The trick was invented several decades ago, but it remains relevant to this day.
The spoon eventually replaced the older trick of placing iron nails vertically into a container of flour.
The trick is that the nails, when needed to sift and dry the flour, rust over time.
This trick is no longer popular, but a stainless steel tablespoon is still used.
A spoon is placed in a bag, sack or other packaging for storing flour to scare away pests. Housewives who have tried this method claim that the smell of metal protects the bulk product from living creatures.
Many Soviet housewives did this. It seemed that the spoon was simply forgotten or left for convenience, but in fact the trick was different.
Not only a spoon, but also aluminum foil performs a similar function. A small ball is twisted and placed inside a bag or sack.
Some modern housewives, to scare away insects, put garlic and bay leaf in flour. Their aroma is also not liked by moths, mealworms, flour beetles and other uninvited "guests".
