How to Identify Meal Worms?

Larvae look like tiny yellow caterpillars and can grow up to 30 mm at maturity with very hard shell-like bodies.

Signs of an Infestation

One way to make sure you don’t get a mealorm infestation is to keep food away from humidity or moisture. Make sure to rotate all bagged or boxed food items. Yellow mealworms are common wherever stored food becomes damp or grows mold.

Mealworms Removal

If a food product is heavily infested, the best method of control is to discard infested items. Light infestations can be controlled by temperature manipulation, either freezing or heating when applicable.

Always clean up spilled flour/food products, especially in hidden areas around appliances. Vacuuming pantries and cabinets while paying close attention to cracks and crevices is another effective way to keep mealworms from infesting stored food. Always keep moisture away from any stored food items.

How to Prevent Flour Beetles from Invading

Mealworms prefer dark, damp spaces, and typically invade farm and grain handling facilities, or homes that are storing packages of processed grains.

These pests feed on decomposing grain that is damp and moldy, as well as meat, dead insects, dried fruit, and are also attracted to oatmeal, flour, and other milled, starchy foods. Mealworms are also reared in pet stores as food.

Habitat, Diet, and Life Cycle

Habitat

Mealworms prefer dark, cool and moist locations where there is suitable food and sheltered areas such as under rocks, logs, in animal waste accumulations and in moist, stored grain storage areas..

Diet

Mealworms will eat grains, vegetables, any organic material, fresh or decaying. This plays a huge role in the ecosystem. Mealworms aid in the decomposition of any spoiled organic material.

Life Cycle

Mealworm beetles go through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The amount of time it takes the insects to go through these stages depends on the temperature of their environment and availability of food. Most typically, the life cycle of a mealworm can take anywhere between four months and a year.

Commonly Asked Questions

How worried should I be about mealworms?

Mealworm evoke disgust when found in stored foods and can contaminate pantry goods. If the larvae or eggs are ingested with food products, it can cause gastrointestinal irritations.

 Flour infested by mealworms sometimes emits a strong odour and contain waste, skins, and other debris that make it inedible. These pests can be a sign of poor sanitation.

 Mealworms also reproduce prolifically, with females laying up to 500 eggs at a time. These eggs hatch into larvae in about two weeks and remain in the larval stage for about three months before pupating to become an adult darkling beetle. This beetle can infest food at any stage.

 Due to the rate at which mealworms can reproduce, an infestation can soon become extremely serious, particularly for businesses that may lose their reputation, profits, and their ability to operate. Complete removal often requires the help of a professional pest control service.

How can I prevent mealworms invading

Keep food in good condition and moisture free, Inspect stored food products regularly, Check for old milled and mouldy food, Discard spoiled or infested food products, Keep your home clean and sanitary, Vacuum counters, floors, and cabinets.