Pest management

The following was posted on the Archives and Archivists list and is
reproduced her without the author's knowledge or permission

    At the Library of Virginia's new State Records Center we have a
    Pest Eradication Chamber to treat incoming archival records that
    happen to be infested with insects.  The chamber is actually a
    specialized blast freezer which will reach temperatures of -40
    degrees F.  The treatment cycle is -40 degrees F for 48 hours
    then back up to room temperature for 24 hours and then we plunge
    the temperature back down to -40 for an additional 48 hours. We
    think that the chamber is effective in killing any critters that
    we encounter but we want to make sure.  A biology professor from
    the College of William and Mary and a graduate student are going
    to study the chamber and help determine how effective it is in
    an upcoming research project.  The professor has asked for a
    listing of the types of paper-eating insects that we have
    encountered over the years.  My partial list is speculative and
    if any of you (especially from the Mid-Atlantic / Southeastern
    US region) can add to the list please do so.  My list includes:

        Termites
        Silverfish
        Cockroaches
        Booklice (although not sure if it is really a paper-eater)
        Case-bearing Clothes Moth
        Powder Post Beetles
        Deathwatch Beetles
        Carpet Beetles

    The professor hopes to then order the insect specimens from a
    bio-supply company for the study. Thanks for your help,

    C. Preston Huff, CRM, CA,
    State Records Administrator
    The Library of Virginia
    804-692-3607



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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:47
                 Distributed: Thursday, January 3, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-47-013
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