Black Bugs in Your Rice? Meet the Weevil.
Found black bugs in your rice or flour? Those are Weevils. Learn how to identify them by their snout and how to freeze grains to kill the eggs.
You open a bag of rice or flour, and suddenly the grains are moving.
If it's webbing, it's moths. If it's little black beetles, it's Weevils.
The Snout
Look closely. Weevils have a funny-looking long nose (a snout). They look like microscopic elephants.
Unlike moths that lay eggs on the food, Weevils bore a hole inside the rice grain, lay an egg, and seal it back up with glue.
Gross Fact: You have definitely eaten weevil eggs. The FDA allows a certain amount of insect parts in grain. When they hatch in your pantry, that's when you notice them.
Throw it out?
Technically, they aren't toxic. You could wash the rice and cook it (extra protein?). But let's be real—nobody wants to eat beetle risotto. Toss the bag.
The Freezer Trick
Weevils can chew through plastic and paper bags.
To stop this from happening again, put every new bag of rice, flour, or pasta in the freezer for 4 days when you bring it home from the store. This kills the hidden eggs inside the grains before they can hatch.