Updated on 26/03/2025
A wide range of pests survive living off food products found in your food cupboard. These are known as stored product insects. Normally, these cupboard bugs are introduced by accident, such as by purchasing a contaminated packet of store product from a shop. For example, this could be a bag of flour, dry foods, powdered milk or dried fruits. Some stored product insects also eat processed foods and even bird seed or dry pet food.
Once a stored food pest has access to food, it will lay eggs and breed. Before you know it, you will have an infestation. It could be as simple as how you store your flour in the cupboard. Storing grain products is another common cause of infestation without even knowing. This is in the form of door stops or microwavable bed warmers, which have a grain or bean content. Weevils like to infest these types of products.
The blog is about a recent case study in which Pest-Tech Ltd was called out to a cupboard insect pest problem in a kitchen in Kent. Keep reading to find out how we identified the pests and treated the infestation.
Identifying The Stored Product Insect Infestation
One of our customers who has an annual service contract called us to inform us they were finding small bugs in their kitchen. We arranged a visit that day and requested they leave everything as it was so we were able to get a true picture of what was happening. On arrival at the site, it was evident that there were several different species of store product pests present, and because of the activity levels around certain products, it was clear what produce should be checked first.
Finding The Food Source For The Stored Product Insects
Our team got to work checking the food stored in the kitchen to find the bugs. First was a packet of cereal that had been opened and not secured. Checking the date of the product, we could see that it was 5 years out of date. On decanting some product out to inspect more closely, it was amazing to see how much damage the pests had done.
Identifying The Species
Once we’d figured out what they were eating, our team were able to get samples of the stored product insects and identify their species. Stored product insects are any bugs that will eat dried foods, including the Indian Meal Moth, Red Flour Beetles, Rice Weevils and more. In this case, we found two species on the site.
The Tobacco Beetle
On inspection of the store product pest, it was apparent that the first species we had found was the Tobacco Beetle. As you can see, this reddish brown beetle has been eating cereals while the population of this store pest has grown.
The Tobacco Beetle gets its name from attacking stored tobacco, but it also infests a wide variety of products, and in this case, it was cereal. Other food sources for this pest include flour, pet food, spices and pasta. Some adult insects of this species can fly, and some did while we were inspecting the sample. They are very active in dull light, and when disturbed, adult beetles play dead for a few moments.
The Confused Flour Beetle
The second product that was inspected due to high levels of activity was bags of sugar that had just been brought from a superstore. Samples were taken from inside the sugar because there were lots of them. Under the microscope, it was clear that the second store product pest was a confused flour beetle. They normally infest cereals or grains, but they’re happy to eat most dried foods. Once they have been introduced to an area, they will contaminate everything. Judging by the small amount of time this product had been in the kitchen, it was suggested that a bag was contaminated in the store as a sealed bag had over 40 inside.
How We Carry Out The Stored Product Insect Treatment Process
With most store product insects, if the infestation is caught early enough, then the treatment is relatively simple.
Firstly, we take the infested materials, remove them from the cupboard and dispose of them securely off-site.
Once this has been done, we will remove all other contents of the cupboard and the surrounding area, checking for signs of other insects.
After we’ve confirmed that the other foods in the cupboards aren’t infested, we will place them in tightly sealed containers, usually made from plastic or glass, to protect them from future infestations.
Our team will then clean the area and replace the food, monitoring for further stored product beetles. If no further activity is found, then we will have succeeded in removing the infestation, but if we notice further activity, we can carry out additional treatments.
Book Your Stored Product Insect Control Visit Today
Stored product insects can cause serious issues for homes and businesses, particularly companies that serve, prepare or sell food.
Food hygiene standards in the UK are high, and if stored product beetles are found on your premises, then this could lead your business to be shut down by your local authority.
Our team can identify all store product insects on-site or send them away to an experienced entomologist so that we know exactly what we’re dealing with.
Once we know the species of stored product insect we’re dealing with, we can carry out targeted treatments and arrange follow-up visits if required to protect your business or home from these irritating pests.
If you’ve noticed signs of stored product insects and need professional support, contact us today on 01622 296055.