How to Get Rid of Weevils in House

4 useful tips on getting rid of weevils with causes of their presence and prevention measures.
By
Phyllis McMahon
Phyllis McMahon
Research Writer
Phyllis teaches English Literature at a local college and loves writing in her free time. She’s also a great cook – her British beef Wellington is something the best res read more
reviewed
Reviewed By
Chas Kempf
Chas Kempf
Expert Consultant
Chas works in a professional pest control company and knows all the nuances of this job. Also, he’s a fantastic tennis player and loves to organize BBQ parties for his fam read more
Last updated: September 10, 2023
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Weevils might seem like something that you would only hear about if you lived in the 1800s and sailed in a wooden sailing ship. That is not the case, however, and weevils are far more common than you might realize. If you are worried about how to get rid of weevils, you are not alone. Many people grapple with weevil problems at their home and don’t have the knowledge to get rid of these pests.

Weevils can get into your home, and they might also impact the food that you are growing in your garden. This is one of the insects that you might have in your home or garden that can impact many aspects of your life when they are not controlled properly.

What is a Weevil?

Weevils are a member of the beetle family. They are tiny bugs that are not visible to the naked eye until they have grown fully. This means that they can easily be brought into your home or your yard when they are not mature because you will never notice them. There are various types of weevils, and each type eats something different.

This description also fits bed bugs, which can also be found in houses and can be a nuisance. If you’re having a problem with them, take a look at our article on the best bed bug sprays.

Some weevils eat pantry goods such as rice, beans, and grains, and these weevils will often be present in your home. Various other kinds of weevils like to eat plants, and they are commonly found preying on crops or people’s home gardens. Many people worry about how to get rid of weevils in flour and also need to know how to get rid of weevils in the yard.

Rice weevils are also quite common, and many people will need to take care of these specific insects in their pantry. In some parts of the world, the Maize or Granary weevil is quite common, and it can prey on gardens and crops.

Recognizing the Infestation

How to Get Rid of Weevils in House
Weevils are pretty apparent in the pantry because of their brown color. Their damage in nature is unique, which makes the presence of infestation obvious

The weevil needs to have access to whole seeds in order to reproduce. This means that bulk whole-grain products are a key factor in their reproduction process. Bags or boxes of grain products will often be the first place that you see that weevils have moved in. The weevil is brown in color and can be seen scuttling around inside grain products or might be visible when the item is poured out for use in cooking.

Weevils in your yard are often very obvious because the damage that they cause to plants is very distinctive. Weevil damage to plants is notched in nature and does not look like any other kind of infestation damage.

How to Get Rid of Pantry Weevils

There are some key strategies that you can use to get rid of the weevils who have moved into your pantry. This is the most common place to find these unwelcome visitors, and you will want to be sure to eradicate them as soon as possible. Eliminating food waste is often the main focus of taking care of a weevil problem, but no one wants to have insects impacting their home’s comfort and cleanliness.

Throw away any unsealed food

Unsealed food is just asking to become a haven for weevils. You will need to throw away infested food and also unsealed food that you cannot keep weevils from gaining access to. Check all the products in your pantry to make sure that weevils have not moved into any of them. Weevils can chew through plastic as well as cardboard, so they can easily get into food items that you think are secure.

Apply heat or cold to stored foods

Weevils cannot handle cold or heat, so you can protect the food that has not been contaminated by freezing it or putting it somewhere hot. Not all food products can handle these temperatures, but if you have items that can be placed in the freezer or heated for a short time, you might be able to protect them from becoming a new haven for infestation.

Deep clean the pantry

How to Get Rid of Weevils in House

Clean your pantry with a vacuum cleaner, and then wipe the shelves with a disinfectant spray or hot and soapy water. This will help to get rid of larvae and to deal with any adult weevils that you have not vacuumed up. White vinegar in water can also be used because white vinegar can actually kill weevils. Remove all cardboard food containers and get rid of all open bags and boxes of food items.

Use an insecticide (if necessary)

In some cases, you might want to use an insecticide to help remove the remaining insects in your pantry and to keep new weevils from moving in. These products can also be really ideal for getting rid of other pests, such as ants and moths. If you have been struggling with a variety of pests in your home, you might have really good luck dealing with all of these invaders with your weevil insecticide.

From now on, you will have to maintain the condition of your pantry, and the best steam cleaners for dust mites will do the job just great.

Causes

Weevils are generally brought into your home on items that you have purchased that have larvae in them. Whole-grain cereal products are a common culprit for bringing weevils into your house, but there are other kinds of food products that might bring weevils with them. Weevils are also present in people’s yards and gardens, and they can get into your home just like other bugs and pests through cracks and gaps in the walls or flooring.

No matter how clean you keep your home, you might still end up with a weevil problem if you accidentally buy a product that has weevils in it before you get it home.

Prevention Measures

How to Get Rid of Weevils in House
Pest glue trap is arguably the most effective way of dealing with weevils

One of the most effective prevention measures for your pantry are pest glue traps. These handy sticky strips can trap other pests as well, which can make them a big help in keeping your home and pantry insect-free. Some homeowners also make sure to clean their pantry and other food storage locations out regularly using different tools, like vacuums. We’ve even got a separate guide on the best dust mite vacuums for you convenience. Smaller insects are easier to suck up and remove with the use of a vacuuming tool than you might think.

Weevils also do not like black pepper, and you can easily place small sachets of black pepper near the edges of the shelves in your pantry to help discourage weevils from moving into your home. Cleaning around cracks, gaps, and crevices can also make it much easier to keep weevils at bay.

FAQ

Can weevils get into your bedroom?

Weevils might get into any room in your home, but they are most likely to be drawn to areas where there is a food source to be had. If you see weevils in a bedroom or another room that should not provide access to a food source, you might need to check to see if you have some kind of whole-grain product in the room that you were not aware of. If you need to ask about how to get rid of weevils in your bedroom, you probably just need to find the food that is bringing them into this part of the house.

Can weevils be found in the garden?

Weevils can be present in your garden, and there are many varieties of weevils that prey on plants and are not likely to end up in your home. Weevils can be attracted to many kinds of plants in your yard or garden, but they tend to like grain crops the most, such as corn. Garden weevils can be attracted to very specific plants per variety. You will need to try to figure out which kind of weevil is impacting your garden to be able to treat your yard properly to remove them.

If you have been wondering how to get rid of boll weevils, you will need to be sure to apply the right pesticides and treatments to kill this specific kind of weevil. This weevil is most common in the southern US.

Will weevils spread around my home?

Weevils are not prone to spread all over the home because there is not enough food in the rest of your house to sustain them. They will naturally be drawn to the kitchen or any other area that has whole-grain food items on offer. If you have weevils in other parts of your home, you need to go looking for the food source that is drawing them there. You might have some spilled food or stored food hiding in a closet or cabinet that are bringing them into other parts of the house.

Do weevils come out at night?

Weevils are most active at night, and they are often easiest to spot when it gets dark out. They feed at night, and they hide during the day. This means that you might not realize that you have weevils in your home until late in the day, when they start to move around enough to be noticeable. Weevils are definitely hard to spot in the garden or your yard until night has fallen due to this preference.

Final Thoughts

There are so many reasons that you might not want to have them sharing your house with you, and you will probably want to know how to get rid of weevils as soon as possible. You can avoid these pests if you take care to store your grain products properly and if you immediately respond when you see weevils in any food items in your home. Weevils in the yard can be removed with insecticides, and they might also be avoided if you do not plant things in your garden that they will be attracted to.

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