I have a bag of rice that was sealed in a plastic bag perfectly but after a month I can find a small bug hanging around inside, I cannot find any broken hole that could let the bug to get through. Why ?? Why ?? Why ?? I always believed that sealed plastic is perfect blockage, not even liquid can get through.... why? Could it already hide in the rice before I sealed it??
Could bug get through sealed plastic?
- Thread starter kenny1999
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Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Consider that the bugs (bug larvae) were in the rice already when you sealed it in the bag.
That would be my guess.
Well, at least you kept the bugs from getting into the rest of your food.
blissful
Master Chef
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- Mar 25, 2008
- Messages
- 6,399
I just cleaned out a small floor to ceiling pantry in the kitchen. I had been moving items from packaging to glass containers, some plastic this past year.
We had about 10 moths a few months ago, and searching through I didn't find the culprit. Yesterday I found 2. One was a more than year old corn grits kept in a plastic jug, dead moths and worms on top of the grits. The other I had bought psyllium husks for structure in baking crackers just this year, it was in a plastic container as well, with webs.
Everything else is in mostly glass now, and I disinfected and cleaned off all the shelves and walls and woodwork, every surface, and reorganized it. I love it.
About 15 years ago, I found another strange thing that the moths had gotten into, they were tea bags, the glue for the wrappers for the tea bags was apparently food for moths. To me, that means, almost anything packaged with glue, will also be a magnet for them. Bread bags, sugar bags, boxes of dry foods, all have glue.
We had about 10 moths a few months ago, and searching through I didn't find the culprit. Yesterday I found 2. One was a more than year old corn grits kept in a plastic jug, dead moths and worms on top of the grits. The other I had bought psyllium husks for structure in baking crackers just this year, it was in a plastic container as well, with webs.
Everything else is in mostly glass now, and I disinfected and cleaned off all the shelves and walls and woodwork, every surface, and reorganized it. I love it.
About 15 years ago, I found another strange thing that the moths had gotten into, they were tea bags, the glue for the wrappers for the tea bags was apparently food for moths. To me, that means, almost anything packaged with glue, will also be a magnet for them. Bread bags, sugar bags, boxes of dry foods, all have glue.
pepperhead212
Executive Chef
Bugs can chew through plastic. I put many grains and legumes in foodsaver bags, as the vacuum seal pretty much kills anything in there, with the negative pressure, and lack of oxygen. And I've never had bugs chew through that plastic. I also don't store things in plastic jars - I found out early on that those don't seal like a glass jar, with a rubber seal, as after 6 months or less crispy dried peppers would turn leathery, from moisture seeping in, while glass jars seal forever. Probably doesn't let insects in, but still not a perfect seal.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
I always freeze flours for a couple of days to kill any bug eggs that might be in the bag.
I was wondering if that would work. It makes sense.
Hi ! What is the type of moths did you mean? Is it a kind of flying moths?
I also have a lot of moths recently if you mean flying moths that feed on
smelling clothes and food.....
This problem has been a headache for me for months......I am still unable to get rid of the problems..... but I don't find any moths flying in the kitchen or around my food. They mostly appear in my bedroom
blissful
Master Chef
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
- Messages
- 6,399
You could have pantry moths in the bedroom.
They look like this, they fly.
If you have boxes of clothes, natural fiber clothing like silk, linen, wool, anything natural, you could have them in the bedroom. Boxes usually have glue stuck to it, from tape, or from glue itself.
cardboard boxes are natural products made from wood. If you keep mementos, incense, beads made from dried seeds, paper mache figurines, herbs or herbal supplements, books (glue wood paper) (rice paper), in boxes in your room, any of them can feed the moth.
I'd suggest, pulling out all the shelving, going through all the boxes, wash, disinfect, the places the shelving sits in the closet or cabinet areas because moths can lay eggs there.
