Insects

[Shoba]

Have y'all encountered the black insect "chekkaan" which looks disgustingly like head-lice? It usually attacks rice and pulses.

Does anyone know how to prevent them from coming?

Shoba

[Niranjana]

1.Do not buy large quantities of food grain in the first place.

2. Sooji etc can by roasted before storing. This lessens the chance of insect-infesting

2. Store in an Air Tight container, devoid of moisture.

3. If the food grains are infested, spread on a newspaper & sun dry it.

[Anoushka]

Shoba,

when you store rice, etc... just add a spring of neem leaves and that keeps insects away! We also add salt to the dal varieties to keep insects away. Try it and let us know.

[dev]

Hey,

Does the weather has a role in it?... coz when I left to SG a yr back,I still had some dhals & rice etc etc that was unused & I was not able to clean it up coz of my tight schedule... of course,they were in airtight containers...This time when I went to B'lore (after a yr) , I found that all the masals,dhals & rice were as good as fresh ones...But when I returned to Singapore after a 2 months trip,I found my kitchen full of these insects!!!... Guess the quality of food stuffs plays a big part... I feel the quality of dhals(esp the ones we get in Mustafa) is not as good as the ones we get in India... So better not to buy in bulk ,as Niranjana said... I also find better quality ,well cleaned dhals in my neighbourhood shop & also in the wholesale centre at Pasir Panjang road...

[Shoba]

Thanks all for replying. I will give the salt treatment a try and see what happens.

I have no choice but to stock up on huge quantities. Also, all my dry provisions are in airtight containers. They still find their way thro the lids, it's frustrating!

Shoba

[dev]

Hey Shoba,

Know wht... I found the insects also dig a hole thru the plastic containers even if they are airtight...a few of my containers went a waste coz of it... Is the plastic of such poor quality or r the insects so strong???!!!... :lol: :wink:

& Shoba, try getting provisions from the wholesale centre if U can find time for it coz the quality is good & they are a bit cheaper too...

[Urmila]

Hi Shobha,
Just place a bay leaf in the [rice/ dal/ even flour ]container, even keeda which is already there will run away !! Try & see.
Bye.

[deepali128]

hey,

i had same problem.i did following .

1. keep ur dals, suji, flours in microwave for 30 sec and keep it outside for a while to get rid of moisture.
2. or keep in freez.
3. for rice, ithe rice bag should have a plastic bag inside . if it don't have one put a rice in plastic and then store in bag. and put cloves too.

[Shoba]

Hi Shobha,
Just place a bay leaf in the [rice/ dal/ even flour ]container, even keeda which is already there will run away !! Try & see.
Bye.

Thanks every one for your tips. Urmila, the bay leaf trick worked like magic! Thanks so much...

Shoba