I’m back (in Korea) – Invasion of the Weevils!

Last night I went to bed around 1am. I got out of bed today at 3pm. That’s 14 hours of sleep. While I probably needed the sleep, it clearly indicates that my biological clock is wacked. I cannot afford to get up that late at all. Tomorrow morning we start with faculty meetings at 8:30, so I need to get up around 7am.

A friend whom I asked to water my plants while I was away informed me that I have an ant infestation. When I arrived last night my whole apartment had these little black “ants” congregated everywhere. Upon closer inspection it turns out that they were not ants but rice weevils! (Rice weevils are sometimes referred to as cereal beetles. “Serial beetles” as in serial killers is probably a better term for these little critters because they are quite persistent.) So last night after taking a shower and having dinner I started the elimination of thousands of weevils. My main method of disposal is vacuuming and flushing the contents down the toilet. But even after vacuuming my whole apartment, later they’d just appear again. It was then that I discovered the source.

A Korean friend, whose father owns a rice farm, gave me a bag of brown rice. When I opened the bag it was filled with weevils whick looked something like the disturbing video below.



While I’ve removed the original source, I’m yet to completely eradicate the weevil infestation. There are still hundreds hiding away in nooks and crannies. The worrying thing is that I read online that rice weevils may also feed on cotton or other dry organic material. I’m concerned now that they may be feeding on the innards of my coaches (probably stuffed with cotton), or maybe they’re feeding on my clothes (I’ve seen some in my bedroom), or feeding on my wallpaper (Korean wallpaper is actually made of paper, not canvas), or chomping away on my books and notes. I haven’t actually seen them doing any of this, but it would explain their persistent reappearance – they must have another food source.

Speaking of which, I need to go clear my cupboards of all the pasta...