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Many of you know that the Chisago County Master Gardeners have a telephone hot line for people with gardening questions. What some of you don't know is that we can also answer questions about insect pests in your home.

When someone leaves a voicemail message about a home insect pest, I am the one who usually returns the call. Many times the insect is a common one, like ants or lady beetles, and the homeowner knows what it is and just wants some advice on what to do about them. Other times I can easily identify the insect from their description and their answers to a few pertinent questions.

When do you see the insects - at night or during the day? How many are there - just one or two or lots of them? Where are you finding them - basement, kitchen, bathroom? Are they dead or alive? When did you begin seeing them - just since spring, or throughout the winter months? Can you describe them to me?

The vast majority of the time, the home insect pests people see are common ones that I will recognize from their verbal descriptions and am able to tell them right away about the insects' behaviors and how to get rid of them. Once in awhile, however, I get one I am unable to figure out over the phone. That was the case in December, when a caller had "tiny black beetles with long snouts all over the house for weeks."

My initial thought was the strawberry root weevil, a common insect that finds its way into the home in the fall, seeking a protected place to spend the winter. We call such insects "Accidental Invaders" because they just accidentally wander in. They don't do any damage, and they don't reproduce indoors. The only control measure that is needed is physical removal; e.g., vacuuming them up.

But, some of the things this person was telling me about her little beetles just didn't seem to fit, so I asked her to mail some to me. Under magnification, I was able to positively identify them as rice weevils, a somewhat uncommon "pantry pest." When I told her to look through whole grain food products in her cupboards, she found an old package of barley that was infested with them.

There are other kinds of pantry pests. One of the most common is the Indianmeal moth, a small moth that lays its eggs in or near a wide variety of dried food products, such as cereal and flour. When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the food product, and with time, turn into more moths, to continue the cycle. Jeff Hahn, Assistant Extension Entomologist at the University, reports that many people have been finding these moths flying around their homes lately, especially in kitchens.

When you have an infestation of one of these pantry pests, just removing the adult moths, weevils or beetles or spraying an insecticide to kill them, is a temporary measure. You must search for the food source that their larvae (small white worms) are feeding on and throw it out, or you will continue to have problems.

Since packaged foods left undisturbed on a shelf for long periods of time are the most susceptible, you should buy these products in quantities that will be consumed in a reasonable length of time. Use metal, glass and plastic storage containers with tight fitting lids. Store highly susceptible foods in the refrigerator or freezer. Vacuum or sweep up crumbs in drawers and cupboards.

The University Extension Service website has many publications about common home insect pests and a gallery of photos to help people identify them. Find this information at: http://www.extension. umn.edu/homeinsect.

If you have a yard or garden or home insect pest question, you can call our voicemail number and leave a message. A Chisago County Master Gardener will do the necessary research and call you back with helpful information. That number is 651-213-8904.

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