Diatomaceous earth and pest control

Sophie Parker <parker.sophie [at] saugov__sa__gov__au> writes

>Jutta Gopfrich <j.goepfrich [at] ledermuseum__de> writes
>
>>... Also we are looking for a source for
>>pheromone traps against certain beetles (Anthrenus).
>
>...
>We have experienced a problem with controlling anthrenus verbasci
>larvae in a museum entomology collection and I have done some
>investigation into suitable pest control methods.
>
>I had hoped that a dusting of diatomaceous earth (desiccant powder)
>under the entomology cabinets would control and kill travelling
>larvae. I contacted the entomologist of a company who imports
>Dryacide, a diatomaceous earth for the protection of grain in
>storage. However in his opinion, the anthrenus larvae had too many
>body hairs which would prevent the dust from scratching the wax
>cuticle on the larvae, thereby leading to their dehydration.

Diatomaceous earths and silica aerogel dusts are effective against
Anthrenus larvae despite their hairiness. The fact that they can
easily climb vertical surfaces shows that the hairs do not get in
the way. We have found the silica dusts more effective as they are
finer and 'dust' more easily. Diatomaceous earths can clump and clog
the applicator and come out in lumps. We use a material called
Agrodust which is a 100g puffer pack. You can obtain Anthrenus
verbasci lures from Insects Ltd and Anthrenus sarnicus lures from
me. I can provide more information if you want it.

Robert Child
Head of Conservation
National Museums and Galleries of Wales
Cathays Park
Cardiff  CF10 3NP
UK
+44 29 20573245
Fax: +44 29 20573124


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:39
                 Distributed: Friday, February 18, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-39-009
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