Q: I found these small bugs crawling in my kitchen. Can you tell me what they are and how to get rid of them? I’ll bring in a sample.

• Kevin from Austintown

A: The bugs in your kitchen are drugstore beetles. They are one of several insect pests of stored food. We call them pantry pests because they can thrive in our pantries.

Other common pantry pests in our area are the cigarette beetle, sawtoothed grain beetle and Indian meal moth. Other insects also infest stored food products, but we don’t see them as frequently in the clinic.

Together these pests cause large-scale losses to households and the stored food industry.

The drugstore beetle and the others are almost always brought into the home from already infested food packages. Once these packages are opened, the pests can spread to other open food.

And these guys aren’t picky when it comes to the food they will infest. Some of the food items they are found in include cereal, flour, grains, crackers, pasta, candy bars and pet food. Drugstore beetles also will be found in wool, leather and dried flowers.

Drugstore beetles and the others prefer warm climates. Our heated kitchens, with abundant food, is ideal habitat for them.

Since you have seen the adult beetles in the open, you probably have had the infestation for a while. The adults were out in search of new food sources, and just killing the adults will not end the problem. The pest’s larvae (the immature stages) are back at the original food source munching away. The larvae will become new adults shortly.

The key to controlling drugstore beetles and the other pantry pests is locating the source(s) of the problem. Carefully inspect all food items in the pantry and dispose of any that are infected. Pick up and check every single item. Thoroughly clean and vacuum the tops, bottoms and crevices of the pantry shelves — and all other areas in the kitchen that may have food crumbs. Put all remaining food items in sealed containers.

Insecticides are not recommended for pantry pests.

To reduce infestations of any pantry pest, you should inspect boxes and bags when you return from shopping trips. Open the packaging to look for webbing or other signs of insects. Consider storing all grains, flour, cereal and related products in re-sealable plastic bags.

Thanks for bringing in the sample. These pests are too small to identify with the eye or a magnifying glass. We had to use the clinic’s diagnostic scope to identify them. Without a sample we never would have been able to make a positive identification.

For more information on pantry pests, see http://go.osu.edu/drugstorebeetle

Sprague is an Ohio State University Mahoning County Extension Master Gardener volunteer. To get help like this in the Extension clinic, call 330-533-5538 to submit your questions. Regular clinic hours are 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays or visit go.osu.edu/virtualclinic.