Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => This 'n' That => Topic started by: margaret on July 15, 2017, 10:59:11 PM
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Hi Ladies,
I'm never going to be first foot again, I've been over run with Bumble Bees a few weeks ago and this morning I decided to make some cakes I opened a new bag of self raising flour which I got delivered just over a week ago from Sainsbury's to find it was full of weevils which had infested everything in my cupboard, I threw everything in the bin and spent hours scubbing them out to find more kept coming out of the wood work, I ended up getting pest control out which cost me £50 and then went to tesco to get my basics back in that cost £37. My husband rang Sainbury's and they offered us £20 compensation. The thing is I can't put anything into the cupboards until they are free of the weevils as they lay eggs and they are still hatching. x
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How horrible. I hope compensation is more than the miserly sum offered. Must remember where not to shop in future.
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Oh crikey margaret that must be awful for you.
I have found this bit if info which might help.
Best Methods of Weevil Controla well organized food pantryRemove contaminated food products. Sounds like a no-brainer, but this might be the single most important step in getting rid of weevils. Look through your ENTIRE pantry and every single cupboard for any food products that might be contaminated. If you find something that you aren't sure of, pitch it. There's no point in risking reinfestation. It could very well cost you more money in the long run. Once you have it all gathered up, take it outside to the trash immediately and move the can as far away from your house as possible.
Conduct the most thorough cleaning of your pantry and cupboards that you have ever done. Start by taking absolutely everything off the shelves and vacuuming them. Make sure to get all the cracks where flour or other food bits might be hiding. If you have contact paper lining the shelves, remove it (you can put new stuff on later). Use a rag and some hot sudsy water to do the rest of the cleaning.Kill weevils with cold. To avoid future problems with weevils, it is advisable to freeze your food. You can do this to flour, oats, cookies, corn meal, grits, whatever. If you have the space in your freezer, you should just keep the stuff in there full time. If you have a small freezer and can't afford the space, set the freezer as cold as it gets and leave the food in there for at least four days. That will kill any eggs, larvae, or weevils. Also, that's an added 4 days of shelf life!Kill weevils with heat. If you don't feel like freezing everything, a little heat exposure will accomplish the same thing. Spread your food or seeds thinly on a baking sheet, preheat the oven to 120°F, and leave it in there for 1 hour. If you're impatient, you can do 130°F for ½ hour. If you want to use the microwave, spread the stuff on a glass dish or plate, and run it for 5 minutes. Keep in mind that if you are heating seeds for gardening, the heat may destroy the seed's chances for germination. Also, don't heat fine-grained things, like flour, in case of combustion.food containers with tight fitting lidsFurther weevil prevention. Start by cleaning the cupboards and pantry regularly. If you spill something, clean it up immediately and thoroughly. In the pantry and cupboards, you may want to consider sealing any shelving cracks with caulk to keep food from getting trapped down there in the future. Buy your goods in smaller amounts that you can use quickly. Rotate your stock and don't mix new food with old. Finally, store all of your perishables in tight-lidded glass, tin, steel, or plastic containers. If you have limited cupboard space, Rubbermaid modular containers (sold at Amazon) may be a good plan.
You have my sympathies.
Cazi x
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Oh yuck, how awful for you!
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Find a robin?
Flour beetles are what I buy i.e. lie meal worms and we often find beetles running across the carpet that have hatched ::). This is because one/2 meal worms get caught in a jumper sleeve, drop out and hey presto! but should I try to breed live meal worms, they don't engage.
Weevils like different food stuffs. They won't do any harm if eaten [think Aborigines here :sick02: ] but it is a shock. This happened in our cupboards a few years back, I put all the food stuffs into our bird house/compost and the birds were soon clearing up ..... and now we store in plastic tubs or glass jars. Apart from flour ::)
What did the Pest Control man suggest? What did he use .......... do you need to leave your cupboards open for a while ?
CaroleM - it doesn't matter where one shops ........ but the stores need to know so that they can check their stock control.
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He said it could take a few weeks to get rid of them as the eggs keep hatching, my cupboards are now empty and I have a make shift kitchen in the bedroom, I've thrown everything away and I've just spent 9 hours washing every plate dish and cup that I own just in-case. I found another 17 of them in one cupboard but the stuff he painted on the cupboards must have killed them, but they've managed to get over the cooker hood into another 2 cupboards where I keep my plates and glasses and they were alive I killed those and I've found a couple crawling on the benches. It's put me right of my food I'm frightened to put anything down in the kitchen, I must have eaten some on friday though because when I looked in my sugar storage jar they were in there and I'd put some sugar on my shredded wheat ,yuck, I'm going to my quiz tonight so I'm having my tea there x
::)
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May I giggle - you would have seen them in the sugar ;) ....... FinL was a Prisoner of War and those that ate the beetles, weevils etc. lived, those that picked them out of the 1 bowl of rice they were given .......... remain in the Far East.
Apparently fried meal worms etc. are the Way to Go ............ as we run out of growing land because houses are being built on the acres.
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I just checked my bag of SR flour that was delivered from our Sainsbury's, fortunately nothing living in there. How awful, reminds me of when I though the dog had a flea and we were spraying everything and boil washing his bedding. Nothing worse than the thought of insects sharing our living space.
Years ago, before we had the kitchen extension built, we would be infested with ants. every year they would return and bring all their relatives and friends ::)
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The Guy who came out from pest control was so lovely, he started to tell me some places he had been to, a woman rang him because she had Moths in her larder, when he took a look there were moths hatching out in a bag of flour it was only 18 years out of date, the sites he must see, I couldn't do it, I've never stopped scratching since I saw the weevils yesterday x
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How absolutely horrible for you Margaret.
The thing that really bothers me is how many bags of flour does that supermarket have sitting on their shelves and what else has it come in contact with. How many other people will be in your position and be offered a paltry £20.
If nothing else they should foot the bill for the pest control man and I really hope you will fight your corner. Get online and start naming and shaming. That will get them to sort things out PDQ.
Really nothing to giggle about at all from where I'm sitting.
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It is horrible to find un-wanted visitors in food stuffs but it's a First World problem ....... in some countries they would be glad of the protein ::) ti really does depend on how we are raised.
Now flies and rats I can't stand but apparently, both have a 'place' in Nature :D
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So if himself serves you lovely pancakes with weevils you will munch them down..... :-\
Don't care what world problem it is....it's not nice, it's inconvenient and it would put me off my food just like Margaret.
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If one was starving one wouldn't think twice, or if we had been raised to accept different food stuffs; thinking of kids in bare feet picking out tarantulas with sticks from deep in the ground, then carrying them to a fire to cook them on, their only source of protein.
This hot weather will probably be the cause of such an invasion. We had small black beetles a few years ago in a cupboard but nothing had spread. Bet the Pest Man could write a book!
Ants I feed outside, we never have any indoors: a cheap jar of jam on it's side which they take back to the nest under the patio. When they 'fly' the birds are soon around!
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But you and I are not ....so if hubby served you pancakes with weevils in our first world country would you look at them and think yum yum.
I know I wouldn't. We pay good money for food that's edible and not for something we have to get the pest control man out for .
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Nope, I rarely look at food like that, if my mouth waters prior to a meal we are both pleased.
I agree - food stuffs should be free of visitors! Years++ ago we had a spate of finding things in foods and always sent a letter to the manufacturer and eventually had a nice letter back with tokens or once, a box of black magic. :)
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Don't think your mouth would water in a good way of you saw a weevil.
I think the manufacturer and the supermarket should really be held to account. I would be getting in touch with environmental health to be honest.
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We've had weevils lots of times and they are a pain to get rid of from cupboards but they are not poisonous and wont harm you if eaten although it's probably not a nice thought. It is difficult for foodstuffs to be kept clear of this sort of insect to be honest.
The weevils in flour are tiny. The info on this site is good https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A87746313
Taz x
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I used to work in a warehouse that sold animal/pet food! Weevils cropped up several times & they were a bugger to get rid of in those days (20+ years ago).
The owner of the business went ballistic when they use to appear as she knew it was difficult to get rid of them - plus the customers would be horrified if they got a bag of dog food/bird seed/ewe nuts with them in it & soon be on the phone to us ranting & raving.
Sainsburys and their supplier should be worried. this is not acceptable this day & age!
No one pays good money to bring this into their homes.
Cazi x
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when we were teenagers my husband's mother had silverfish in her kitchen cupboards, they were stubborn and a nuisance but they didn't get in the food and they were just always in there ::)
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I have silverfish too. Fascinating. They aren't in the cupboards though just in the downstairs cloakroom.
Taz x
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They would have to go as far as I'm concerned.
I know we share our living spaces with....umm...things. But if they are big enough for me to see them then they are out ::)
I still think Sainsbury's should be reported. There will be weevils all over that warehouse and that's not good enough.
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Spoke to someone at Sainsbury's today, I think they might be paying for the pest control man, I have to send a photo of the receipt, have to work out how to do it on my phone first though ::)
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Have you got in touch with environmental health Margaret.
Think how many contaminated things are just waiting to go into someone else's house.
Please report them.
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I think because they offered me a voucher, Enviromental Health won't do anything
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I think you will find that they will to be honest.
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If you accepted the Voucher Env. Health may well not want to be involved.
Silverfish are one of our oldest critters, unchanged from 1000s of years back. Apparently they like warm damp places and eat paper, dust, books ...... we had them when we lived in a very old Mansion which was rarely warm ::). They hated the light and would dash under the skirting boards ..........
Most food stuffs are packed in huge plastic covers on - what do fork lift trucks move around :-\ - oh, pallets. We buy in bulk and the amount of 'stuff' there always amazes me. The turn around is fast so I doubt if there will be an infestation in the warehouse itself. However :-X ....... add the recent hot weather into the mix ........
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The weevils can get into the flour at any stage of it's production. This aticle seems to give an account of what will be followed up by food standards agency - it has to pose a health risk and weevils etc. don't so you are supposed to take it up with the manufacturer I think https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/business-and-enterprise/regulation/food-safety/food-complaints
Taz x
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Tnx Taz