Recently, one among our technicians, Martin Colyer, found an unusual problem at a flat in Cricklewood. He had been called to the flat to affect an infestation of carpet beetles but when he arrived, he found something very different – weevils. To be more precise – wheat or grain weevils. Now,
as you would possibly guess from the name, these pests don’t eat carpets then Martin had to show sleuth to seek out the source of the matter. within the end, he followed the trail back to a packet of unused birdseed. The owners had brought the seed within the winter to feed the birds then had some left over. within the intervening period, the weevils had decided to require advantage and, as you'll see from the video, the packet was now fully infested. mosquitoes control in Alexandria In this day and age, it isn’t common to ascertain these nasty little pests within the UK but within the past, they were quite common. Talking about this to a lover who studied Roman archaeology, he recalled how it had been not unknown to seek out burnt layers inside Roman military camps. the first interpretation trusted the sensationalism of the excavator; cockroaches control in Alexandria they were either accidental or the remnants of an attack by an area tribe. In fact, there's now a much more evidence for the destruction layer – the Romans burning down the granaries once they become too infested with grain weevils. Looking at a study by the University of Birmingham, it looks like we've the Romans to thank for the introduction of the grain weevil into the united kingdom as before they arrived we don’t seem to possess had any. it's surmised that this is often because grain was stored in underground pits before the arrival of the Romans and this made it difficult for the weevils. So, what are these little pests? spiders control in Alexandria An adult weevil is around two to 3 millimetres long, is dark brown in appearance, and features a long snout-like projection at the front. This last defining feature is extremely common among weevils and there are certainly tons of various sorts of weevil – over 60,000 different species. Most of them are unable to fly but there are exceptions. One such exception if the black weevil, which looks very almost like the grain weevil, except grain weevils are wingless. Particularly disconcerting, and this might explain the Roman military’s drastic approach to pest control, is that a pair of wheat weevils can lay 250 eggs at a time and may multiply their population fifteen times during a month! the feminine will bore a microscopic hole into a grain together with her mouthparts then lay one egg inside. Grain Weevil she is going to then seal the opening with a gelatinous secretion. they like grain with an honest moisture content and therefore the optimum temperature for development is 26-30C. The larvae will develop inside the grain then bore their answer once they are fully developed. An adult can then live for up to eight months once it's emerged. generally, adults will eschew light in favor of darkness and are known to feign death if they're handled. If you discover you've got an infestation, you don’t necessarily got to take an equivalent drastic steps as a Roman. It should be enough to eliminate the infested produce and pack up any spillages. Of course, as we promote for nearly every pest, prevention is way better than cure. Key to the present is sanitation and inspection. Grains, and it isn’t just wheat and barley, should be stored in tightly-sealed containers, Termite Control: Answers for Homeowners preferably made from metal. You’d be amazed how effective the mouth of a weevil are often on a cardboard box. If possible, containers should even be stored during a fridge or freezer. If you think an infestation, one trick to checking out if you grain is infested is to submerge the suspected grain in water. If the grain has been wont to nurture larvae, it'll float. The infested grain should then be disposed of immediately and therefore the area treate d to prevent a recurring problem. As you'll see from Martin’s pictures and video, this is often an unpleasant problem and it'll certainly put you off your food to ascertain them darting around your stored grains. It’s not a standard problem for Cleankill but it certainly isn’t unknown , and that we have had to affect a couple of large-scale infestations over the years. to find out more handling wheat weevils, read our ‘Food Pest’ page on Cleankill.co.uk.
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