Unexpected Guests: WTF in Crawling in New Canister of Oats

What the heck are those tiny things crawling around in a brand-new canister of oats?

That's the question that ran through my head. Right after I screamed.

It started with two containers of oats. One that was almost empty and one that hadn't been opened yet.

I poured the required amount of water into a microwavable bowl. I then added the last of the oats from one container and about a half cup from the new one. That's when I noticed little black dots floating on top of the water.

So, I threw it all out and decided to start again, thinking those little things, whatever they were, came from the old can. Nope! Those floating black dots were actually from the new can I had just opened.

Bugs in My Oats

The dots were some sort of bug that must have died when they hit the water. But they were pretty active inside the canister as you can see in the video at the top of the page.

I'm glad I noticed them. If I'd made oats on the stove rather than in the microwave I may not have seen the floating black dots and accidentally eaten them.

I've never seen anything like this before and have no idea what they are. But I can say, with certainty, I won't be eating any oats for quite some time.