP.

If approved for D-SNAP benefits, you will get an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to access them. You use it just like a debit card to buy food at most local grocery stores.

General Program Requirements

Because of the unique needs of disaster survivors, D-SNAP uses different standards than normal SNAP. If you would not normally qualify for SNAP, you may qualify for D-SNAP if you had one of the disaster-related expenses below:

• Home or business repairs
• Temporary shelter expenses
• Evacuation or relocation expenses
• Home or business protection
• Disaster-related personal injury, including funeral expenses
• Lost or no access to income due to the disaster, including reduced, terminated, or delayed receipt of income, for a large part of the benefit period
• In some cases, food loss after a disaster like flooding or power outages

the program is available in both Florida and Texas. Not sure about Puerto Rico. There may be people here who qualify.

I thought one could refrigerate instead of using the freezer, no?

are there many who actually have room in freezer (or fridge) to store flour?? I sure don't. i store all the "dry" stuff from pantry in jars, canisters or nice tight T-ware containers. no flour, sugar, grains, rice, dried beans or stuff like that every sits on a shelf in box/bag alone. if your flour was stored in something that critters really couldn't just get into... they came in with the flour... and you've eaten some/many before they got to hatching stage!

I put flour & sugar in those clear shoebox containers. last year as holiday cookie season was approaching, i went to see just what i already had so wouldn't end up with 20 lbs of flour/sugar! as I stepped thru door into garage, could see the clear container on shelf but had to check to see if flour ot sugar. WELL, there was a neat hole gnawed thru the lid and about 2/3 of that 5 lb bag of flour was GONE!!

Like anoriginal says, the bugs were already there.

The female weevil lays eggs in the wheat kernel and it can sometimes survive the milling process. The eggs will hatch if they’re in warm or humid conditions, or have reached their maturity. The flour bugs eat the grain and then seek to mate… while eating more grain.

How do these pests get into our food? Occasionally, some may find their way inside from outdoors; however, the majority of these pests are in food products brought into the home. The initial infestation can originate at the processing plant, the warehouse, the delivery vehicle, or the retail store (chances of becoming infested increase the longer a food item is stored at the same location).

Beetles and moths have four stages in their development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. All stages may be present in the food, but the eggs are so tiny they are seldom seen. The larval stage is most destructive, but the adult stage is most often seen.

DOES FLOUR GO BAD?

The short answer: Yes.

The long answer: The more processed the flour is, the longer it takes to go bad.

Whole grain flours should be kept in a refrigerator for the short term, about 2-5 days. If you need to store whole grain flour for longer than a handful of days, the freezer is the best place.

If the flour will be used within a month or two, it should be kept in a sealed container.

One to two months is considered “quick” in terms of flour usage, so you can keep your flour in a container that is NOT sealed (i.e. the same thick paper bag, rolled down) but the chances of the flour going rancid increase.

If the flour will not be completely consumed within two months, it should be stored in a sealed container.

Freeze newly purchased grains and flour for at least three days to kill any eggs. Some sources recommend freezing for up to one week. (Note that freezing will kill the eggs, but not remove them.)

As a general guideline, don’t buy more grain than you will use within four months. Store grain in a tightly sealed container, not a bag. Weevils are HUNGRY little devils and can eat through bags. (See my storage recommendations above).

Adding whole bay leaves and garlic cloves to the area seems to deter flour bugs from setting up shop in your pantry. Garlic may leave a trace flavor in your baked goods, so if you don’t want that, go for the bay leaves instead.

You can also apply tea tree oil to a few cotton balls and place them throughout the pantry.

WILL EATING BEETLES HARM ME?

Other than give you the heebie jeebies, they’re harmless. In fact, the heat from baking kills the eggs and any beetles that may have made their way into your batter. So while the odds of us eating weevils – or have eaten weevils in the past – are high, the mortality rate is low.

For years now I've been putting all my grain products in the freezer for a week or so before storing in tins or glass jars @ room temp.. If I haven't used them in awhile, I will refreeze for several days. I do it w/ dry beans/peas too.

I started storing things in ziplock after an infestation...they ate thru the ziplock...i put it in tupperware...i couldn't see thru it to see what it was and often forgot about stuff. I switched to rubber gasket jars...beans, pasta, rice, flours, sugars, corn meal and candy all in jars. Works fab so far.

btw, that dsnap food info...i have been trying to get on the website but it never loads...anybody have success?

Some homeowner's insurance policies cover food loss resulting from electricity loss. The ones I'm aware of have been a set price that doesn't cover the cost of replacing your basic fridge items, but it's better than nothing so it could be worth a call to your insurance company/agent.

it's better than nothing so it could be worth a call to your insurance company/agent.

Whoosh, that depends bigly on where you live, bethohio.

In FL, merely calling and asking a random question about what's covered by your policy when there hasn't been any kind of storm or other event is often enough to put you on the "get them out" list.

I would never in a million years go to the insurance company over something like food, even if my freezer had been full of truffles, moon dust, and unicorn steaks, except as part of another claim. And around here nobody tries to make a claim on anything that isn't major because we know what happens. We see it over and over again every time there's a storm.

Wow, writersblock--I've not heard of anything like that--but I don't live in FL!

You are so right, Writer'sblock. We have a high deductible just so we can afford homeowners, not worth a few hundred dollars worth of food to bother with it.

Food for Florida

The following counties can apply online now

Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Desoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwanee, Union, Volusia

Apply online

Disaster SNAP Texas