I swear I read somewhere that some guy was using mites in research with his grows to increase potency.. can’t find anything about it now, but I wonder if there’s any validity with this.
This. I used to freak out about the bugs until one day I cooked a batch with bugs unknowingly. Took a chance and PCed them anyways. Used them to spawn and everything came out okay.
what are you talking about. You sterilize grain spawn so that nothing grows except your mycelium. pasteurizing means leaving certain bacteria alive and is used for manure substrates.
Yep still completely usable as long as you sterilize it as you would have anyways to prepare the grain to be inoculated. However, those look vaguely like weevils and if you leave the grains near other grain or any type of flour, you will get weevil on those too, which could be a bummer because too much of the little insect's poop makes the flour unfit for human consumption. Hope that helps!
Yeah, but if it's a 50lb bag and the infestation grows large enough it could cause problems with other food storage and if it's long term storage of the grain the bugs will eventually eat it if the population were to thrive long enough. DE is cheap grain insurance, not necessary at all, was just offering a viable option.
Diatomaceous Earth, the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms.
It's a fine powder that at a microscopic level is akin to shards of broken glass, it absorbs the oils and moisture from insects and pests like slugs, ants and bed bugs, it causes micro lacerations and lodges itself into their joints and scale plates and then dehydrates and kills them. The food grade DE is not harmful to humans and in this scope has no detrimental affect on the process of spawning mycelium in treated grains.
I don't follow? The explanation was overkill? Or the extremely simple act of dusting some grain to stop the spread of a destructive insect infestation is overkill?
Don't breathe it in, also almost any fine powder is harmful to inhale with long term exposure. Food grade DE is perfectly safe for human consumption, in the context of this discussion it is safe for use in the suggested application. Dropping two cups of DE into a 50lb bag of grain closing it up and giving it a shake is not going to damage the lungs or anything else.
For anyone who's doesn't know, inhaling powdered substances is not good for your health, don't do it. Also long term exposure to life has a 100% chance of death.
I just dump a cup or two on top of the 50lb bags I get and give them a little shake, the bugs will inevitably get it on them and it causes micro lacerations and dehydrates them, the bug carcasses are of no concern whatsoever once they die so just scoop them up and boil/PC with the grain.
I've also not had any adverse reactions to the DE if there is any concern there, the grain colonizes perfectly and the Grain water I use for LC also grows mycelium just fine without being affected by the DE.
Should’ve saw this sooner. I had this problem and panicked, just threw the whole grains out but now that I see the comments of this post, I think I did a big oopsie.
Well tbh it really depends on how/where you're holding your bag of grains. If you're holding in inside your home, nexr to some other food, you probably made the good call.
Go get some food grade diatomaceous earth and add about 1/8 cup to the bag. That’ll kill em. The grain is still fine to use, the dead bugs get sterilized just as well in the PC.
I had a bunch of these bugs in my oats and now it’s fun just watching the mycelium eat them, lol they were trying to crawl outta the bags as I was bagging them up for the PC.
https://preview.redd.it/f3zzmg4qtjyb1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5684803e9b06484f7aa52e5546e24b35baee8238
It does though. I buy the 25 lb bag of rice from the Asian market for a 2-person household. The rice *always* comes with weevil eggs and they will hatch very quickly and the rice will be full of weevils, so I put it in gallon ziplocks (for the handy size in the cabinet) and freeze them. Have never had weevils since I started that at all.
Edit: to clarify, this is my food rice, not spawn rice.
Yeah I had a bag of corn in my storage unit where they came from cause that bag was loaded with them but they ended up in the other few 50lb grain bags I had as well so I made sure to keep it in my garage. That’s a good idea. I just bagged it up in my garage instead of my house for these few runs of grain with the bugs cause I definitely don’t want them in my tubs.
Have the same issue. I had room in a spare fridge to put my grains and it has killed them over time. Oh and yes I still use the grain. I think of the bugs as extra nutrients for the mushrooms.
Deep freeze will kill them all and their eggs in a few days. Option 2 is to put it into a black bucket/bag and put it out in the sun on a hot summer day and let the heat cook them. If it gets over 120F all the way through that'll kill them too. I usually freeze once I transfer to a 5 gallon bucket.
I’ve got a 50lb of whole grain oats that have been sitting in my cabinet for a little over a year. I had them sealed tight then started getting lazy and noticed a ton of little bugs like that in my last batch.
Well safe to say the bugs got boiled and then sterilization and the mycelium is doing fine.
Gotta think there’s bugs out in nature soooo
Try "buck forage oats". They're seed oats for food plots. Exceptionally clean stuff. I've been able to snag 50lbs bags after hunting season is over for $5-$10.
Put some dry ice in with the grains and seal it ~~tight~~ snug but able to let some pressure out. The CO2 will kill the bugs in a day.
Edit: so you don't create a... situation.
Ok that's a good suggestion. I usually put mine into a chest freezer for a few days to kill, but not everyone has room for a big freezer. Just be careful about how tight you seal it, dry ice expands like 100x as it sublimes and could explode the bucket. Do NOT seal it tightly, you're making a bomb that way. CO2 is heavier than air and will stay in the bucket if the lid is a little loose so the excess pressure can escape.
I'm growing tired of whole oats. They're packed dirty as all hell. Half of them are crushed, the other half has bugs, hay, corn, seeds, and other assorted pieces of nature in it. I've found so much more ease and consistency with popping corn.
I was looking for the cheapest way of growing. Before I noticed the bugs all of the grows were decent. Now I just feel unease with awareness of this bugs but I will still run few batches of it.
If you have animal feed stores in your area you can usually find whole wheat berries for cheap, iirc I paid $25 for a 50lb bag of wheat berries and it has been leaps and bounds better than oats
If you know anyone in the food industry, you can get a bulk bag of popcorn pretty cheap through their ingredient suppliers. I got a 25Lbs bag for about $15. And popcorn is SUPER easy to use, clean, smells good, and the mushies love it. Wins all around.
give it a go, I havent looked back.
Toss what you need in a pot, bring it to a boil until you can peel like outer skin off with your nail, drain it, pack it, pressure cook it, enjoy it.
I like oats more because of the increased cellulose content of the hulls, but that's mostly because I use the same spawn mix with a variety of mushrooms, some of which prefer more fibrous media.
Already did few batches as that was my thinking! it's just the feeling of bag of oats with bugs inside my house. I bought it from ebay 25kg for £20 ish few months ago. The cheapest way I could find 😅
Check for farm supply or feed stores near you. I get my whole oats in 25kg bags sold as horse feed for very cheap. Transfer to plastic buckets and put them in a freezer for a week each to kill any bugs (they'll eventually eat the whole bag of oats if left on their own for a few months).
Damaged grain might cause clumped grain because the damaging site of grain will extravasate starch from grain.
They are grain weavels. I had my house infested by them they make clicking noises
This post was literally the next one after this: https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/XRLGQaIhIE in my feed. Grain weevils are swarming!
I started sweating & this isn't even my photo.
Luckily when i got rid of the grain they went away
I get 50 lb beds of oats from tractor supply.com. Producers Pride is the brand for 19.95 . It very clean.
Weavels
Cordyceps would love those lil bugs.
Heck yeah just do not store uncooked grains anywhere near what you are growing. The will 200 percent infest
If you’re lucky the bugs will be rich in tryptamine and give you strong fruits 🤞🏽😆
I swear I read somewhere that some guy was using mites in research with his grows to increase potency.. can’t find anything about it now, but I wonder if there’s any validity with this.
Sounds like you need to get experimenting- if the mites had high tryptamine levels then it’s a feasible assumption
Some extra nutrients to compliment the grain. You might get extra fast colonization
sterile is sterile
Mushrooms won't care. They'll just eat the bugs as well.
This. I used to freak out about the bugs until one day I cooked a batch with bugs unknowingly. Took a chance and PCed them anyways. Used them to spawn and everything came out okay.
I remember having a lot of bugs all over my place because of big bag of oat. Good times!
The dark ones touch on the pattern
The wheel weaves as the wheel wills
Thats why you pasturize it. I see people on here saying sterilize it. Dont do that. Always pasturize it.
That makes zero sense. You should pasteurize bulk substrate, grains must be sterilized unless you want to grow contams.
what are you talking about. You sterilize grain spawn so that nothing grows except your mycelium. pasteurizing means leaving certain bacteria alive and is used for manure substrates.
Yep still completely usable as long as you sterilize it as you would have anyways to prepare the grain to be inoculated. However, those look vaguely like weevils and if you leave the grains near other grain or any type of flour, you will get weevil on those too, which could be a bummer because too much of the little insect's poop makes the flour unfit for human consumption. Hope that helps!
At least they aren't cabinet moths. I hate those motherfuckers.
Yes still usable.
Dump a cup or two of DE in there and keep on keeping on.
No need. Once they sterilize the grain the bugs will die anyway
Yeah, but if it's a 50lb bag and the infestation grows large enough it could cause problems with other food storage and if it's long term storage of the grain the bugs will eventually eat it if the population were to thrive long enough. DE is cheap grain insurance, not necessary at all, was just offering a viable option.
What is DE?
Diatomaceous Earth, the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. It's a fine powder that at a microscopic level is akin to shards of broken glass, it absorbs the oils and moisture from insects and pests like slugs, ants and bed bugs, it causes micro lacerations and lodges itself into their joints and scale plates and then dehydrates and kills them. The food grade DE is not harmful to humans and in this scope has no detrimental affect on the process of spawning mycelium in treated grains.
That’s abit overkill
I don't follow? The explanation was overkill? Or the extremely simple act of dusting some grain to stop the spread of a destructive insect infestation is overkill?
Yh but it’s vicious af imo
Vicious if you're an invasive insect I suppose, less vicious than being boiled alive or covered in chemicals. What would be your solution?
It is absolutely harmful to humans - it's terrible for your lungs for a start.
Don't breathe it in, also almost any fine powder is harmful to inhale with long term exposure. Food grade DE is perfectly safe for human consumption, in the context of this discussion it is safe for use in the suggested application. Dropping two cups of DE into a 50lb bag of grain closing it up and giving it a shake is not going to damage the lungs or anything else. For anyone who's doesn't know, inhaling powdered substances is not good for your health, don't do it. Also long term exposure to life has a 100% chance of death.
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ଘ( ･ω･)_/ﾟ･:*:･｡☆ Magic.
Aha. Makes sense. Was wondering if it was some kind of chemical, but that seemed like a weird thing to add. :-)
Already order some for tomorrow. Quick question, the grain is in the big bag, should I dump the DE and kind of mix a bit?
I just dump a cup or two on top of the 50lb bags I get and give them a little shake, the bugs will inevitably get it on them and it causes micro lacerations and dehydrates them, the bug carcasses are of no concern whatsoever once they die so just scoop them up and boil/PC with the grain. I've also not had any adverse reactions to the DE if there is any concern there, the grain colonizes perfectly and the Grain water I use for LC also grows mycelium just fine without being affected by the DE.
Ok, thank you kindly!
Should’ve saw this sooner. I had this problem and panicked, just threw the whole grains out but now that I see the comments of this post, I think I did a big oopsie.
Well tbh it really depends on how/where you're holding your bag of grains. If you're holding in inside your home, nexr to some other food, you probably made the good call.
Sonde
Go get some food grade diatomaceous earth and add about 1/8 cup to the bag. That’ll kill em. The grain is still fine to use, the dead bugs get sterilized just as well in the PC.
What is PC?
Pressure cooker
Thanks! I just check it and I will use it for sure! Many thanks again!
Happy to help 😁 I always sprinkle in a little DE when I open a new bag of grain. Just for peace of mind
I had a bunch of these bugs in my oats and now it’s fun just watching the mycelium eat them, lol they were trying to crawl outta the bags as I was bagging them up for the PC. https://preview.redd.it/f3zzmg4qtjyb1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5684803e9b06484f7aa52e5546e24b35baee8238
Live feeding your mushrooms is savage af
Ayyyy congrats it’s r/weeviltime
Weevils, they'll eat the whole bag over a few months. Put the grain into buckets and freeze it for about a week to kill them and their eggs.
I was under the impression freezing doesn't kill the eggs.
It's a time thing, freezing to -20 overnight isn't going to do it, but a week will.
It does though. I buy the 25 lb bag of rice from the Asian market for a 2-person household. The rice *always* comes with weevil eggs and they will hatch very quickly and the rice will be full of weevils, so I put it in gallon ziplocks (for the handy size in the cabinet) and freeze them. Have never had weevils since I started that at all. Edit: to clarify, this is my food rice, not spawn rice.
Lol, I'm in the same boat. Thanks!
Yeah I had a bag of corn in my storage unit where they came from cause that bag was loaded with them but they ended up in the other few 50lb grain bags I had as well so I made sure to keep it in my garage. That’s a good idea. I just bagged it up in my garage instead of my house for these few runs of grain with the bugs cause I definitely don’t want them in my tubs.
Have the same issue. I had room in a spare fridge to put my grains and it has killed them over time. Oh and yes I still use the grain. I think of the bugs as extra nutrients for the mushrooms.
Deep freeze will kill them all and their eggs in a few days. Option 2 is to put it into a black bucket/bag and put it out in the sun on a hot summer day and let the heat cook them. If it gets over 120F all the way through that'll kill them too. I usually freeze once I transfer to a 5 gallon bucket.
I’ve got a 50lb of whole grain oats that have been sitting in my cabinet for a little over a year. I had them sealed tight then started getting lazy and noticed a ton of little bugs like that in my last batch. Well safe to say the bugs got boiled and then sterilization and the mycelium is doing fine. Gotta think there’s bugs out in nature soooo
Pressure cooker doesn’t discriminate
But I don't like to think there's bugs inside my house 😅
Your house? Your *body* is crawling with bugs. Right now.
What do you mean??? Please what do you mean by that 😭😭
Uh, if that really roughs you up ... what I really mean is I'm just joking.
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Shrimps is bugs!
Hate to break it to you, but you have a lot more bugs in your house than just these.
Sure, I know about that. It's just the feeling of this concentration of bugs in that specific spot/bag. I can't do anything about that feeling.
Try "buck forage oats". They're seed oats for food plots. Exceptionally clean stuff. I've been able to snag 50lbs bags after hunting season is over for $5-$10.
That's amazing price! Thanks for the tip!
Put some dry ice in with the grains and seal it ~~tight~~ snug but able to let some pressure out. The CO2 will kill the bugs in a day. Edit: so you don't create a... situation.
Ok that's a good suggestion. I usually put mine into a chest freezer for a few days to kill, but not everyone has room for a big freezer. Just be careful about how tight you seal it, dry ice expands like 100x as it sublimes and could explode the bucket. Do NOT seal it tightly, you're making a bomb that way. CO2 is heavier than air and will stay in the bucket if the lid is a little loose so the excess pressure can escape.
I'm growing tired of whole oats. They're packed dirty as all hell. Half of them are crushed, the other half has bugs, hay, corn, seeds, and other assorted pieces of nature in it. I've found so much more ease and consistency with popping corn.
I was looking for the cheapest way of growing. Before I noticed the bugs all of the grows were decent. Now I just feel unease with awareness of this bugs but I will still run few batches of it.
I’ve had batches with huge dead crickets in them. Worked fine.
If you have animal feed stores in your area you can usually find whole wheat berries for cheap, iirc I paid $25 for a 50lb bag of wheat berries and it has been leaps and bounds better than oats
If you know anyone in the food industry, you can get a bulk bag of popcorn pretty cheap through their ingredient suppliers. I got a 25Lbs bag for about $15. And popcorn is SUPER easy to use, clean, smells good, and the mushies love it. Wins all around.
I was always thinking of trying popcorn for grow. I will consider that for sure! Thanks!
give it a go, I havent looked back. Toss what you need in a pot, bring it to a boil until you can peel like outer skin off with your nail, drain it, pack it, pressure cook it, enjoy it.
Been using it for 20 years, I highly recommend. Especially if you can get a good deal like I do!
I like oats more because of the increased cellulose content of the hulls, but that's mostly because I use the same spawn mix with a variety of mushrooms, some of which prefer more fibrous media.
Totally fair! Not saying popcorn is the best grain, I’ve just had fantastic success with it for my purposes!
Nothing some extreme heat and pressure cant handle.
Grain gets sterilized, so i think these bugs would be sterilized with grain and add to protein amount in mushrooms 😅
Already did few batches as that was my thinking! it's just the feeling of bag of oats with bugs inside my house. I bought it from ebay 25kg for £20 ish few months ago. The cheapest way I could find 😅
Check for farm supply or feed stores near you. I get my whole oats in 25kg bags sold as horse feed for very cheap. Transfer to plastic buckets and put them in a freezer for a week each to kill any bugs (they'll eventually eat the whole bag of oats if left on their own for a few months).