Can you eat rice with little bugs in it?

Given how dry rice is, he said, as long as you keep it dry during storage and follow best practices when cooking, serving and storing rice dishes, “it’s a pretty bulletproof, safe food.”

What type of bugs infest rice?

Rice weevils and granary weevils can be found in rice. The lesser grain borer and the sawtoothed grain beetle are also common, Blake Wilson, an entomologist at Louisiana State University, told me. 

How can weevils and other bugs survive if bacteria can’t?

Both bacteria and bugs like weevils need moisture to survive. But weevils can get by with less of it than bacteria. Rice is obviously very dry; it can’t support rice-ruining microbial growth, but contains just enough moisture to sustain these beetles.

What can you do with rice infested with weevils, etc.?

Aside from dumping the rice (which you should do carefully to avoid spreading an infestation), the easiest approach is to pick out the bugs, rinse the rice, prepare as usual and tell yourself that tonight’s pilaf may have a little more protein. 

Wilson said to prepare for a less appealing meal. 

“In addition to the visible adult weevils, there is likely weevil larvae feeding inside the grains that would be consumed unnoticed,” he wrote to me. “There will also be lots of frass (insect excrement). The rice will be of reduced quality too, more broken grains etc., and may not cook right.”

To eliminate the bugs now, but save the rice for later, experts recommend baking or freezing to kill weevils. Recommendations vary a little, but Iowa State Extension suggests baking dry rice at 140 degrees for 15 minutes; the University of Florida Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences suggests an hour at 120 F. Oklahoma State University Extension says freezing the rice (or other infested product) for several weeks will also kill weevil adults and larvae. 

Could there be any benefits to eating weevils and other rice-nibbling insects?

Given how a number of advocates and companies promote insects as a healthy and sustainable human food source (cricket chips or cookies, anyone?), I asked Wilson if there could actually be any beneficial nutrition in buggy rice. 

“Entomophagy is a growing trend around the world as insects offer a sustainable and affordable source of protein,” he wrote in an email. “Unless your diet is severely protein limited, however, there are probably better sources than eating weevil infested rice.”

How do weevils get into rice?

Mama weevils chew holes into grains of rice, drop their eggs in and seal things up with a sticky goo. Then they scurry away. A few days later their babies hatch, but remain inside the grain. They fortify themselves by further chewing on and hollowing their rice grain home, and, weeks later, bore their way out of the grain as adult weevils. Hungry yet?

If you find weevils in a sealed package of rice, they’ve been there since the bag was closed up at the factory (and the bag probably looked fine since the weevils were still hidden in their rice-grain nurseries).

If the tiny beetles appeared after you opened the bag, it’s possible they came from somewhere inside your house (I’m sorry). According to the Iowa State University Extension, popcorn, garden seeds, dried decorations containing seeds, decorative dried corn, bean bags and other stored grains and seeds can bring weevil stowaways into your home. 

What other foods do weevils get into?

Wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, sorghum, buckwheat, dried beans and cashews can all double as weevil habitats. While adult weevils generally lay their eggs inside nuts or seeds, they’ll also go for human-made grain-based products, if dense enough. So, weevils might bore little seed nooks into macaroni noodles or tightly packed or caked flour. 

What do weevils look like?

A little silly? Imagine a tiny beetle with a hard shell and a long snout–so long that it’s nearly a third the length of its body.  While there are different types of weevils, the kind most likely in your rice are typically brown to reddish brown and a fraction of an inch long with pitting on their exteriors. In your pantry, you’re most likely to find rice weevils, which have some faint yellowish or red spots on their wing covers, or granary weevils which have no spots. 

Rice weevils can fly and are attracted to light. If they’re disturbed, they pull in their legs, fall to the ground and feign death. Granary weevils can’t fly. 

Adult female rice weevils may live for four to five months and lay an average of four eggs per day.

What other grain beetles are known to get into rice?

Sawtoothed grain beetles and lesser grain borers are also commonly found in rice. 

The lesser grain borer has a cylindrical body and pits on its wing covers. It’s known for boring irregularly shaped holes and tunnels into whole kernels. After feeding, lesser grain borers may leave only dust and thin brown shells of the grains behind. They’re associated with a sweet musty odor and are known to feed on corn, wheat, barley, rice and sorghum and even books. 

Sawtoothed grain beetles, named for the six saw-like teeth on the segment behind their heads, attack a wide range of foods. They chew through unopened cardboard, thin plastic or foil packages, slipping in with their flat bodies. Because they prefer grains that are already broken they may move in after another pest has done an initial round of destruction on food like rice. Like weevils, they don’t bite or sting people or pets, spread disease or damage homes or furniture. Unless your furniture is made of barley.

How can you prevent rice weevil infestations?

Keep rice in a tightly sealed container in a cool and dry place. Buy rice in smaller quantities if you don’t eat it frequently. Rice should be refrigerated after it’s prepared, but if you can, keep dry, uncooked rice it in the fridge too.

Thanks to Joan M. of New York City for submitting this question! We’re hoping your rice has been less buggy lately, Joan!