Mrs.W Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I'm still kind of a newbie when it comes to milling grain, so I need some help. I put some soft white wheatberries in the Nutrimill today only to discover the grain was full of bugs. They look kind of like ticks, but different. I store the grain in food buckets with gamma seal lids in my pantry. I bought the grain sometime in the fall, through my food co-op. I have two other buckets in the pantry (one with spelt berries and one with popcorn) but they are bug free. Is this common? Did I do something wrong? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 How much is "full of"? It is legally okay to have X amount of bug parts per X amount of various crops (eeeeeew) but if there are a LOT I wouldn't want it. And if any were alive I'd be chucking it yesterday, lol. I found a couple little dead bugs in my brown rice today but they're quite cooked/already dead & just floated to the top with the bad rice grains & bits of stalk so I scooped them off & the rice was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I'd contact the coop to let them know/get a credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.W Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 There are lots of bugs, and they are alive. I didn't notice them at first, but then I saw them trying to escape the Nutrimill. When I looked in the bucket they were crawling everywhere! :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 ACK!!!! Throw it ALL away. Get it OUT of your house!!!!!! And, I'd freeze any other grain you have where you don't see bugs. That will kill ALL the larvae. I always freeze any grain/nut/etc that comes into my house. That way if there are eggs in it, they won't hatch, but they'll die. For now though, check everything. If you see moths or bugs in anything - GET RID OF IT!!!! Ask me how I know. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.W Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 ACK!!!! Throw it ALL away. Get it OUT of your house!!!!!! And, I'd freeze any other grain you have where you don't see bugs. That will kill ALL the larvae. I always freeze any grain/nut/etc that comes into my house. That way if there are eggs in it, they won't hatch, but they'll die. For now though, check everything. If you see moths or bugs in anything - GET RID OF IT!!!! Ask me how I know. . . So do you keep your grains in the freezer permanently or just long enough to kill the eggs? And, no, I'm not going to ask how you know. I'm grossed out enough already. :ack2: Thanks for the warning though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 For future reference, you can use dry ice in the bottom of the bucket to kill any larvae that may be present in the grain: http://providentliving.org/pfw/multimedia/files/pfw/pdf/96278_PlasticBucketStorageInstructions_v4_pdf.pdf HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.W Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 For future reference, you can use dry ice in the bottom of the bucket to kill any larvae that may be present in the grain:http://providentliving.org/pfw/multimedia/files/pfw/pdf/96278_PlasticBucketStorageInstructions_v4_pdf.pdf HTH! Thanks for that link! Very interesting. I wonder which is more effective, freezer or dry ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ditto the using dry ice or putting it in the freezer. It sounds like your berries came contaminated with eggs, which hatched. I'd give a call to the co-op too. They might not refund, but they need to know that their supply was contaminated. And, ditto to throwing it all out and scrubbing like mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 So do you keep your grains in the freezer permanently or just long enough to kill the eggs? And, no, I'm not going to ask how you know. I'm grossed out enough already. :ack2: Thanks for the warning though! Depends on how much room I have in the freezer. If there's room, I'll just keep it there. If not, I move it to the pantry. I ended up going to the local hardware store and asking if they had any poison for these stupid things. They had these traps that you can set out and the bugs are attracted to it and they stick to it. That finally got rid of them for me. But it took a LONG time! Sounds like you found the major source and hopefully it won't spread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 (edited) I freeze mine for the first 24 hours that I have it. Then it gets bagged and put into buckets. I get my buckets from the grocery store bakery. It's been working great. Sorry to hear about your grain. It happened once with me and brown rice. NASTY!!! Now I am a nerd about grain storage! ETA - I use the 2 1/2 gallon ziplocs. I like them a lot because then all the grain isn't all together and I can control bugs better. If I get bugs that way - only some of the grain is ruined - not all of it. Edited February 9, 2011 by Kayaking Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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