can you store dried beans and grains in the freezer?

Do I need to put the beans and rice in canning jars in the freezer or can I just toss the bags in there?

FYI, once moths lay eggs -- and they lay them everywhere, not just in food -- it's incredibly difficult to get rid of them, even with many traps.

I moved in Aug. 2019 and set out traps immediately; they drew several moths and I thought I was in the clear -- but c. Feb. 2020, I saw a few moths again, despite having put *everything* they might want to eat in the fridge or freezer.

So, keeping even small quantities, even well-wrapped small quantities, in the pantry won't protect your food, or home, from pantry-pest moths. Fridge or freezer always.

Out of nowhere, I'm having the same problem with pantry moths, for several months now. Don't know where they came from or how they got in. I scoured the pantry from top to bottom and threw everything out that they could feed on. I now store all grains, beans, noodles, etc., in glass jars or my chest freezer. That definitely put a hurt on 'em but, STILL, another one pops up every couple of weeks. I slaughter it immediately so it can't reproduce. A friend, who works for an exterminating company, said I MUST go in with a vacuum wand and suction out every nook, cranny, corner, shelf (especially underneath), baseboard, etc., because that's where they lay eggs, which are impossible to spot with the naked eye. They can also eat through plastic bags and lay eggs in the contents. I'm careful to keep the pantry door shut to at least contain them to that one area, and make it easier for me to go in and hunt them down. Oh yeah, it's WAR! Good luck to both of us.

I love you slaughter them! This is year #3 trying to get rid of them. And there is nothing out they can get into, everything is bug proof, in fridge or freezer. Year one and two I would find them all over the house and you can see where I would smash them with the end of a cane on the ceiling. Now they are mostly in the family room, where they started coming out of bird seed and peanuts for the squirrels one winter night I took them out of my car. I have traps every place, even been getting them with fly paper. The room has popcorn ceiling and panelling, I may never get rid of them until dad sells his home

Nozlee, is it better to store grains and beans in the freezer than in the cabinet/pantry? I have large bags of rice and wonder if they get old?

She didn't reply, so I will. Fridge or freezer *always* -- not just to prevent eggs hatching into bugs, or to prevent bugs from having a food source, but bc anything with any oil content will turn rancid over time, and usually sooner than you think.

My mother bought nuts in bulk and stored them in an extra fridge/freezer she had just for that purpose. Nothing ever went bad, and because nothing went bad, there were no food odors to disrupt the items she stored there.

I use clean glass jars that I've saved (from mayonnaise, pasta sauce, peanut butter, etc.); if you have none, it would be worth it to buy a few -- cheaper than throwing out food, plus ecologically better.

If you are going to use glass jars try to get wide mouth jars. I bought a bunch of kids socks at dollar store and I put my jars in the socks before putting in freezer to try to keep from breaking. And if one unfortunately did get broken then the stock keeps the shards from getting scattered.

Luckily haven't had the bug issue but think back to when we automatically lined our shelves with some toxic bug killer paper. I probably don't get bugs in the house because I'm so full of chemicals from then.