Flour Khrushchak - harm and benefit

Not only does this insect bring harm, but also certain benefits. Floury honey beetles, or rather its larvae, are excellent food for many animals kept in aquariums.

Larvae, or as they are called flour worms, can be fed:

turtles;
lizards;
toads and frogs;
the snake;
birds.

Lizards, in addition to the larvae of the mealworm, can also eat the beetles themselves. In addition, worms can be used as bait for fishing. We’ll finish the laudatory reviews about this insect, because for most people this is a malicious pest.

In the following photo, flour flakes damage oatmeal.

Flour Khrushchak

Biology

Description

The flour beetle, as this insect is also called, grows in length to 18 millimeters. Its flat body has a brown-black, slightly shiny chitinous cover on top.

If you turn the insect over, we will see the brown belly of the beetle.

Spread

Big flour Khrushchak, and there is also a small one, but about it later, originally from the Mediterranean, but has now spread throughout the world. The main places of its distribution are flour warehouses, grain barns and bakeries. But he can also perfectly live in your apartment.

In nature, an insect appears in mid-summer. At this time, its natural reproduction takes place, and the flour Khrushchak flies a lot from place to place. He especially likes to move in the evenings in the direction of light or fire.

Food

Contrary to its name, flour Khrushchak eats almost everything that comes across to him. In his diet may be present:

cereal grains;
pasta;
raisins;
dried fruits;
dry corpses of dead animals and birds;
bird feathers;
wool;
tissue;
starch;
seeds of vegetables and fruits.

Summing up the results of this list, let's just say, the pest practically does not die of hunger.

Harm

It is necessary to get rid of flour hrushchak. The trouble is that he will never leave, but the products will be thoroughly ruined. The fact is that in the loose product where it was wound up, it multiplies, sheds, and leaves its waste products. If at large enterprises they cannot afford the luxury of throwing out large volumes of cereals and flour, then in our own house we can do this and take the necessary measures to combat this pest.

Prevention and control

Now we will tell you about the methods of prevention and control of flour mealworms. What you need to do so that this unpleasant beast does not start up in your house, and what to do if it happened.

Prevention

Prevention consists of several activities that must be carried out in your kitchen. We list the items:

The surfaces of food cabinets must be clean. The beetle cannot crawl along smooth walls, but it clings easily to contaminated ones. Wash best with water and vinegar.
If there is a likelihood of food damage, it is advisable to keep them in a sealed container, for example, in glass jars. Plastic, paper or cardboard is easily bited by pests.
When buying bulk products in a store, inspect them carefully. One of the ways a bug can enter an apartment is this.
If pigeons or other birds live in the attic of your house, then the beetle can enter the apartment through ventilation.Therefore, it is worth closing the ventilation ducts with a small metal grill, and inside the bottom place a sticky trap.
Try to store all products that are possible in the winter on the balcony, beetles do not tolerate frost.
Check and inspect cereals, seeds, and other products more often to identify infections in the initial stage.
Many housewives leave packages with underutilized products that lie for several years. Ruthlessly throw them in the trash, or give the fishermen to bait.
Spread food next to cereals and flour that scare the scrubber off with its smell. This is lavender, lemon, bay leaf. The zest of citrus fruits works great.

Attention! The key to your health is cleanliness! This rule is again confirmed when storing products!

Fight

But if a pest is already wound up, then you need to know how to get rid of the flour hrushchak in the apartment. If you feel sorry for throwing away food, or they will go to feed pets, then you can get a bug out of them in the following ways:

sifting or bulkhead;
freezing;
frying.

Advice! Do not risk your health and do not eat contaminated foods!

If you still decide to destroy the beetle completely, then the best way to remove them is to contact the sanitary service of your city or village. If this is not possible, or if you have a thirst for struggle, you can do the following:

Throw away all infected products.
Wash pantries, cabinets, window sills, ventilation ducts, and the kitchen room as a whole with water and detergent dissolved in it.
After drying, wipe the surfaces with a damp cloth dampened with vinegar.
In case of severe infection and the risk of the coming of beetles, sprinkle poisoned bait. Powder from feverfew or chamomile helps well. You can apply for processing a special remedy for flour hrushchak, for example, "Riapan", "Adsorbcid-MP", "Fenaks", "Borax".
Plinths, ventilation ducts and places along the windowsills should be treated with a strong insecticide, for example, the same "Dichlorvos".
Purchase airtight containers or fit cans with lids to store bulk food.

After additional processing, it is worth rinsing the surfaces again and wiping them with a damp sponge moistened with vinegar.

Small flour beetle

It turns out that in addition to the large flour beetle, there is also a small one. This brown insect is half a centimeter long, the guest in our kitchens is rarer than his large counterpart, but there is no less harm from it. But still, they can often be found in large warehouses and food industry enterprises.

The small flour hrushchak is also almost omnivorous, and in addition it often annoys domestic animals by jumping on them and digging in the wool. All of the above about the large Khrushchak is also applicable for the prevention and control of a smaller representative of the dark beetle, so it does not make sense to repeat.