Insects in the cupboard

[Scarlett]

No matter how hard I try, I always have those tiny black beetle things in my food cupboards. Is there a deterrent available?

[lia*]

hi scarlet,

empty your cupboard and throw out all the very old stuff. crush a few bay leaves and put it in the corner of the cupboard, you can leave some whole. it works great. also you can put 1 or 2 in your flour and dry beans canister. bayleaf is so good for keeping away insects and worms from food stuff.
good luck.

[Sphinx_Svens]

The are 'flour mites'. Whatever you do. don'y wash the cupboard, they love it a bit damp.

Throw any dry powdery goods and suck the little blighters up the hoover.

[WendyS]

Hi Scarlett - I find the only answer, especially as my food cupboard rarely gets a egular clean-out is to store all dry goods such as flour, rice, pasta, pulses etc in large glass or plastic containers. We tend of keep large stocks of pasta & rice and find the big glass or plastic jars in which confectioners sell wrapped sweets are particularly useful. I've also found that if you store any dry goods in food cupboards which are above or adjacent to your gas your electric hob, some of the cooking steam invariably seeps into the cupboard and creates a temporarily damp environment in which both beetles and mould can thrive, so if you can rearrange where your store these products in your kitchen this will also help keep them untainted.