# Weevils, dammit, please don't suggest the fridge **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532 "2013-08-18T02:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/1 "2013-08-18T02:50:32Z")
It’s very crowded now. The fridge, I mean. I’ve thrown everything out, but as I replace it, is there another option? This stuff was in slidy zip lock type baggies. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/2 "2013-08-18T02:52:14Z")
Freeze it temporarily first? Then use hard plastic or glass containers with nice silicone/rubber gaskets under the lid. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/3 "2013-08-18T03:34:30Z")
OK, so I take it that weevils infested… something… in your kitchen, and so you’ve thrown out all of your… food? Some specific kind of food? But your refrigerator is full to capacity, because all of your food (presumably, except for the all of it that you already threw away) is in there, and you’re asking for other suggestions on how to… Kill off weevils? Keep them out of the rest of your food? Prevent them from moving back in? Feel free to share more information. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/4 "2013-08-18T03:45:03Z")
Everything flour based, pancake mix, tempura mix etc. The rest is cans, bottles or sealed (God I haven’t opened the sealed boxes, dammnit!!) So all the infested stuff is gone. Need I open the sealed boxes, like noodle mixes? The back up pancake batter was fine, it was sealed, and I used it. It’s a small-ish fridge, and it’s just full of things that need to be in there. I think I am just asking that going forward, other than keeping the pancake mix, etc. in the fridge, what should I do? The tempura mix that was infested was in a zip lock type (slider) baggie. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/5 "2013-08-18T05:02:04Z")
OK, first off, sometimes the eggs are already present in the products that you buy. So, from now on, try to freeze everything for at least a couple of days. Second, yes, you need to seal stuff up very well from now on, as there might be a few weevils that you missed. ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/6 "2013-08-18T08:21:14Z")
I was just reading up on this a little because I’ve thrown out a few boxes of pasta over the last few months. Manufacturers are allowed to ship with non-zero infestation because apparently the only practical way to eliminate it is irradiation, which won’t go over in the USA. So, freeze stuff first, that kills any living bugs and prevents hatching. Then store in an airtight container of some sort. I read a post that said they had gotten into a zipper bag, but I think in reality, they were probably already there. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/7 "2013-08-18T14:01:59Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Then use hard plastic or glass containers with nice silicone/rubber gaskets under the lid. When I moved into my current place I bought this kind of canister for flour and sugar. In 14 years I haven’t had a single weevil. (And I do not use my flour up quickly, so if there had ever been eggs in the flour, I would have seen bugs.) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/8 "2013-08-18T15:27:01Z")
freezing only kills the non-egg form of insect. when the item warms the eggs may hatch. only adult forms lay eggs. if you keep it frozen or periodically freeze it (in a time period shorter than the maturation cycle) then you will minimize having them. depends on the insect, some can also live off of dried flowers and pet food. their food is more than your food. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/9 "2013-08-18T16:01:22Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Freeze it temporarily first? Then use hard plastic or glass containers with nice silicone/rubber gaskets under the lid. [I have these](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00752UUL0/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title). They’re a bit pricey but they have a good seal, and the popup means they’re easy to open, as opposed to canisters where you have to twist off the lids. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/10 "2013-08-18T18:17:52Z")
Choose the lesser of the two. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/11 "2013-08-18T19:02:18Z")
even though there is some humor to your reply it still bugs me. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weevils-dammit-please-dont-suggest-the-fridge/666532/12 "2013-08-19T04:17:14Z")
I have been weevil free since (a decade ago) putting a bay leaf in the back corners of each cabinet holding flour, mixes, pasta, or cereal. And stuff sits for several years sometimes.