Grain Stores, June 2019

CSIRO CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

Ensuring stores are clean and free of pests is essential to prevent any problems after all the hard work of growing and harvesting the crop.  Bear in mind that no pests of grain come in from the field – they are all loitering in the store or on associated machinery, trailers, pits, ducts just waiting for grain to arrive.  They keep themselves ticking over on spilt grain, which can be found in crevices, on ledges, in pits and ducts.  Consequently, giving the store a thorough cleaning can reduce the risk of pests such as weevils, saw-tooth grain beetle, mites and psocids (booklice) being a problem.  Don’t forget to treat associated machinery as well as the walls of stores.  The use of bait bags to see what may be present in the store now is highly recommended, and if any pests are present insecticide treatments can be applied to the store to get rid of them. Any suspicious insects or bait bags can be sent to the SRUC Crop Clinic for rapid identification of any insects present.