There are many insects that can get into your pantry but we're going to take a look at a specific kind of pest called stored product pests. These are insects that target packaged foods in pantries, storage areas, and kitchens, especially around the holidays when we spend more time buying and preparing food. But stored product pests and the holidays don't mix. These insects really know how to ruin a good meal. While the holiday season may be in our rearview, these pests are likely to linger, until something is done to stop them. Here are the stored product pests we see most often and some helpful tips for identifying them in your Springfield pantry.

Indian Meal Moth

• About ⅝ of an inch long
• We've given the sizes of each of these pests to give you an understanding of what you can expect to see. Though the Indian meal moth is a moth, it is extraordinarily tiny. This fact alone should be enough to help you identify it in your kitchen or pantry but, if you need a little more to go on, it has a rusty orange coloration on its head and bands of rusty orange and black on the bottom of its wings.  

Foreign Grain Beetle

• ⅛ of an inch long
• This insect is reddish-brown in coloration and can appear orange under the right lighting. If you see one, it is going to be barely a speck at only ⅛ of an inch in length.

Red Flour Beetle

• 1/8th to ¼ of an inch long
• This insect looks a lot like a foreign grain beetle but its abdomen is slightly larger. But that's not saying much since it is only about the size of the tip on a pen. Red flour beetles are a dark red color.

Cigarette Beetle

• 1/10 of an inch long
• This beetle can be rounder than the other beetles on this list, depending on its age. It is reddish-brown in color and has short antennae. 

Sawtoothed Grain Beetle

• ⅛ of an inch long
• This is a thin beetle with three distinct body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. It is generally brown in color.

Rice Weevil

• 1/10 of an inch long
• A rice weevil has a weevil head, which is long, thin, and pointy. While just as small as the other pantry pests on this list, the head can help you distinguish it if you have good eyes or a magnifying glass.

Spider Beetle

• 1/16 to 3/16 of an inch long
• Don't let the name fool you. This food pest isn't a spider; It's an insect. While it looks a little bit like a spider because its abdomen is rounded and it has long spider-like legs, it has a hard shell, like other beetles.

If you're seeing any of these insects in your kitchen, pantry, or food-storage rooms, or need help with identification, reach out to Rottler. Schedule a free, no-obligation inspection and we'll let you know what pest you're dealing with.