How to eliminate moths from stored beans/rice,etc?

Over the past year, we have bought extra supplies of dry beans, peas, blackeyed peas, and rice. They have been stored up to now, in ziplock bags in the pantry.
This morning, we discovered lots of ??? in the beans. Appears like sawdust. In the rice, we have a few small like looking moths. All appear to be deceased, but they are still there. In checking the various methods of getting rid of these pests, most information states "find and eliminate the source, and throw out the infected grains".
Since we have quite a bit already stored, we are thinking of putting them in the oven for 30 minutes at 130 degrees, as one source recommended, then sealing them into vacuum packed bags, rather than zip lock. Another said to freeze them for 4 days at zero degrees. We do not want to throw it out. All suggestions appreciated.

 

bay leaves are said to be a good way

 

If you can afford to. go to your nearest surplus store and buy ammo cans for your dry bulk food storage. I can buy all sorts of sizes for a good price.

I have a few 20mm cans full of wheat, corn, beans, and sugar that has been stored for a year now with no infestations. I checked them for the first time last month.

 

We have had bugs get into grains before as well. DW will just put them in the pot to cook the bugs float to the top and she skims them out. Yea we have likely eaten a few as well, but hey it's just extra protine We had a family give us 40 lbs of flour a couple of years ago because it had a few bugs in it, DW put it through the sieve and it was ready to use.

OGM

 

Traps won't work; the insect eggs are already mixed in with the grains. The insects die when they use up all the oxygen; you can speed this up by packing in buckets with dry ice (leave the top loose until pressure equalizes) or putting packets of "oxygen getters" on top of the grains.

Or do what Ozarkgoatman said.

 

Diatomaceous earth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Mineraly.sk_-_diatomit.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Mineraly.sk_-_diatomit.jpg/250px-Mineraly.sk_-_diatomit.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/0/0b/Mineraly.sk_-_diatomit.jpg/250px-Mineraly.sk_-_diatomit.jpg will kill invertebrate type bugs. It's non toxic to humans and available from feed stores and aquarium shops. Not sure if it'll work for moths, the stuff is real cheap it may be worth a try. Good luck.

 

I've been storing rice and beans in thicker clear plastic bottles (Dixie Crystals Sugar bottles are great! Recycle code is '1'.) - fill, shake, fill some more to eliminate air pockets and get it denser, then seal with plastic bag under cap and then clear tape over it. I recently opened and ate the rice from three years ago - not a bug seen, and it tasted like fresh! No eggs seen.
I check all bottles occasionally - haven't seen any bugs forming inside.
I have some stored in unused 'paint cans' too, inside zip-lock bags placed in the can, then sealed. The key I think is maximum product density and minimal air inside. Works for me.

 

Wow...
Never seen that before.
I have had the weevils in flour, cornmeal, and pasta....
But, they float, and I just screen them off.
Most die, probably from lack of air/oxygen
I'd probably go with plastic lids on buckets, use co2, nitrogen, or oxygen absorbers.
Vacumming would work, but not for large quantities of stuff.
I have heard about the diatomaceous earth being used....
Bill

 

Mmmm... protein. [rofllmao]

That's why I love this forum. Ask a question, get great advice with a little fun packed in.

 

This is what me and the wife do,them things will never hurt ya.

And if they could we'd be dead and wouldn't have to worry about all this
BS that is happening to country .

 

I use popcorn tines. They keep the mice out also.

 

What are Popcorn tines???

 

I think a popcorn tine is similar to a henway.

 

Every Christmas we get at least two of them that come from the Rite-Aid or CVS drug stores .

They will hold about 3 gal. of rice or beans ,put tape around lid and it works well.

 

As far as eliminating the moths, some of the ideas mentioned here are pretty good. However, for long-term storage I wouldn't rely on a can with the top taped on. You need to eliminate the oxygen from the food being stored. One of the best and easiest ways I've seen is using mylar bags, heat-sealed, with oxygen absorbers inside. The bag is placed in an air-tight bucket. There's a really good video on YouTube showing exactly how to do this:

YouTube- Long term food storage part 1

 

freeze the rice (flour) for a day or two and then store in air tight containers. Place a chunk of cry ice (with the lid loose) in with the 'product'. once the dry ice is gone seal the container. Works like a charm, have rice, still good since '98. Kept in a cave, buryed. Hey I can't haul all my stuff with me.
Just back for an hour or so.

 

What? Nobody asked 'whats a henway?'
I'll bet Tracy is waiting to pounce on that one!