Watching for stored product pests in winter

Anna Berry, technical director at B&G

Stored product pests (SPP) are tropical in nature and very dependent on temperature – they like it warm, typically 70 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. As winter approaches and the weather gets colder, we tend to think our insect pest populations will be less active. This is true for insects making their way in from the exterior, but SPP live in the food we store. Often, there are interior populations that exist during colder seasons. If we’re storing our food in areas that maintain warm, comfortable temperatures, SPP are still very much a concern. In fact, many dry food-processing facilities see an uptick in SPP activity in the winter, many times thriving in heated areas that are not part of the regular sanitation schedule. Monitoring for SPP year-round helps ensure pest populations do not go unnoticed until the spring.