Do I have to burn my house down? Do I need to throw away all the other flours/grains? Is it contained to this container? How is it there and WHY? I used almost this entire 10-lb. bag of flour before seeing this tunnel, am I going to die? Did I eat bug eggs?
by hugo_el_gato
39 Comments
Dear kindest people of Reddit: LONG time lurker, and I’m soooo sorry I am not posting something beautiful for my first ever post here!! 😩 Thank you for any words of reassurance or wisdom you can offer. If I don’t post again, the bug got me.
That definitely looks like a live insect of some sort. I would toss the flour, just to err on the side of caution. I also probably would check all of my other containers, but that’s just me.
The answer to each of your questions is somewhere in between ‘probably not’ and ‘probably’.
Get some sticky traps to monitor for pantry moths or other crawling insects before you go nuclear. Look for webby strands in your grains AND spices. Human have had extra protein in their bread since the dawn of milling grain.
It’s just high protein flour
Just sieve it, jesus christ
Tldr: Yes, it’s a bug. You’ll be fine. Discard any leftover flour and clean the container.
Flour should never be eaten raw, so any contaminated flour used was cooked in some way. Any bugs or eggs were killed in the cooking process. Things like this creep into cooking from time to time. Our bodies can handle it.
Is it gross? Absolutely.
Will it hurt you? Unlikely, so long as it’s not filled with bugs and their waste (think squirming maggots everywhere). This situation seems fine since the flour looks mostly intact.
Looks like a pantry moth (the little gray bit at the left end of the tunnel). Get some sticky traps for pantry moths, and put them out, changing them after 3 months. Stay on top of them, because once you have a bunch, it gets really annoying. (I’m currently dealing with some that are making themselves at home in the dropped food in my parrot’s cage. Husband and I kill at least a dozen a day, and that’s with traps out – the traps only attract the males.)
Maintaining a rotation of sticky traps should eventually stop them spreading because the traps end the breeding cycle. But if you do end up with a lot of them, there are places online that sell parasitic wasp eggs specific to these moths. The wasps hatch, kill the moths, then die.
Its most likely a weevil. Pretty common in flour/grains, especially if its been sitting a while. They’ll make trails like that.
Humans eat more bugs than they care to know about. But I’d still throw it out and check the other items in the containers next to it just because I dont like bugs.
You won’t die.
You wouldn’t BELIEVE how much bug segments you’ve consumed in your life.
For a US FDA example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Defect_Action_Levels under additional examples (I’m assuming US here)
> Wheat flour
> Average of 150 or more insect fragments per 100 grams
I’d probably freeze that sealed flour container for at least 3 days, take it faaaar outside, scoop that one bug out with a spoon seal in a plastic bag and put it on a public bin, and keep using. Leaving the container in the freezer until finished then boiling the container after use.
Having said that, I have previously thrown an entire sealed container away in fear of contaminating my well stocked house, guess depends how much I have to lose/how well sealed everything I have is.
In the future freeze your bag of flour for at least 48-72 hours before using it. This should kill any pests in the bag. When you’re ready to use it then just let it come to room temp.
It sure looks like it. I can’t imagine that anything but a bug could make that little trail. However, if you freeze the flour for a while (week?) I think you’ll kill any others or eggs that may be in there. Then, use a fine sieve when you go to measure it out when using, and all extra protein should be eliminated.
FWIW, I’ve used old school Rubbermaid tubs for all my flours for decades. I have newer ones, from the past 5-10 years, but I still have 2 left from 1986, from our initial OMG FUCKING BUGS in everything under the sun. We threw away a lot of staples that day…. Never had bugs since that day.
Yup! And that’s the bug making it. All flour has some amount of bugs. Like others say here, just shive it. Or throw it in for protein.
It happens, I buy 25 lb bags of flour at Costco, divide them into 5 lbs bags in Mylar with a few bay leaves and then freeze those for 3 weeks min. Good for a couple years on the shelf.
There’s a reason I keep my masa, corn meal, pancake mix etc stored in the freezer.
One very active looking pancake batter was all it took.
That lil fella is going for a swim!
Freeze all your flour to kill anything in it
Flour weevils. Post in r/whatisthisbug and they will be funny lol.
I just see more protein.
I usually buy floor in bulk then ration and vacuum seal them. vacuum sealing sucks all/most oxygen from the environment and bugs etc can not live in.
I’m not sure about freezing, I’ve never tried but it might change the flavour.
Only con for vacuum sealing is you’ll need a flour sifter and need to spend time to sift the flour maybe 2 times before use, because vacuum makes the four very packed.
I used to work at a dog treat bakery and pantry moths were the bane of my existence. Make sure you check anything in your pantry if you do decide to start throwing things out. Flours, rice, oats, cereal, cookies, nuts, and pet treats etc. You’d be surprised what kind of containers they can get into. I wouldn’t expect you to keep everything in the fridge or freezer but if you toss everything that’s infested, wipe down your panty/cabinet shelves and walls then get the traps (multipack options on amazon) you should be good if the infestation isn’t too bad. Just stay on top of changing the traps or they’ll be back
I always put my flour in the fridge before putting it in a container. You will not die but is still disgusting
“Is that a bug tunnel in your bread flour, or are you just happy to see me?”
In the United States, the FDA allows for an average of 75 insect parts or more in 50 grams of flower. I’m not sure about that wording. It’s the result of a Bing search.
Insect eggs in flour are pretty much a given.
There’s more than one in this photo. Your flour is like 5% insects.
Hello my friend, put bay leaves in the flour, such things will not happen.
I like how the container just says “bread”
Like…. I don’t think it’s finished yet
My guess is yes.
BUG TUNNEL BREACH⬆️➡️⬇️⬇️➡️
Freeze it for 3 days if you don’t want to throw it out. But do a deep check of everything. This kind of thing can spiral out of control quickly.
He doesn’t eat much
For what it’s worth I use these really awesome insect growth hormone regulators that keep flour bugs carpet moths and roaches etc from reaching maturity and they’re great. I’ve used them for over a decade and haven’t had an issue. DM me if you want the link because I don’t think this forum will let me post links – keeps kicking my comments out when I try
He won’t eat much
Flour beetle, enjoy!
What on earth could it possibly be if not a bug… like literally even come up with anything as a possibility and logically the answer would still clearly be a bug…
Well maybe it’s…. Literally only a bug could do that.
I mean let’s go down the list of creatures that exist on earth.
Mammals, fish, reptiles, humans, bugs, birds.
There isn’t some other random creature that you’ve somehow never heard about that it could be. That’s just basic logic.
Unless you expect someone to answer with “magic”
500 degrees will take care of most anything ; )
I can literally see the bug right there
Time to get opaque containers.
Extra protein bread flour
Did the bug give it away?