SC - kind of icky - Little Mites in Flour Products -

[KallipygosRed@aol.com]

I empathize; I just found some in my farina (threw it out yesterday, when I
saw the first bug, and recently got rid of tons of stuff (the original
contaminant was a bag of couscous).

I used to work for a company which specialized in pheromone based Pest
Management, so I know more about this than I really want to.  :-(  (Not too
much; I worked in administration, not sales or pheromone technology, but
still more than I want to.)

First and foremost, this is not a problem with anybody's housekeeping.  Just
to reassure anybody who might have been worried.

Nor can this problem be entirely eradicated at its source.

There are mites which live in the storage areas where grains are processed.
Most grain-storage facilities use pheromone-based control methods (non-toxic
to humans,  you see.)

What follows is a layman's explanation, based on my observations and reading
of sales materials at the IPM place.  If someone has a  different
explanation, please correct me.

Anyway, the mites lay their eggs in the grain; the grain gets boxed up, you
don't use your grain quickly enough, voila, little bugs in your grains.  It
takes several months for the eggs (which are microscopic) to reach the
larval stage.  Once they do, all you can do is toss the grain when you see a
problem.  If you see a small lump grain all stuck together (like it got a
little damp) you may have larvae in your grain, and should get rid of it
asap.   (Get rid of as in "throw away", not "use up".)

These critters can eat through foil and various other food storage media;
check for pinholes in foil packets (chocolate, etc.)

All the storage place can do is sample the grain to see if there's anything
there, and distribute pheromone traps accordingly.  It's not perfect, but I
truly believe it's the best they can do.

Freezing goods when they come in is probably a good idea; storage bins,
however, will only minimize the spread of the contamination.  The problem
started in some grain product, whether you leave it in its original
packaging or not.

Talitha
"Oh, bother," said the Borg.
"We've assimilated Pooh."