May 16, 2012 – Finding Food Pests

QUESTION:

I would like to know more about the chemical control methods and IPM measures necessary to control a really bad case of Sitophilus oryzae - the Rice weevil. Can you help me?

ANSWER:

You don't indicate whether this infestation is in a home or in a commercial food warehouse, and the difference can be huge. Perhaps it even is in a restaurant, although this could be treated more like a residential infestation. Control of insects that infest food always relies on finding the food that is infested. Since this will nearly always be some food product within a bag or some other container, pesticide applications are not going to have any effect on the larvae developing within that food. You may want to use a residual contact insecticide around the general area AFTER you have disposed of the infested foods and cleaned the area, but not until then. 

The Rice Weevil is nearly always going to infest whole grains of some kind - corn, wheat, rice, beans, and other whole, unbroken grains and seeds. It could be bird seed in a home or pet store. It could even be hard dry pet foods, as these hard chunks simulate the hard seeds that the rice weevil female looks for to deposit her eggs. It is highly unlikely that they will infest processed foods, ground meals, and other grain-based products that have gone through some processing. In a home it is possible for wild animals to have brought seeds and grains and other materials into the home, and the beetles could have found these stashed away in a wall or the attic. Decorative items are even subject to infestation, such as dry flower arrangements that have stalks of wheat or other decorative seeds in them. It was a fad a few decades ago to have shadow boxes on the wall, with numerous compartments that held colorful seeds, popcorn, grains of wheat or rice, and these were often infested. It is, after all, the "job" of these weevils to seek out old, dry grains and infest them. 

So, I would avoid any pesticide applications until after you have made a thorough inspection, discovered the infested materials, disposed of them, and thoroughly vacuumed the general area to remove as many wandering adult beetles as you can. The larvae live wholly within the food product. As far as non-chemical steps to manage these weevils, it begins with making the susceptible foods unavailable and using product quickly, rather than leaving bags of rice or dry beans stuck away in the back of a storage area. This is simply called "good stock rotation", whether it is a home, restaurant, or commercial warehouse. For small quantities the food products could be placed within sealed, hard containers to prevent the adult beetles from getting to the food. 

There also are pheromone traps for these weevils, and since the Rice Weevil can fly the hanging traps can be useful. The related Granary Weevil cannot fly, so floor traps are more appropriate for it. These may best be used in commercial warehouses as your "early warning" monitor to detect when beetles first enter the warehouse, or perhaps when infested product gets brought into the warehouse. In a home or smaller account the traps could help you to find what is infested, by narrowing the search when you find many of the beetles in traps in certain areas of the structure. 


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