Because rice is cooked at almost every meal, every family needs more rice than any other food. Buying rice every day is hardly possible, so almost every household is in the habit of buying one or more maunds at a time.

Storing so much rice at once, however, sometimes causes a problem: insects. As soon as rice starts to get a little old, insects begin to appear. However well the rice is washed before cooking, one or two always escape notice, which is both annoying and unbearable.

A few techniques will stop insects getting into your rice.

• If you have a large quantity of rice, keep it in plastic bags. It will stay good for a long time.
• Always use an airtight food container to store rice. There is then no fear of insects, and the rice does not become damp.
• If insects do get into the rice, put a few neem leaves or bay leaves in the rice container and you will see them leave. You can also keep the leaves in the rice before any insects appear, so there is no risk of infestation.
• If the rice has insects, fill a container with it and put it in the fridge. After 4 to 5 days in the fridge, you will find all the insects are dead.
• Many people put infested rice out in the sun to dry. That does kill the insects, but the rice no longer cooks well. Instead of putting the rice directly in the sun, you can put it out in its container; the heat will kill the insects.
• Clean the place where you keep the rice regularly, and clean the rice container every so often.
• Spray insecticide around the rice container, and there will be no more fear of insects in the rice.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.