THE MAIN BUG CULPRITS
The main culprits are beetles, moths and their larvae. The list of insects that can be found in our food includes the drugstore beetle, cigarette beetle, lesser grain borer, rice weevil, granary weevil, hide beetle, saw-toothed grain beetle, yellow mealworm, angoumois grain moth, Mediterranean flour moth and Indian meal moth.
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM
If you are concerned that food in your home, restaurant or plant might be infested, Contact an expert for a full evaluation. The consultants at Pest Police Australia will identify any infestation, safely and effectively clear the infected area and advise you on how to minimise problems in the future.
SIGNS OF A BUG ISSUE
Telltale signs of an infestation will include the following:
An unpleasant odour is present in heavily infested foods
Faecal material — usually present as fine dust in packs of grain
Visible signs of beetles, moths or larvae
Grain foods, such as rice, hollowed out
Food connected together by fine, cobweb-like strands of silk. This indicates the larvae of moths are present
Chemical treatment to eradicate food pests is not recommended. However, a thorough inspection and eradication program is the best course of action. The storage areas must be cleared and cleaned, and a continuous program of preventative measures put in place
Hygiene in kitchens and other storage areas is essential to keep them pest free. The experts from Pest Police Australia can diagnose your problem, and recommend storage systems that will protect foodstuffs from infestations in the future. The cost is minimal if you consider the problem food infestations can cause.
Keeping food products safe is important in both domestic and commercial kitchens. The problem is, food, grains particularly, can become infested at every step of the processing cycle. Through silo storage, at mills, during processing, during packaging, at bakeries, at shops, at restaurants and at home.