Saying that finding Weevils in your bedroom can be quite unpleasant is an understatement. They have no earthly business being there. Yet sometimes it happens, and when it does you need to take good measures in order to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
What are Weevils?
Weevils are small, evil creatures that feed on carbs. They love munching on starches, so you can expect to find them in rice, flour (one of the reasons they’re nicknamed “flour insects”), oats, corn, barley, etc. Anything that has starches in it, really.
Weevils are a type of beetle, but their small size makes their lifestyle quite interesting. Instead of carrying their Food around, like traditional beetles, ants, and roaches, weevils instead live inside their food. They are quite efficient in that regard since their feeding habits also help them build a breeding ground.
Weevils are born inside grain and for weeks eat their way out. The female lays her eggs inside the grain kernels. She creates a small hole, deposits her egg, and then seals it. A process, which is sometimes repeated hundreds of times. If another female has already laid an egg inside the grain, she will avoid it.
Once they hatch, the larvae weevils begin eating their surroundings and the entirety of their larval and pupal stages are inside the grain. By the time they eat their way out, they’ve already matured and are ready to destroy even more grain.
This type of reproduction and particular diet makes weevils a worldwide pest, responsible for tons of crops being destroyed. Through our best efforts, we’ve not been able to solve this problem on a global scale. Lucky for you, your bedroom is no place for weevils, so the problem is much more easily handled.
Types of Weevils that Can Be Found in the Bedroom
Due to their reproduction and diet, weevils can end up in all sorts of packaged food. Entire live weevils, parts of them, or even their eggs, be inadvertently brought into your room through your food.
So if you eat any kind of food inside your room, you may be inviting these little invaders into your inner sanctum. Here are the most popular types of weevils you can find in your bedroom:
- Rice weevils – as the name suggests, they enter through rice, which has become a healthier alternative for different types of snacks in recent years
- Seed weevils – they get in through different seeds, especially raw ones
- Bean weevils – you already guessed it – they come in through bean products
- Wheat weevils – anything wheat-related potentially contains them
Those are the main ones. There are potentially many more, but considering there are more than 80,000 species, we’re not going to get into that much detail.
How to Get Rid of Weevils in Your Bedroom
The most important thing is not to panic. Weevils are not dangerous. Here’s how to get rid of weevils in your bedroom:
- Identify the source of the infestation. If weevils are in your bedroom, they must’ve gone in somehow. They’ve probably piggybacked on some of the aforementioned food sources.
- Clean up your bedroom thoroughly. The first thing to do once you’ve identified the source is to clean up thoroughly. This under the bed, behind the wardrobe, and any place you can reach.
- Clean up your kitchen thoroughly. The infestation may have spread to your bedroom, but it probably originated in your kitchen. Clean it up thoroughly, including the pantries, and make sure you keep your food in sealed containers. This will help prevent other pests like ants, cockroaches, and rats, too.
- Use pesticides. As a last resort and for your peace of mind, you can use pesticides. Even over the counter pesticides should work as weevils aren’t particularly resistant.
- Use bay leaves as a weevil deterrent. Bay leaves are a natural deterrent for weevils. You can use them as a way to prevent future infestations.
That’s it! It’s that simple. Your bedroom shouldn’t be infested with weevils, but even if it is, it should be pretty easy to get rid of them. Just keep your room clean and make sure food stays where it belongs – the kitchen.
But if you ever find yourself in a situation where you prefer to eat in your bedroom (we all know that sweet allure of binge-watching), or you bring food in for any other reason and end up weevil infested, now you know the solution.
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The post How to Get Rid of Weevils in Your Bedroom appeared first on Fantastic Pest Control Blog.
