How to Get Rid of Weevils in Rice, Flour and Pantry Food

To get rid of weevils, throw out the rice, beans, grain or pasta they’re in, and freeze anything you want to keep at 0°F for 4 days. Vacuum and wash the shelves, then store dry food in glass, metal or hard plastic containers with tight lids. Don’t spray: University of Maryland Extension says not to spray any food storage area with insecticides.

Cost: about $16 in supplies. Time: about 1 afternoon + a month of checks. Difficulty: easy. Call a pro if you’ve thrown out every infested package and sealed your dry goods, but weevils keep turning up after a month and you can’t find a source.

Weevils are small beetles with a long snout. The rice weevil and the granary weevil lay their eggs inside whole kernels, and the larvae grow hidden inside the grain (University of Kentucky). That’s why one bag of rice can look fine and still be full of them, and why throwing out or freezing the food works where sprays don’t. This guide covers telling which weevil you have, the five steps to clear them, and how to keep them out. We haven’t tested these methods ourselves; it rests on University of Kentucky, University of Maryland and UC IPM entomology guidance.

Found weevils in your rice tonight? Seal the bag in a plastic grocery bag and put it in the outdoor trash. Then check every other whole grain in the cupboard: rice, dried beans, popcorn, whole wheat, birdseed. Weevils spread to anything nearby.

What Works and What Doesn’t Against Weevils

Which Weevil Is It?

Two weevils cause most pantry problems. University of Maryland Extension tells them apart this way: the rice weevil is about ⅛ inch, dull reddish brown with four faint pale marks on its wing covers, and it can fly and is drawn to light. The granary weevil is ⅛ to ¼ inch, reddish brown to black with no pale spots, and it can’t fly. Both have the long snout, and both are handled the same way.

Tiny reddish beetles without a snout, in spices or pet food, are more likely drugstore beetles; see how to get rid of drugstore beetles. Small moths and webbing point to pantry moths.

Weevils in Flour?

Usually not true weevils. Weevils lay their eggs inside whole kernels (UKY), so look for the snout first. The tiny reddish-brown beetles living in flour, baking mixes and cereal are most often red flour beetles, which are flat, shiny and have no snout, or drugstore beetles, whose common foods include flour and meal (UKY). The fix is the same: throw out the infested flour, freeze any you keep at 0°F for 4 days, vacuum the shelves and store flour in a sealed jar. How to get rid of drugstore beetles covers the flour and spice cleanout step by step.

Step 1: Find Every Infested Package

Weevils feed inside whole kernels: wheat, corn, rice and other whole grains (UKY). University of Maryland adds beans, nuts, cereals, buckwheat, dried fruit and spices to the list. Take everything out of the cupboard and check:

• Rice, dried beans, popcorn and whole grains first.
• Small round holes in kernels or beans, where adults chewed their way out.
• Fine, sawdust-like powder at the bottom of the bag. University of Maryland calls it frass.
• Live weevils in the package, on the lid or on nearby shelves.

Pour suspect food onto a white plate in good light; the dark weevils stand out against rice and grain. Check birdseed and decorative corn too.

Step 2: Throw Out or Freeze It

Throw out anything with weevils, holes or frass (UMD). Bag it and take it to the outdoor trash.

For food you’re not sure about, or want to keep, freezing kills the stages hidden inside the grain. The University of Kentucky gives two options: a freezer at 0°F for 4 days (one that isn’t self-defrosting), or 155°F for about 20 minutes in the oven with the door propped open. The freezer is easier for most kitchens.

Step 3: Vacuum and Wash the Shelves

Vacuum the empty shelves top and bottom, with a crevice tool in the cracks and corners (UKY), then wash them with soap and water (UC IPM). Spilled grain in a corner is enough to keep weevils going. Empty the vacuum outside.

Step 4: Store Dry Food in Sealed Containers

University of Maryland recommends glass jars, plastic containers or metal canisters with tight-fitting lids, and says glass jars with rubber-gasket seals are best. Don’t keep grain in plastic bags or cardboard boxes. Store food somewhere cool and dry, and keep rice, beans and flour you use slowly in the freezer.

Step 5: Watch for a Month

University of Kentucky says rice weevil adults can live for 6 to 8 months and may turn up some distance from the infested food, and that egg to adult can take as little as a month. So a few weevils on the counter or a windowsill after the cleanup are normal. Check the cupboard again in a few weeks. If you keep finding them in the same spot, look for a package you missed.

Do You Need Weevil Traps or Spray?

No spray. University of Maryland says not to spray any food storage areas with insecticides, and UC IPM says insecticides aren’t recommended for pantry pests at all; spraying near food can cause more harm than the insects.

Traps won’t solve it either. Pheromone traps sold for pantry moths won’t attract beetles (UC IPM), and no trap reaches the larvae inside the grain. Removing the infested food is what ends a weevil problem.

Are Weevils Harmful?

They don’t bite or sting, and they don’t damage the house. They spoil food: infested grain fills with frass and hollowed kernels. Throw out what they’ve been in.

How to Keep Weevils Out

• Inspect rice, beans and grains when you buy them, especially bulk bins (UMD).
• Buy amounts you’ll use in a few months.
• Freeze rice, beans and flour for 4 days when you bring them home if you’ve had weevils before.
• Store everything in sealed glass, metal or hard plastic.

What It Costs

DIY: Target list price, October 1, 2026, before tax, plus a vacuum, soap and freezer space you likely have. Pro: the pantry moth treatment range from Fixr (January 2025), the closest published price for a pantry pest visit. Since food areas shouldn’t be sprayed, most of what you’d pay for is the same cleanout.

When to Call a Pro

Only if weevils keep turning up a month or more after you’ve thrown out every infested package and sealed your dry goods, and you can’t find a source anywhere in the house. Be wary of a quote built around spraying food shelves; what an exterminator does lists what to ask.

The Bottom Line

Throw out infested rice, beans and grain, freeze anything you keep at 0°F for 4 days, clean the shelves and move dry food into sealed jars. Skip sprays and traps, and give it a month of checking.