Tidbits: Salad Days and Pantry Pests

A simple late summer salad

So where have I been? Mostly outside playing in my garden, taking a brain break. Plus working, of course. Thanks for asking, Steve, Sid and Elaine!

The topic I would like to touch on today is something common, but you usually don't hear people talking about it. What is it? Bugs in the pantry!

Have you ever had weevils, moths, or other insects invade your food (or your pet's dry food)? I have. And it's not pretty. (Warning: Gross picture ahead!)

Grain weevils in my flour (that was stored in a glass jar--they just appeared!)

Click the picture if you dare. These weevils are less than one-quarter inch long, and had just hatched out in my glass jar of flour.  Talk about losing your appetite for making cookies! Fortunately I had an unopened bag of flour that was pest-free, so I could continue.

The reason I keep my sugar and flour in 2-gallon glass jars is to keep the buggers out! But did you know that there is a certain amount of "bug debris" that is allowed in our food products? Granted, the amount is small, but that's why they seem to come out of nowhere.

If you'd like to know more about what to do once you have an insect breakout, and how to prevent it, click on  Controlling Pantry Pests, good info from Penn State.

As you can see, sometimes even if you do the right things, the bugs show up. And just make sure you wear your glasses when you are cooking and baking!