Are you suspecting a grain beetle infestation in your warehouse?
Each year, an estimated one-quarter or one-third of grain crop during storage globally. Most of this is due to insect infestations, leading to reduced quality and amounts of grains.
Warehouses can unintentionally provide a good environment for these pests. This happens when you fail to detect infested grain and deal with it early or clean silos and equipment. It’s important to understand these pesky insects to get rid of them and prevent future infestations.
Grain beetles are pests that can invade and infest warehouses and homes. Removing a grain beetle infestation can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Read on to know all about grain beetles and how to clear them from your warehouse.
What Are Grain Beetles?
Grain beetles are tiny insects that live in containers of grain or grain products. They feed on the fungi instead of the grain itself. The presence of grain beetles in your storage indicates that you moldy grain.
They are a bit similar to weevil beetles, another grain pest. The first step to dealing with an infestation is by knowing what exact pest you’re dealing with.
Identifying the Grain Beetle
The size of most grain beetles ranges from 2 to 3 mm. They have a brown or dark reddish color. They consist of a head, thorax, abdomen, and six legs.
Although they look wingless, they have two hidden wings under their wing covers. A trait that differs grain beetles is the six saw-like protrusions on their thorax.
Their larvae are small white grubs with brown heads. You can find them eating and contaminating grain or food inside containers.
There are two main types of grain beetles: sawtoothed and merchant. The merchant grain beetle can fly, while the sawtoothed grain beetle can’t. They look almost identical except for the slight difference in their heads’ shapes.
The merchant grain beetle has a triangular-shaped head. In contrast, the sawtoothed grain beetle’s head is more rectangular-shaped.
Signs of Grain Beetles Infestation
Mold grains mainly attract adult grain beetles. Females deposit their individual eggs or in small clusters. A sign of an infestation is large numbers of larvae and adults crawling about in containers.
Another way to recognize their presence is by checking the temperature of products. In severe infestations, grains tend to overheat.
Preventing Grain Beetle Infestation
It’s rare for stored grain insect infestations to start in a field. They develop from small populations of pests that are already in or around storage bins. You need an effective pest control service to reduce or remove infestations.
It’s important to keep your grain handling equipment clean. Thorough preparation of storage bins is useless if they’re filled with contaminated equipment. You should also properly clean the old grain from combines, trucks, augers, and driers.
You should never put fresh-harvested grain together with old grain. Be sure to clear your bins of all residual grain. Use brooms, shovels, and industrial vacuums for complete removal.
Be careful when cleaning out dust, webbing, and fines from crevices, seams, vents, and doors. Even in small amounts, residual old grain can hold enough insects to start an infestation. Be sure to repair any cracks or holes in or around bins after cleaning them.
You should also keep the area surrounding the bin clean. Clear and destroy spilled grain. Regulate weeds and grasses since they can harbor pests.
Check for any damages on outside walls, base, and roof. These areas can be potential entry points for moisture and pests. For farms, never use the immediate area around the grain bins to store cattle feed.
Keep cattle food away and make sure to store only clean and dry grain. Even a small moisture percentage difference can increase the chance of an infestation. Stored grain’s ideal moisture content should stay around 12% to 13%.
What’s the Safest Way to Clear My Warehouse of Grain Beetles?
If you’ve confirmed an infestation, you’ll need a grain beetle exterminator. Insecticides can handle many bug infestations, but they’re not the most effective solution.
Insect pests are quick to build up a tolerance to chemicals. Since we’re also dealing with stored food, keeping it safe for consumption is a priority. Using chemicals and pesticides in food has many rules and requires special care.
When dealing with grain pests, the Cryonite System is a safer and more effective solution.
Use the Cryonite System to Remove and Prevent Insect Infestations
Instead of relying on insecticides, the Cryonite System uses frozen (-110 F) CO2. You use it with a spray, freezing grain beetles and other pests on contact. This is a non-toxic method that leaves no residue.
Since it uses zero chemicals, insect pests won’t develop any resistance. This means Cryonite will be a reliable tool against pests in the long term.
The CO2 spray can also act as a hygiene treatment. This helps the cleaning process of storage bins and reducing pesticide use.
An advantage of using Cryonite is that you can continue with your usual business activities. The lack of chemicals makes it possible for staff and customers to remain in the treatment area. Furniture and most electronics are also safe to stay.
This saves you from the costs of disruption and downtime. Another benefit is that typical pesticide regulations don’t apply to Cryonite. You don’t need a special license to use it.
The machine also comes with a training manual. You’re given the freedom to train employees on how to use the machine. This lessens the risk of accidents when dealing with Cryonite.
Choose Cryonite for Your Pest Problems
Grain beetles are dangerous pests if not dealt with early. They can cause food safety threats, inventory loss, and expensive downtime. Knowing how to identify grain beetles and signs of an infestation is crucial in removal and prevention.
When dealing with stored product pests, Cryonite is a better and safer first response. Cryonite doesn’t use chemicals to kill pests in all stages of their life-cycle.
Want to know more about how Cryonite can work for you? Contact us today! We can answer all your inquiries and handle your pest problems with our services.