First, you must inspect all food sources for signs of drugstore beetle infestation. Food that has been infested should be discarded. However, if this is not practically possible, it can be treated with the hot and cold treatment described below.
2. Seal off uncontaminated food
Food that shows no sign of infestation should be sealed in airtight plastic, glass or metal containers. These containers will obviously keep out drugstore beetles from re-infesting the food, but more importantly, if an infestation was still at the early stages and perhaps you missed some of the signs, by sealing the food this will stop the beetles spreading out again. After a few weeks check the sealed container to see if there are any signs of beetles before storing the food normally again.
Do not store food in paper, cardboard or plastic bags. The beetles will munch their way through these.
3. Vacuum clean
Once you have removed or sealed off all food sources, a thorough vacuum cleaning of the pantry and indeed the entire home can effectively help get rid of drugstore beetles. The purpose of the vacuum is really to remove all spilled food sources that may still have drugstore beetle eggs present.
The focus of the clean should in every crevice and crack. Include shelves, cupboards, drawers behind the stove, behind the fridge etc. Leave no area untouched.
4. Boric acid
Once you have cleared all foods away and thoroughly vacuumed, then there are several options for using a natural insecticide to help get rid of drugstore beetles. Vacuuming and clearing infested food alone may well be sufficient to solve your infestation problem, but we recommend using a natural insecticide to be totally sure.
A great natural insecticide to use is boric acid. Boric acid is non-toxic to humans (unlike standard commercially available insecticides) but is extremely effective against all beetles including our drugstore critters. (1) Buy boric acid in its powdered form and sprinkle liberally across floors, shelves cupboards as well as into cracks and crevices. Leave overnight before vacuuming up.
Boric acid will dissolve in water and can be used as a spray to get more even coverage or access into hard to reach places. The solution will kill adult and larva and eggs of the drugstore beetle.
5. Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is another natural insecticide that will kill drugstore beetles, the larvae, and eggs. It works by desiccating and scorching the beetles. (2)
You can apply diatomaceous earth as a powder in the same way as you would use boric acid, by sprinkling liberally over all shelves and cupboards etc. Most importantly, select food grade diatomaceous earth that isn’t injurious to your pets and is safe if there is any spillage in your pantry. You should try and avoid breathing the powder so wear a mask/respirator when applying the remedy.
6. Pheromone traps
Pheromone traps are available for drugstore beetles. The traps are used commercially in warehouses for stored dried food. The traps contain pheromones which lure the male beetle to a sticky end. However, they are not used to eradicate the beetles but more to provide a degree of control. They are placed hexagonally across warehouses and by checking the quantity of trapped beetles for each trap, you can ‘triangulate’ the source of the infestation. For a non-commercial use, you may wish to maintain a trap after you have treated your infestation to check whether you have truly irradicated the problem. If you are finding trapped beetles after you have treated the problem, then you haven’t really treated the problem.
7. Freezing
If for some reason you do not wish to discard infested food, you can treat the food to get rid of the drugstore beetle infestation. If the drugstore beetles have infested books or hanging game, this is also the treatment to use. The drugstore beetle and its larva cannot survive a deep freeze. Cold treatment requires placing the food in a freezer at a temperature of below 0 deg. Fahrenheit for at least four days. However, some foods are spoiled when frozen so you will need to use judgment. Freezing however, while it will kill the beetles and their larva, it will not remove dead insect bodies, fecal material, bad odors or discoloring of food.
8. Heating
Like freezing, no animal likes being overheated. If freezing is not a suitable treatment for a food, heat can be used. Quite simply place the food in the oven for an hour or until the food is heated through at 140 deg. Fahrenheit. Drugstore beetles cannot serve at this temperature and it is still low enough to not cook many dried foods. However, like freezing, some foods will change fast and texture if heated to this level so you will have to use judgment.
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