The Gross Reason You Should Avoid Buying These Costco Dog Treats

Costco shoppers are well known for sharing their latest finds on social media. Usually, the response is positive when everyone's favorite warehouse store drops a new item, such as this Ice Cream Party Box or Plant-Based French Onion Dip . But, every once in a while, the buyers at Costco put a dud on the shelves, or worse, sell something with unexpected quality issues.

According to one Reddit user, such is the case with a particular Costco dog treat. On July 11, the original poster claimed that their package of Kirkland Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Dog Biscuits was "infested with drugstore beetles." What's more, they said, this was the second time they've encountered this nasty surprise.

Before you throw away your Costco doggie treats, however, the author of the post asked if any other purchasers had experienced this problem — and, so far, only a few commenters had a similar issue.

Most people that responded to the Reddit post shrugged off the issue, saying these things happen because the packages naturally "have small holes and gaps" through which critters are occasionally prone to enter, and "the standards for human food and animal food are different."

So what exactly are drugstore beetles and what can you do about them?

According to the pest control experts at Ehrlich, these tiny, reddish-brown bugs are common throughout the world and can be known to invade a variety of foods including flour, bread, and spices. They can quickly become a problem in your pantry because the females can lay up to 100 eggs at a time. Dry pet food, as the Costco Redditor can attest, is not an uncommon source of these pests. 

There are a few things you can do, though. Inspecting dry goods when you bring them home is a great way to prevent infestation. Tiny clusters of pin-point holes in bags or boxes indicates drugstore beetle activity, but sometimes immature larvae can be present, so it's good to always be on the lookout for mature adults, even in food you've had for weeks. You can also help eliminate all food sources for drugstore beetles by storing food in sealed containers like glass jars. One Reddit commentor also had a great suggestion: "Try putting [the treats] in the freezer for a couple weeks when you bring them home. I do this with any grain products," they said.

Needless to say, you should never use insecticides near food for humans or animals. If the problem persists, you can contact a pest control specialist.