Trouble with bugs in stored grain can be really bad. It's hard
to store a sizable quantity of grain for very long without
bugs and mice getting into it. It's best not to let bugs get
into stored grain, because once you have them, it can be a
terrible struggle. The insect eggs can be invisible to the
naked eye, carried right into your storage from the field. If
you have an insect problem in storage, there will be kernels
with insect holes and insect chew marks—along with the
adult insects, alive or dead. If the bugs are coming in from
the field, the only totally effective treatments are freezing,
heating, or carbon dioxide. After you freeze or heat grain,
sift to get rid of bug bodies and debris, repackage, and seal.
SECRETS OF MINIMIZING INSECT DAMAGE TO STORED GRAIN:
1. Don't store near an "old shed." It's liable to be full of critters looking for food.
2. The grain should be very dry—down to 10 percent if possible.
3. Clean your grain to make sure there are no green leaves or twigs in it. They drastically raise the moisture count.
4. Store the varieties of grains that don't have bug problems in your area. Barley, buckwheat, corn, oats,sorghum, and soybeans are less likely to have insect problems than wheat and dried beans. Use up first the ones that do have insect problems.
5. Don't keep any grain with which you have insect problems stored over a year. Use it up by the winter's end, feed it to the livestock, or plant it. That way bugs can't get a full annual life cycle going.
6. Store in insect-proof, rodent-proof containers in a cool, dry place.
7. Inspect stored food of any sort, including grain, regularly to check for insect or rodent problems or too much heating going on.
SECRETS OF MINIMIZING INSECT DAMAGE TO STORED GRAIN:
1. Don't store near an "old shed." It's liable to be full of critters looking for food.
2. The grain should be very dry—down to 10 percent if possible.
3. Clean your grain to make sure there are no green leaves or twigs in it. They drastically raise the moisture count.
4. Store the varieties of grains that don't have bug problems in your area. Barley, buckwheat, corn, oats,sorghum, and soybeans are less likely to have insect problems than wheat and dried beans. Use up first the ones that do have insect problems.
5. Don't keep any grain with which you have insect problems stored over a year. Use it up by the winter's end, feed it to the livestock, or plant it. That way bugs can't get a full annual life cycle going.
6. Store in insect-proof, rodent-proof containers in a cool, dry place.
7. Inspect stored food of any sort, including grain, regularly to check for insect or rodent problems or too much heating going on.
