World Grain - January 2019 - 82

FEATURE: WIN THE BATTLE AGAINST STORED PRODUCT PESTS

PREVENT, MONITOR, DETECT AND REMOVE
A trained professional can help correctly identify the
species and recommend the best course of action to resolve the issue. But with a team effort from employees,
management and your pest control specialist, you can
implement the following tactics as part of your IPM program to help in the prevention of stored product pests.
x Inspect incoming shipments - Closely inspect all incoming shipments for live insects,
webbing and damaged kernels. These could all
be signs of stored product pests. If pests are
suspected, take a sample and place in a closed,
labeled container to monitor for about a month
(the typical time it takes to go from egg to
82

adult) and see if any activity is happening.
x Pheromone traps - The best tool to monitor for
stored product pest activity is the pheromone trap.
Place them around your facility to get an early
warning if these pests are around. They are small
and like to hide, so pheromone traps are an extra set
of eyes working 24/7 for you. Once placed, these
will offer insight as to which areas are most at-risk
in your facility for pest problems.
x Check the temperature - Stored products pests
cannot thrive in extreme temperatures and can't
develop below 15 degrees C (60 degrees F). When
possible, keep grains aerated and cooled. Also,
monitor the temperatures inside silos and bins. Hot
spots in the grain mass can be an early warning sign
of insect activity.
x )LUVWLQ¿UVWRXW),)2² Deteriorating products
are an invitation for stored pests, so remove older
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inches away from the walls in any warehouse areas.
This makes cleaning surrounding areas easier.
x Set a sanitation schedule - The more you can
limit the amount and access to food, the fewer insects can get established. Create an ongoing sanitaWLRQVFKHGXOHIRUHPSOR\HHVDQGGH¿QHUHVSRQVLELOLties relevant to team members' roles. Divide tasks
up between daily, weekly, monthly, and even quarterly duties. Don't forget to document it all.
You need your whole team on board for the most
effective pest management program possible. Team
members who work close to equipment should be
in charge of inspecting it each day, while forklift
operators in charge of moving and placing goods in
the storage areas should look for any signs of pest
activity. That way, you'll be able to notice pest issues quickly and notify your pest management professional earlier. That will help mitigate major risk.
Resolving pest issues as quickly as possible will be
EHQH¿FLDOLQWKHORQJUXQDVLQIHVWDWLRQVDUHQDWXUDOO\
PRUHGLI¿FXOWWRUHPRYH%HLQJSURDFWLYHZKLOHZRUNLQJ
with a pest management provider to create a customized
IPM plan will help prevent pests and protect your products, business and bottom line.
Chelle Hartzer is technical services manager for Orkin. She is a
board-certified entomologist and provides technical support and
guidance across all Rollins brands in the areas of operations,
marketing and training. For more information,
email mhartzer@rollins.com or visit www.orkincommercial.com.
We want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries
to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles,
e-mail reprints@sosland.com.

January 2019 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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reach the adult stage, they chew a distinctive round exit
hole, emerge, and start the process all over again.
The lesser grain borer, one of the most common in
wheat in the United States, measures up to just 3 milliPHWHUVLQOHQJWKDQGFDQÀ\7KH\DUHYHU\PRELOHDQG
will go from silo to silo or bin to bin, even super sack to
super sack. You can spot the damage by looking for those
hollowed-out kernels with an exit hole where the borer
chewed through.
External developers are a larger group of pests.
Unfortunately, they're big fans of grain-based goods as
well. Some are considered scavengers because they eat
a wider range of foods, but many external feeders prefer
to eat broken and processed grain products. A common
species in this category is the Indian meal moth, which
is one of the (relatively) larger and easier-to-spot stored
product pests. The body of these moths is about 9 millimeters long with a wingspan approximately 15 millimeters across. The adults only live about a week but will lay
up to 400 eggs on product, which is the start of an infestation. When present, Indian meal moth larvae leave behind silky-looking webbing and frass on product, which
gums up product and equipment. Feeding will damage the
grains further and leaves them more vulnerable to secondary mold feeders.
The mold- and fungus-loving group, secondary feeders, can often be present at the same time as other stored
product pests. Once internal and external feeders have in¿OWUDWHGDQGFRQWDPLQDWHGSURGXFWFRQGLWLRQVDUHULSHIRU
secondary feeders to move in.
Foreign grain beetles are another common pest in this
category, and they're tiny, too. Only about 2 to 3 millimeters in size, these beetles are happy to stay out of sight
and thrive in any wet, moldy conditions present. If you
have any water damage, moisture buildup, or moldy grain
around the facility, you should to remove it immediately.

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World Grain - January 2019

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