Flour Beetle Infestations

While many other food beetles can infest grains, cereals, flour, cake mixes, dried pet foods, seeds, nuts and chocolate, red flour beetles and confused flour beetles tend to be the most common beetles infesting pantries in the US. Flour beetle infestations generally occur when infested products enter homes from dried goods infested on grocery store shelves, in warehouses or in grain storage silos.

However, flour beetles do not attack sound, whole grains, but do infest flour, cereals baking mixes, dried pet foods and other dried goods, when the female flour beetle lays eggs in the dried foods she’s eating, depositing eggs each day for several months. As flour beetles can live up to three years, females can deposit 300 to 400 eggs during their lifetimes.