RE: Insekt infestation

["Ellis, Shirley" <shirley.ellis@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just to add some personal experience to this discussion.......

It has been my experience that wet-cleaning (using Orvus anionic detergent)
is NOT successful in killing clothes moth larva (which I suspect the textile
"worms" are).

Thermal control methods for the irradication of these insects would likely
be successful - either using low or high temperatures(-20C or 50'C - 60'C).
The higher temperatures require less time for efficacy, however never having
done this myself I would suggest you read some of Tom Strang's articles such
as the one Mary was referring to (?) in 1992, "A Review of Published
Temperatures for the Control of Pest Insects in Museums", Collection Forum,
8(2), 1992, p41-67.  Or "The Effect of Thermal Methods of Pest Control on
Museum Collections", Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on
Biodeterioration of Cultural Property, July 4-7, 1995, p335-353, Bangkok,
Thailand.  Or contact him at the Canadian Conservation Institute.


Shirley

Please note NEW area code of 780
Shirley Ellis, MAC, CAPC
FSO/Conservator
Department of Human Ecology
B-20 Human Ecology Building
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2N1
ph (780) 492-7678  fax (780) 492-4821
email:  shirley.ellis@xxxxxxxxxxx
www.ualberta.ca/~hecol/txcons.htm


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-texcons@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-texcons@xxxxxxxxxxxx]On
Behalf Of Mary W. Ballard
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 7:50 AM
To: texcons@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Insekt infestation


Karin von Lerber--According to Tom Strang's collection of temperature/time
limits, published data indicate -20 C for dermestidae  and -18 C for Tineola
bisselliella are required temperatures to be maintained for several weeks
(Collection Forum vol 8 #2 9(1992):41-67. At these temperatures, the carpets
will be more brittle and should be handled circumspectly (indirectly).
Alternatively, it is my understanding that wet cleaning or drycleaning will
kill the insects; the surfactant (tenside) will alter the surface tension on
the larvae. Fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride (by a licensed fumigator)
would work at 8x to 16x the dosage for termites; it should be carried out
twice to insure mortality to the eggs. The home/collection from which the
felts came must be wet mopped (with soapy water) to kill insects not taken
out with the carpets. Best wishes, Mary Ballard

>>> karin.vonlerber@xxxxxxxxxx 01/05/01 08:35AM >>>
Dear colleagues,
I will within some hours recieve two Usebkan felt carpets with some type of
textile "worms" eating their way. I intend to freeze them, but there is a
mayor problem:
When the client detected the damage, he put the two carpets out on his
balcony before contacting a museum which refered him to me. In Switzerland,
the temperatures are now around zero °C and slightly below. I am worried,
that the insect larvae have now started to hibernate and will not be killed
by freezing. Can anybody help me *quickly* on how safely to proceede? For
how long will I have to warm the carpets up again at room temperature (of
course tightly packed in plastic...) to make sure the larvae start eating
and thriving again before shock freezing them? Is there something else to be
worried about with this "detour" to the regular treatment?

Thanks for any help! Sincerely, Karin von Lerber


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