Cecil et al,
I read your advice about cockroaches with real interest; sounds realistic and practical. What can you advise about locating “pantry weevils” and ridding my pantry of these little pests? Thanks, sara g
When I had trouble with them, I generally noticed that they preferred unprocessed things–e.g., brown rice, stoneground cornmeal, whole wheat flour, etc. I solved the problem by storing those things in the freezer. Putting fresh bay leaves in the cupboards seemed to discourage them also. Of course, first you will have to clean everything out and start over with anything that wasn’t sealed.
Oddly enough, they left things like sugar and white flour alone, which should probably tell us something.
Insects and their eggs are frequently already in the staples you bring home from the market. Thus, putting the goods in the freezer for a couple of weeks when you first bring them home will help with the problem. I happen to keep all of the weevil-attractive stuff in my freezer permanently, and I don’t have problems with insects in my baking supplies.