Canada has several species of cucujides: the red cucujide, the merchant cucujide, the small grain piercer, etc., and the grain serrated cucujide.
It is widespread worldwide. In Quebec, it is mainly found in milling products such as cereals, bread and macaroni, and in grain silos where it is one of the most frequently encountered insects in all food storage areas.
It ravages grains, grains and all kinds of food products.
What is his physical appearance? What is its life cycle? How to prevent your infestation ? What do we know that he has already invaded you? How do you get rid of it effectively?
These are all questions that Animal Alert provides professional answers to.
| Nom français | Cucujide des grains |
| Nom anglais | Foreign Grain Beetle, Plaster Beetle |
| Nom latin | Ahasverus advena |
| Classe | Insectes |
| Ordre | Coléoptères |
| Famille | Silvanidés |
Physical appearance of grain cucujide
The grain serrated cucujide is a granivorous insect of the beetle family. It is 2.5 mm to 3 mm long. Its body, rusty brown in color, is elongated and flattened dorso-ventrally. It has a pair of antennas consisting of 3 segments. The3rd segment is the smallest while the2nd is the longest of all.
The serrated cucujide of the grains has, from each rib of the thorax, 6 growths resembling saw teeth, hence its qualifier of “serrated”.
But be careful, do not confuse the serrated cucujide of grains with the cucujide of oilseed grains. The two are morphologically similar. But the serrated cucujide of the grains has wider temples. Their length, as the Association Québécoise de la Gestion Parasitaire puts it so well, exceeds half the vertical diameter of the eye.
The larva, on the other hand, is 3-4 mm long. It is greyish-white. Its head is brown.
Reproduction and life cycle
The serrated cucujide of the grains can mate over a period of 2 to 5 months. The female lays several hundred white and shiny eggs. It deposits them in food or in cracks (hollows, holes, etc.) that are nearby.
According to data from the Ministère du Développement Durable, de l’Environnement et de Lutte contre les Changements Climatiques du Québec, at temperatures of 17°C to 37°C, the complete development (from egg-laying to adulthood) of the serrated cucujide of grains is usually done in 3 or 4 weeks. But it can go up to 375 days. It all depends on the conditions.
The eggs of the serrated cucujide of the grains will hatch in the space of 3 to 7 days, giving way to the larvae. The latter have a white to pale yellow color, and are flattened in shape.
The larva of the serrated cucujide of the grains will molt 2 or 4 times, often 3 times. Very mobile, she will feed on the food she finds on her way.
As soon as it reaches 3 to 4 mm in length, the larva uses a sticky secretion to agglutinate grain fragments and make a cocoon. It is in this cocoon that his transformation into an adult will take place in a week.
On average, the adult of the serrated cucujide of the grains lives from 6 to 10 months. But it can happen that it exceeds 3 years.
Per year, there are 6 to 7 generations of serrated cucujide of grains.
Appeler René Gélinas Votre exterminateur local, Expérience et intégrité dans la gestion parasitaire
Tel 514 830 2819
Hantavirus, definition and mode of transmission
Hantavirus is a severe lung syndrome caused by a virus. It is secreted in the urine, feces and saliva of infected animals. Most often these are rodents. When humans come into direct or indirect contact with these secretions, the virus is transmitted to them. Ditto when they are bitten by infected rodents.
However, the virus is not transmitted from human to human, only from animal to human. This type of disease is called zoonoses because they can only be transmitted to humans through an animal. It has been found that domestic animals (apart from the domestic rat) and livestock cannot contract hantavirus so there is every reason to believe that only rodents can carry it.
Symptoms of hantavirus
Being a lung disease, one of the characteristic symptoms of hantavirus is difficulty breathing. At the beginning of the disease, the infected person begins to feel fever, chills, headache and muscle pain.
It is about two weeks after the appearance of the first symptoms that they are usually accompanied by a feeling of shortness of breath. Nevertheless, this last manifestation of the disease can be observed after two days as after six weeks; it depends on the organism of the individual.
Hantavirus can also lead to kidney disease or infection. And although they are rare and very few people are prone to them, there is currently no treatment to combat these ailments. It is therefore better to be careful not to contract them.
How is grain serrated cucujide harmful?
The serrated cucujide of grains is often found in supermarkets or inside our kitchens and pantry.
Contrary to popular belief, as explained by the Association Québécoise de Gestion parasitaire, both adults and larvae of the serrated cucujide do not perforate packaging. But thanks to their flattened body, they are able to get into very small slots including those of non-hermetically sealed packaging.
For example, the larva, which has just come out of the egg, can enter an opening of 0.1 mm.
The toothed cucujide of the grains does not harm our health. But it devours and destroys our food reserves: cereals, flours, grains, pasta, breads, nuts, dried fruits, pitch, rice, sugar, chocolate, biscuits, dried meats, sweets, tobacco, etc. It also attacks the food of our pets.
If taken individually, it does not consume much, a massive presence of serrated cucujides of the grains will cause over time more or less considerable financial losses.
Tips for preventing an infestation of serrated cucujides of grains
- Prevention is the best method of control. Before loading grain into a cell, it should be thoroughly cleaned and treated with a structure-approved insecticide to avoid an infestation of the newly harvested grain.
- These insects can also be controlled by fumigation or mixing an approved insecticide.
- In winter, they can also be controlled by cooling the grain to a temperature below -5°C while maintaining this temperature for 12 weeks.
With a little discipline, it is easy to prevent an invasion of serrated cucujides of the grains:
- Check the freshness of the purchased food,
- Always examine their packaging before taking it home,
- Avoid buying large amounts of grains, grains, spices or dried foods. Thus, you will not keep it over a relatively long period,
- Keep leftover food in tightly closed containers,
- Examine your food products from time to time, even if they are not open,
- Inspect thoroughly, thoroughly clean, and regularly disinfect storage areas (pantry, kitchen cabinet, attic, warehouse, silo store, etc.) of your food. Don’t forget to vacuum the slots and corners and then throw the vacuum bags away from home.
But if the serrated cucujides of the grains have already assailed you, it is better to call in a competent professional exterminator. You will make sure to solve the problem once and for all.
But how do you know that they have invaded you? Since their eggs and larvae are very small, they can easily go unnoticed. The solution is to check the temperature of the grains. They warm up in case of a real infestation of serrated cucujides of the grains.
Also, if you see adults of serrated cucujides hanging out near food, they may have already infested your pantry, kitchen, attic, silo or warehouse.
Professional exterminator solutions
The exterminator of serrated cucujides of grains has 3 solutions: eradication by heat treatment, elimination by the pneumatic conveyor, and eradication by chemical treatment.
- Eradication by heat treatment: here, the exterminator subjects the grains to high temperature using grain dryers. Once this heat treatment is finished, the exterminator immediately cools the grain. This prevents it from heating, degrading or being invaded again by the serrated cucujide of the grains.
It can also expose the grain to very low temperatures. For example, exposure of grains to -5oC eliminates these pests at all stages of their development.
- Disposal by grain vacuum cleaners or pneumatic conveyors of the cyclone type: the percussion effect caused by the cyclone leads to the death of serrated cucujides of the grains.
- Eradication by chemical treatment: here, the exterminator uses insecticides. It can use:
- Diatom soil: it kills the insect by dehydration,
- Permethrin: it kills the insect by hindering the functioning of its central nervous system,
- Phosphine: It is found in forms such as aluminum phosphorus, magnesium phosphorus and gaseous phosphine. The exterminator applies them by fumigation. This product, well used, is effective against all stages of development of serrated cucujide of grains.
- Carbon dioxide: it is applied to the grain in the gaseous state.
- Methyl bromide: used as a pre-shipment treatment and quarantine of import/export foodstuffs.
If you would like to learn more about these different solutions, visit this page of The Canadian Grain Commission.
But know that the exterminator in Montreal of serrated cucujides of the grains will always choose the most suitable solution for your case.
However, beware! Know how to recognize one of truly professional. Because only he can guarantee you a definitive destruction of an invasion of serrated cucujides of the grains :
- He gets rid of these attackers in compliance with Environment Canada regulations, attested by his permit from the Ministère du Développement Durable du Québec with the mention CD5: Extermination.
- He worked like this: his certified professional extermination technicians quickly arrived at the site of the invasion.
Their goal: to confirm that it is indeed an invasion of serrated cucujides of the grains, to measure the intensity of their aggression, and to determine the source to neutralize it.
He then offers you a treatment adapted to the strength of the aggression. Finally, it informs or trains you on the precautions to take to protect you from a future flood of serrated cucujides of grains in your pantry, kitchen, attic, warehouse or silo
- It uses unidentified vehicles and remains discreet in all interventions.
- It offers you a written guarantee on the effectiveness of its treatment against the epidemic of serrated cucujides of grains.
- It knows how to choose insecticides suitable for your infestation and makes it a safe use. Rest assured: if he has a permit from the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, it means that he is paying attention to all of this.
And you, have your food stocks ever been attacked by the serrated cues of grain ? Did you manage to get rid of it? If so, how? Tell us in the comments below.
