Red Flour Beetle in Small Apartment with Cat

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Red Flour Beetle in Small Apartment with Cat

Hi Ron, we have a red flour beetle problemin our cupboards. We have fully cleared out all the food from those areas and have set up some Moth + Beetle Traps. We would like to add a pesticide to our treatment plan to ensure that we get rid of the red flour beetles thoroughly. Problem is that we live in a small one bedroom apartment and have a cat.

I have considered getting some ultracide or demon wp, but I'm worried about keeping him away from the fumes for four hours after we spray. One idea I had was getting tall cardboard boxes to block off the kitchen, but I'm unsure if that would be enough space away from the pesticide to be safe.

Any advice on getting rid of these red flour beetles while keeping our cat safe in an apartment with limited space? How far away from ultracide or demon wp would he need to be to be safe?

Status: Open Aug 10, 2023 - 08:27 AM

Pest Questions, General Help

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RonDawson

Aug 11, 2023 - 10:21 AM

I would suggest going through all of the food packages and find out what is infested. These beetles only infest whole foods such grains, rice, etc.. Dog food, bird food, etc is always suspect. So is flour, wheat flour, etc. You have to go through all of this kind of food and inspect it. Open it and dump it into a big bowl and sift through it. If you find any beetles, throw it away. If not, box it up preferably in a plastic container.

Vacuum and wipe down the pantry or shelves where these products are kept. Then keep an eye out for stragglers that appear. If you see one, get rid of it.

You don't need to always spray chemical to kill this type of pest. Whats important is to find the source of the infestation. If they are are true flour beetles, then you should be able to easily find the source in one of the food packages.

Traps, etc are optional. They can help but they won't kill or trap what inside the packages.

Ron

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Ah, that is all good to know and super helpful. It is such a relief to have a better idea of the process and what to expect. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!

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