http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=201121&page=1#Post201121
Original Post by Westbrook, on MrsSurvival.com:
I am going to combine the life cycle of the rice, corn, flour, bean and wheat beetle because it would take me volumes to get through each one. They are all pretty close to the same.. live 1-3 years, lay up to 500 eggs in a year.
The adult female uses her mandibles to bore a small hole in a kernel, then lays an egg in the hole she bored. The larva develops entirely inside the kernel. Developmental time from egg to adult is about four to 8 weeks. By reducing the grain temperature to less than 60ºF stops insect reproduction and lowering it to less than 50ºF stops insect feeding.
Eggs can hatch in 3 days to 12 days. The larva may take from 15-35 days to develop. One generation can be completed in 4 weeks under ideal conditions which means there may be as many as 12-13 generations in a year.
This tells me that I need to kill off the adults lets say by freezing. Remove from the freezer and let sit for 2 weeks and refreeze to kill off the larva that has hatched. It seems that the eggs are protected from freezing.
I prefer to freeze because I count on my Whole Wheat Grain to germinate and sprout for my vegetables should it come down to that.
Baking in an oven or microwaving kills the ability to germinate. If you use the dry ice method and you must use an oxygen absorber in order to assure when the eggs hatch out the larva will die with out oxygen present.
Freezing
Place 1-10 pounds of grain in a plastic bag and place in the freezer for 4 days at 0 degrees. This is referred to as Super-Cooling. This will usually destroy all stages of any insect pests which are present but not the eggs. As a check spread the deep freeze treated grain on a cookie tray at room temperature until thawed. If live insects are present they will probably be seen crawling about. If they are present, repeat the process. If not, remove any insect fragments, put the grain in an approved container and store it in a cool, dry place.
DO NOT TAKE RIGHT FROM THE FREEZER AND PUT DIRECTLY INTO AIR TIGHT CONTAINERS. THE MOISTURE WILL CAUSE MOLD TO GROW IF SHUT UP IN AN AIRTIGHT PLACE. Bring up to room temp first.
Heating
Spread a shallow layer of wheat in a cookie tray or large pan. Pre-heat the oven to about 140 to 150 degrees. Put the tray in the preheated oven and leave it there for 30 minutes or more. The oven door should be left slightly open to avoid overheating. This treatment should destroy all stages of the insect if the layer of grain on the tray is not too thick (1/ 2 inch). Next, remove the tray and cool the wheat thoroughly before returning it to a clean, dry storage container. As necessary, use a fan to blow off any existing insect fragments. Where large quantities of dry food are to be treated, this method is not practical. Heat is detrimental to the proteins in wheat and may reduce the ability of the bread to rise properly. Some reduced loaf volume and heavier texture may be apparent when using heat treated grains.
Heat treated grain will NOT sprout
Microwave
heat in a microwave oven for five minutes
Dry Ice
Dry ice tends to control most adult and larval insects present, but probably will not destroy all the eggs or pupae. If a tight fitting lid is placed firmly on the container after the dry ice has vaporized, it may keep enough carbon dioxide inside to destroy some of the eggs and pupae. After 2 to 3 weeks another fumigation with dry ice may be desirable to destroy adult insects which have matured from the surviving eggs and pupae.
This is a quote:
Bay Leaves, Chewing Gum, Chanting Words and Phrases
We receive numerous inquiries asking about exotic treatments to prevent insect infestations in stored grain. In unofficial experiments we have conducted, it was noted that some insects will continue to feed when enclosed in containers with tight fitting lids, even in the presence of these exotic suggestions. We have also concluded that chanting words and phrases fall upon deaf ears. Some consumers have reported on the effectiveness of many exotic treatments. Our investigations have shown these instances to only be effective when no insects were initially present in the food.
http://www.solareagle.com/PREP/FSHOME.HTMâ€
