Are rice weevils harmful?
In this article, we will answer the question “Are rice weevils harmful”? and discuss other related questions like can weevils eat humans and is there any natural way to control weevils?
Are rice weevils harmful?
Yes, rice weevils are harmful. Rice weevils are harmful to grains but it is harmless for human beings as they don’t transmit any disease to human beings.
Rice weevils are there in the crop before harvesting and brought to the processing area with rice. These weevils appear in later stages and enter home with the product when you purchase rice. They can make holes in the rice and increase moisture levels.
What are rice weevils?
Rice weevils (Sitophilus oryzae) is a small, black to the reddish-brown beetle-like insect which is found in dry grains like rice, cereals, oats and different types of flour. There are many types of weevils, not all the weevils eat rice.
They are harmless to human beings and don’t bite them but they may cause damage to rice. These can hide and multiply rapidly. They can cause spoilage and damage to crops.
They are also known as rice bugs, rice beetles, tiny black rice bugs, maize weevils, corn weevils, wheat weevils and sitophilus. These weevils are the most common beetles of rice that can hide in the rice.
Can rice weevils fly?
Yes, rice weevils can fly when they are in the adult stage and develop wings. Larvae and nymphs can’t fly because they don’t have wings.
Can weevils bite humans?
No, weevils can’t bite humans. Rice weevils are not poisonous or dangerous to human beings or pets, they don’t transmit disease and are harmless for us because they are not carnivorous so they don’t like humans and pets.
Rice weevils eat grains, nuts, seeds and fruit but can’t eat you or your pets.
Are weevils harmful to furniture?
No, weevils won’t harm your furniture, carpets, curtains or other household items. They only cause damage to grains and destroy food products. They are completely harmless to human beings but make you annoyed because it is difficult to get rid of them.
Can weevils eat through plastics?
Yes, weevils eat through plastics and paper. That is why products stored in plastic containers and paper bags are not safe from weevils. Weevils can cause an infestation in those products.
You should store grains that are prone to weevil’s infestation in glass, weevils’ proof airtight container to avoid an infestation in grains.
When the storage containers are made from glass or thick plastic there is no chance for weevils to enter the container and cause infestation.
Make sure that grains are free from weevils before storing them in the container. If you want to add grains in the previous one please make sure there are no weevils there.
Do weevils get in pasta?
Yes, weevils can get in pasta. Weevils can get in the poorly sealed or opened pasta package. Since pasta has very thin paper packaging, it is easy for weevils to get in pasta and cause an infestation in pasta. You should store pasta in an airtight container or glass container so beetles can’t find a way to cause infestation.
Can you eat rice if they have rice weevils?
It is difficult to kill weevils in rice once they cause an infestation in rice because they are very small and multiply rapidly. You can eat rice even if you find weevils in them. It is safe for you. Simply wash rice and remove weevils manually.
Simply drain water and repeat the process until you don’t see any weevils. Then cook the rice, as usual, cooking rice can kill the weevils and larvae. But if it offends you simply return the bag to the store.
If you had rice bags for some time and weevils infested them then it is your fault and you can’t return the containing So you should notice where the weevils come from. Either it is present in the pantry area or grains and flour already contain weevils. So clean the area before buying other products to avoid infestation.
It is difficult to remove weevils from the rice once they cause infestation but you can control them by using different preventive measures.
Is there any natural way to control weevils?
Yes, you can control weevils naturally. One way to control weevils is to use bay leaves, it acts as a natural repellent to weevils. It is cheap and easily available. You can buy bay leaves and place them in the cabinet where you store rice.
It acts as a natural repellent and you can get rid of rice weevils and many other bugs. You can place them in a container of rice.
You can use other herbs like rosemary, onion and cloves as a natural repellent. You can use the thistle sock with a combination of other herbs. This is the strongest natural repellent.
Conclusion
In this article, we answered the question “Are rice weevils harmful”? and discussed other related questions like can weevils eat humans and is there any natural way to control weevils?
If you have any questions or comments please let us know.
