1. Jar Them
One way to identify grain beetles is to isolate them in a jar so you can get a close look at them. Take the food that you believe contains grain beetles and collect a few specimens. To do this, warm the jar slightly, to about 70 degrees. This jar should be a clear glass jar with a lid. Collect a few of your potential grain beetles and watch how they move in the jar. If they walk up the vertical side of the container, as apposed to staying around the bottom of the jar, they are either weevils or grain beetles. If you find any of these in your foods, you'll want to clean out your food storage area and disinfect each shelf. This assures that the problem won't return when you replace the food. Discard the infested food you've found.
2. Take a Closer Look
With a magnifying glass, take a close look at your collected subjects. Grain beetles have a "saw" on either side of their body, which is why some people sometimes call them "saw toothed" grain beetles. The merchant grain beetle also has these telltale "saw" toothed markings on the sides of its body as well. Their bodies are mostly brownish colored and they are about 1/8 inch long. Their flattened bodies enable them to crawl into very tight spaces. The body of the grain beetle is oval and narrow, which again helps them gain access to even some of the most tightly sealed packages. This differs from the weevil. The weevil has a rather wide body and an elongated snout. A quick look through the magnifying glass will determine which pest you are dealing with.
3. Not Just Grain Beetle
Check your pantry for other infested foodstuffs. Even though they call these small brown insects grain beetles, they infest other foods as well. Check your popcorn, dried fruit and macaroni. The grain beetle will even feed on chocolate.
4. The Grain Beetle's Twin
The flour beetle, which infests most of the same food items as the grain beetle, is shinier than its cousin. It is also slightly more convex as well. The biggest difference between the two, however, is the reproduction cycle. While the flour beetle reproduces every 40 to 60 days and lives up to a year, the grain beetle reproduces at the same rate but can live up to 3 years.
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