Having a different kinds of insects in your bedroom such as ants, bed bugs or weevils can be frustrating and annoying. Fortunately, weevils are completely harmless to you or your children and get to your home through different sources you may not even be aware of. While they are completely harmless herbivores their appearance in your bedroom can be scary and frustrating, as no one wants to see any kind of insect in their bed.
The first thing you need to do before getting rid of weevils for good determines how they crawled up your bed in the first place. If you’re curious about how to get rid of weevils in your bedroom and your complete house or apartment in the first place, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll mention all the ways weevils could’ve gotten in your bedroom and which solution can be the most effective in exterminating weevils away from your home. Read on!
Weevil is a special type of beetle, although it’s significantly smaller and easily recognizable for its elongated snout. Their other popular name includes flour bugs because they are attracted by flour and their life starts in the grain that they later emerge from. They are attracted to other wholegrain foods according to scientists.
Weevils are attracted by all sorts of grains, seeds, beans, rice, and other ingredients that you may be keeping at home. As mentioned earlier, they’re a sub-species of beetles, and it has over 60,000 species of their own.
That being said, you may face difficulties determining which type of weevil ended up in your bedroom. However, one of the most distinguished appearance traits that they have is that they can either come oval-shaped or appear quite slender.
Regardless of their shape or type among those 60,000, they are all sensitive to the same extermination methods, so you won’t have to recognize a particular type before you want to get rid of them.
When it comes to their color, they are not much different compared to other home bugs. That being said, you may be having difficulties distinguishing between them because of their brown-black color.
As mentioned earlier, they live in the flour from which they feed. However, they can also be found in oats, wheat, and other whole-grain ingredients.
Although they may appear in your bedroom, chances are that they originally came from your kitchen or pantry room because there are more ingredients that they are likely to feed on.
Another place where weevils can be found other than the kitchen, pantry room, and of course, your bedroom is your garden. That’s because they also feed on different plants and can kill them, which is why they are considered pests and often being exterminated.
As said earlier, there are a lot of types of weevils and most are harmless. At your home, you’re more likely to find rice weevils which are notorious for making your food supplies go bad. The granary weevil enjoys feeding on whole-grain ingredients in your kitchen.
What’s worth mentioning is that neither of these bugs will sting or bite you, your cat, or your dog, but they will enjoy contaminating and ruining your food which comes with other dangers.
We know that you just want to get rid of them sitting in your food, but it’s worth mentioning that they should be eliminated right from the source of their appearance, which can be your garden or kitchen because making your food go bad comes with a whole new level of risks and dangers. Additionally, no one feels comfortable with creepy crawlies in your bed.
Causes Of Weevils in Your Bedroom
We have to determine the real cause behind weevils infesting your bed. Like we said before, a food source or plants likely attracted them all the way there. Let’s determine how they got there and then we’ll see what we can do to get rid of them for good.
You Snack on Food They Like in Your Bedroom
Let’s face it, who doesn’t want to unwind in their bed to a movie or TV show on Netflix after a long and exhausting day at work? Add some snacks to it and you look like you’re prioritizing your “me-time” and living your best life. But, did you know that this habit can lead to weevils infesting your bedroom and bed?
That’s right, different snacks are full of ingredients that can be attractive to weevils and lead them to visit you in your bedroom. You may not have provided them with the permission to do so, but when they smell food they find nutritious, they don’t need your permission. A few of them will come to your bedroom and others will follow.
Moreover, if you have a habit of snacking regularly or eating other meals in bed such as rice, oatmeal, cereals, and others, more weevils will make it their home under your bed, and scare you bad.
Of course, there are other reasons as to why weevils can end up in your bedroom, but this one is the most common.
Editor’s notes: But, which food attracts weevils? Here’s a breakdown of all foods that weevils like to feed on:
- Whole grains (corn, popcorn, oatmeal, barley, rice, brown rice, buckwheat, etc.)
- White flour (and products made out of it like bread, pancakes, pasta, cookie dough, etc)
- Sugar and sugary products
You Don’t Keep Ingredients in Kitchen And Pantry Encased
If you don’t have a habit of eating and keeping food leftovers in your bedroom for days before you decide to wash the dishes or simply put them in the dishwasher, likely, you don’t take proper care of your ingredients at home.
Still, it’s worth noting that if this is the case, you’re likely to notice weevils and other insects all across your house or apartment, and not just in your bedroom.
This is the second most common cause of weevils in your bedroom, but if you combine both the first cause and this cause, you’ll have a lot of weevils to kick out from your bedroom.
Editor’s notes: Earlier we educated what foods weevils feed on. You should close your wholegrain seeds and other ingredients like sugar and coin in ceramic, glass, or metal pots and isolate them so that they won’t attract weevils.
If you have a habit of spilling the beans, rice, or other food on the floor and not picking it up thoroughly it’s more likely to attract weevils. Also, cleaning your kitchen and getting rid of the food that went bad is a top priority for someone who wants to keep their kitchen weevil-free.
Your Bedroom is Next to The Garden
If you live in the house, or your bedroom in the apartment has an exit to a balcony with a lot of plants and flowers, that’s likely how you attracted weevils. There’s a possibility that weevils infested your garden, feeding on your plants and contaminating them.
You may or may have not noticed them before but as the weather gets colder, they are looking for sanctuary in your bedroom, which is how they could’ve entered.
Editor’s notes: Just as with other causes, with this one, it’s also important to be careful. Don’t leave the balcony door, or door to your garden open all the time, don’t take the plants in your bedroom if you suspect that they are infested.
Additionally, a good solution would be to use a mosquito net for your windows if you’re worried that the weevils are entering that way, or simply don’t keep them open all the time.
You Air Your Bedding in The Garden
Another reason as to why the weevils got to your bedroom is because you let your bedding get some air and sunshine outside.
We wrote multiple times about the benefits of letting your pillows, bedding, and even mattress air outside, but if your garden is infested with weevils the micro pieces of food leftovers on your beddings could lure them in. That way your bedding, like Trojan horse, lets the weevils infiltrate into your bedroom.
Editor’s notes: Here, it’s necessary to find a better location for airing your bedding, but also a way to clean your garden free of weevils. More about that later.
Extermination
If you live in an apartment of a large block, the following may be the cause of your troubles with weevils. There’s a possibility that someone else was putting up with them, like your neighbor, and decided to call exterminators and have them handle the situation. In a panic, weevils traveled through sewage and holes in the building reaching your apartment that may have seemed more attractive to them.
Editor’s notes: The only thing you can do here is follow up with hiring exterminators and try to handle it with chemicals just like your neighbors did.
Tips And Tricks on How to Get Rid of Weevils in Your Bedroom
In most cases, the home owner is the biggest culprit behind weevils appearing in your bedroom. The good news is that you can easily put an end to them. If the aforementioned mini tips didn’t help you get rid of them, here is additional advice.
Clean Your Bedroom Thoroughly
As mentioned before, you need to clean your bedroom thoroughly to get rid of weevils. That means moving your furniture, taking the carpets out, washing and vacuum cleaning them, thoroughly cleaning the corners of your bedroom, and using chemicals that take care of bacteria, dust mites, and insects.
Editor’s notes: You should give special treatment to your bed itself.
- Remove the pillowcases and pillow covers and wash them at 90 degrees, let the pillows air on the window or outside but make sure your garden and balcony aren’t infested with weevils.
- Remove the mattress cover, topper, bedding, blankets and wash everything that can be washed also at 90 degrees.
- Vacuum clean your mattress with a special extension that can be used for mattresses.
- Flip your mattress
- Invest in a mattress protector
- Using traps such as this Fly Window trap can help deter weevils away from your bedroom.
Also Read: How to Get Rid of Ants In Your Bedroom?
Get Rid of Bad or Contaminated Foods in Kitchen
Pretty much, the same process should be repeated in your kitchen because of all the foods that are potentially also foods for weevils. Move every corner of the kitchen, and check inside the lower and upper kitchen counters to see whether any whole grain or sugary foods were left away for weevils to feast on.
Get rid of spoiled and moldy bread and other ingredients that were potentially the attractive point for weevils.
Editor’s notes: Make sure not to use heavy chemical solvents to clean the kitchen, as that’s where the food is prepared and you don’t want to make your bad food. Meanwhile:
- Clean every corner of the kitchen and wash dishes that you suspect attracted weevils.
- Replace plastic food storage dishes with metal, glass, or ceramic ones such as boxes for sugar, flour, rice, and others.
- Use rubber bands to encase the bags of food in case you use bag packaging instead of jars.
- You can also set glue traps in the kitchen to get rid of them easier.
- You can also freeze dry food to prevent it from going bad.
- Always check the groceries you’re buying because weevils could be hiding in them. You have the right to return them if you find weevils or some other pest inside.
Clean The Garden
As we mentioned earlier, the cause of weevils in your bedroom may be coming from the garden. That’s why you have to take immediate action. The contaminated garden does not only make your plants look sick and bad, it can kill them and potentially lead to your children and pets getting poisoned if they are inquisitive and like to touch it.
Using insecticides and pesticides with infested plants can be just as bad because your child or pet could get poisoned, that’s why you need to find alternatives and rely only on reliable options.
Editor’s notes: Some things you can do
- Use weevil deterrents
- Use diatomaceous earth such as Safer 51703 Diatomaceous Earth
- Try with pesticides but in moderation
- Finally, ask for help from exterminators or someone who is experienced in killing pests and ensuring they won’t come back.
- There are insecticides that you can try out. However, it’s important to be careful with them and ensure you can move to some other place temporary while insecticides take care of the weevils.
