Eliminate beetles in your kitchen cupboards

Beetles in your kitchen cupboards

If you have a problem with beetles infesting your flour, cereal and other items in your kitchen cupboards the best way to get rid of them is to get rid of the infested items, then prepare the area so they won't reinfest.

The beetles could be of different varieties and generally those that infest kitchen cupboards are resistant to insecticides. It's unsafe to use insecticides around anything to do with your insides or well being anyway.
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Beetle larvae like cracks and crevices

The beetle larvae will look for any natural cracks and crevices to get into to pupate and if there aren't any natural places they will bore into cork, styrofoam, wood or any other soft material for protection until they become adult beetles. Replace any corks and remove styrofoam or any other soft materials they may be in, then after a thorough cleaning paint the insides of your cupboards.

Seal cracks and crannies

You'll want to seal up any cracks and crannies or previous beetle holes, so it's best to go over the whole interior area with Liquid Deglosser to be sure that the paint will stick to every possible surface. Then an undercoat, spray shellac or Zinsser Bullseye Sealcoat are good sealers especially for kitchen surfaces. They will cover anything including wax and oily cooking residue which floats in the air every time you cook. Be sure to daub into any cracks, so that they'll get filled. The spray shellac is easiest to get into all the nooks and crannies and the Bullseye Sealcoat is easiest to get a good thick coat.

Cleaning alone will eliminate some beetle pupae and the liquid deglosser will get some more that may be hardy types. If any real extra hardy chest pounders make it through all that they'll generally meet their demise when they're sealed in.

Paint to eliminate places for beetles to pupate

After the sealer, apply a coat of washable semi-gloss paint to the inside of your kitchen cupboard. If you have clear finished kitchen cupboard insides you can stop with the shellac or Bullseye Sealer, they're both durable and safe to use around dishes and food.

When you're eliminating places for the beetles to pupate, be sure to check things like labels, some bottles have thin foam labels to protect the bottles and would make good nesting places. Replace the labels with self sticking labels you can write on. Put anything else you can in plastic bags that will zip shut, at least until you're sure that you've gotten rid of the little bugs.

To some people bugs are yummy

Try not to be too grossed out by the bugs, remember that there are some people who think bugs are a delicacy and quite yummy, coated with chocolate or deep fried to make them more crunchy and some cultures that think of bugs the same way we think of cows, pigs and chickens. (Bleck!)

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