In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “How to protect rice from bugs?”. We will also discuss how to prevent bugs?
How to protect rice from bugs?
You can store loose rice with bay or neem leaves to avoid bug contamination. Another effective way is to store rice with ginger, garlic, or whole turmeric to prevent rice bugs. Inspect all the grains you have purchased and discard any infested grains to avoid spreading.
If you want to protect rice from bugs, make sure that your kitchen or pantry is well maintained and clean enough. Rice bugs find their way to your kitchen from infested food items and keep their extended stay by infesting other foods that are poorly stored.
The most effective measure that you can adopt to protect rice and other foods from these bugs is to dispose of all the infested foods and seal the cleaned foods. Because as long as you have some dry goods that have these bugs, you can never be able to get rid of them. So the only best practice that you can adopt is to eliminate and throw out all the foods that have possibly been infested.
5 Ways to protect rice from bugs
If you are not able to the obstinate problem of bugs in rice or other dry foods instead of the cleaned kitchen, don’t worry! There are certain other natural remedies to control these bugs. You can try any of the following ways to tackle the situation and choose the one that suits you best.
Bay leaves
Bay leaves, a cooking ingredient, act as a bug repellant. All you need to do is to buy a few bay leaves from the nearby store and place them directly into your pantry or kitchen cabinets. The aroma released by these leaves will help you get rid of the bugs.
You can also stuff thistle socks with some bay leaves and place the sock in the rice container. The aroma of leaves can spread throughout the container.
Strong herbs
Certain aromatic herbs such as rosemary, onion, and peppercorn can also be used as bug repellants. Like bay leaves, you can stuff these herbs in a thistle sock and place the sock in a rice container or somewhere in the kitchen.
Vinegar
Vinegar can also act as an effective repellant to the rice bugs. You can use vinegar spray to sanitize kitchen cabinets. Avoid direct spraying of vinegar to the food because it can affect the taste of your food. Spray pure vinegar on the rice bugs and wipe them down to remove them.
Soap water
You can also use soap water to protect rice from bugs. Prepare the soap solution by adding 8-12 drops of dishwashing soap to 1 cup of tap water and spray the solution directly on any rice bug you come across. You can also use this solution to clean your kitchen pantry as it can help you kill bugs, larvae, and eggs.
Garlic cloves
Garlic cloves have a pungent odor which is known to be a powerful and natural way to keep the rice bugs out from your kitchen or pantry. Just cut cloves of fresh garlic, dice them, and mince them into a sock. Place that sock in the kitchen. The smell of garlic eventually takes over your entire kitchen and will drive the majority of pests out.
Other FAQs about Rice which you may be interested in.
How do you eat rice with chopsticks?
Can you get sick from eating expired rice?
How to prevent bugs?
Once you get rid of rice bugs in your kitchen, there will be a need to make sure that these bugs are not introduced in your kitchen ever again. So, while buying grains and cereals you need to be more careful as their package may contain these evil bugs. Also, the use of bug-proof food containers may help you in being more conscious. Here are some additional tips to prevent problems related to bugs in the future:
Inspect the packaging
While buying a package of grains or cereals from a retailer, make sure that the package is not opened or damaged in any way. The problem with such a package is that many pests can find their way to the original packaging, breed, and feed off the food product.
It is mandatory to make sure that there are no holes, torn corners, punctures, or any other signs of damage on the package.
Check the product
Buy packages that have transparent containers to let you see the actual contents. Check for any moving or dead pests and look for bugs. Shake up the containers to shuffle the contents around and check for any visible bugs before buying.
Use bug-proof food containers
After you bring home some dry goods from the store, transfer them to a bug-proof container. You can use large, air-tight containers. Make sure that these containers are made from thick plastic and have an airtight seal around the lid to keep your grains and cereals fresh.
Store all of your bug-prone foods in thick containers to safeguard them from future bug problems.
Conclusion:
In this brief guide, we answered the question “How to protect rice from bugs?”. We also discussed how to prevent bugs.
