"Battling the Red Flour Beetle: Tips for Effective Pest Control"

Red Flour beetles and its control:

Red Flour Beetles are a small reddish beetle that measures around 3/16th of an inch long when fully grown. They are among the most common of all pantry and cabinet infesting beetles and are easily mistaken for?similarities with Confused Flour beetles. There are a few differences between the species which are subtle and generally only a trained eye can see. The two most common differences include the antenna and the thorax.

RED FLOUR BEETLE BIOLOGY:

On the Red Flour Beetle, the antenna come to an abrupt end after 3 segments. On the Confused Flour Beetle the antenna gradually lengthen with 4 segments at the end.

Additionally, the thorax of the Red Flour Beetle has curved sides whereas the Confused Flour Beetle has a thorax which is straight.

And though Red Flour beetles commonly fly, you won’t see Confused Flour beetles take to the air. Though they have wings, its believed they do not fly.

RED FLOUR BEETLE PROBLEMS:

Unlike most pantry pests, Red Flour Beetles can find food which is well hidden and protected. Their strong chewing mouth parts will allow them to access food which is stored inside boxes and plastic bags. All that is needed is the scent of something worthwhile inside and they will make every attempt to find their way inside. For this reason, they can target homes from outside by using their sense of smell.

Red Flour Beetles live a long time. Their average life is 3-5 years which is quite long for an insect so small. Adult females will lay a few eggs daily which will amount to 300-500 over their life time. Eggs will hatch in a couple of weeks and start to feed immediately. Larva will go through many instars or developing stages – as many as 20 – before they reach adulthood. The number of stages will depend largely on the sub species active along with local temperatures and food supplies. This process will take 2-4 months before the young instars reach adulthood.

HOW TO TREAT FOR RED FLOUR BEETLES:

Whether they are brought home or enter from your yard, Red Flour Beetles are a nuisance once nesting inside. Like many other pantry pests, there are a few things which must be done to break their cycle once established.

To get control, you first need to empty all cabinets, shelves and closets where they have been seen or thought to exist. Any food stuff which has them active must be discarded in sealed plastic bags. This will help contain them until the garbage is picked up.

If you are unsure if something has activity, store it in a plastic bag and check it every week. If there are any Red Flour Beetles in the item they will try to get out within a few weeks. If some are found, throw it away immediately.

Since this pest is temperature tolerant, don’t waste your time trying to freeze adults, eggs or larva. Though you will kill active stages, the remaining eggs and pupae will hatch as soon as the item is warmed.

Once the infested areas are cleared, vacuum them. This will help remove eggs which are too small to see. Red Flour Beetles lay eggs with a glue like excretion which helps to attach them to surfaces where food is likely to be available. This helps to keep them in place and vacuuming will help reduce these numbers.

Once everything has been removed from the cabinets and they have been vacuumed, you can begin treating. Be sure to treat as many rooms as possible – not just where you think beetles may be hiding. Red Flour Beetles are small, fast and quick to hide whenever people are around disturbing where they have been feeding. Many will go unnoticed and missed so it is best to treat every cabinet to be sure you get proper coverage. Let the treatment dry for 1 hour and all dishes and food stuff can then go back away without hazard to people or pets.

RED FLOUR BEETLE TRAPS:

Lastly, you’ll want to set out some?Pheromone Traps in cabinets or pantries with activity. These traps use strong pheromones or sex attractants to lure adults. Once they crawl or fly into the holding tray, the thick catching oil will hold them for good. Set these traps in the back corner of any shelf or cabinet area. They’re quite discreet and easy to conceal.

Either trap will remain active for at least 1 month but you should replace glue and lure sooner if they get filled with beetles or contaminated by water or dust. And even after the problem appears to be resolved, keeping a few in place to “monitor” the area is suggested. This way if you get another breakout, you’ll have a first line of defense in place as well as a way to locate the central nest site.

Red Flour Beetles can be a persistent pest once established in the home. To break their life cycle, you will need to remove any food which is infested. Next, clean and vacuum all cabinets or closets where they’ve been found. Better to call pest control inspector for efficient control. Finally, set out traps in cabinets and pantries where activity has been noted. Be sure to keep the traps fresh so they’re always helping by catching adults before they mate and try to reproduce. This program will help to break the cycle so that it will eventually run it’s course and disappear.

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