Possible Pest Infestation??

ReignofInvertebrates

Arachnoprince
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Dec 29, 2012
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Can anyone tell me what these tiny bugs may be? They're about 1mm. I found about a dozen of them in my hamster's pet store bought food mix. It's as if they like something in the food (mostly seeds and such). I just hope they aren't harmful to him or anything.
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Hisserdude

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Those look like granary weevils, Sitophilus sp. They can be common pests of grain based foods, pasta, flour, pet food, etc. They are probably not harmful to your hamster, but you still probably don't want them in his food.
 

ReignofInvertebrates

Arachnoprince
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Those look like granary weevils, Sitophilus sp. They can be common pests of grain based foods, pasta, flour, pet food, etc. They are probably not harmful to your hamster, but you still probably don't want them in his food.
Thanks! They do resemble weevils. I guess I will dump his current food and hope that the weevils didn't come from the supplier of the food.
 

billrogers

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Thanks! They do resemble weevils. I guess I will dump his current food and hope that the weevils didn't come from the supplier of the food.
You can freeze the food to kill them. Idk if it's ok to feed the current mix since they're already in there, but if your paranoid in the future it's one way to kill them.
 

chanda

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You can freeze the food to kill them. Idk if it's ok to feed the current mix since they're already in there, but if your paranoid in the future it's one way to kill them.
It's fine to use the infested feed for your hamster - the weevils are just a little extra protein. I would recommend freezing it first to kill them, just so they don't continue reproducing and spread to other stored foods in you house, but that should be sufficient. It's only us humans that get squeamish about eating bugs.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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As others have mentioned, weevils are only a problem if you store grains like own a bakery. Harmless to people and pets.

BUT!!!! I've been told this by a pretty reputable source. Grain Weevils are an excellent test of your breakfast cereals! Supposedly they won't touch the really nasty crud junk food cereals. Cap'n Crunch and so on.

Some weirdness.
I've never tried it myself but it sounds like an interesting experiment. This info was from a buyer at a reputable coop. He got word that some muesli had pure crap ingredients and it was given the weevil test. Some ate it and promptly died. Sounds like that was pesticide contamination, or some really foul ingredients. Many companies get rid of their junk supplies by mixing them in combined foods.
So hurray for weevils?

Incidentally, NEVER buy dried fruits or foods like muesli that have fruits in them unless they are certified ALL ingredients are organic. I've seen orchard trees leaves and fruits dripping pesticides 24 hours before picking.
 
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Introvertebrate

Arachnoprince
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Thanks! They do resemble weevils. I guess I will dump his current food and hope that the weevils didn't come from the supplier of the food.
Is there an expiration date on the food? If the weevils were already in there when you purchased it, the bag's been sitting on the store shelf for too long and you should try to get your money back.
 

ReignofInvertebrates

Arachnoprince
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Is there an expiration date on the food? If the weevils were already in there when you purchased it, the bag's been sitting on the store shelf for too long and you should try to get your money back.
I just bought more today and it has even more of them.. I will return to the pet store and try to get my money back. Even if they won't harm my hamster, it's kind of disturbing that they're irresponsible enough to not do anything about the weevils. I don't want them in my food that's for sure!
 
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