Re: Disinfection and mothproofing

[Mary Ballard <BallardM@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone--please remember that anything used to kill insects has the
potential also to affect you. There are 4 questions with any pest problem:
1) are the insects damaging the artwork (sometimes they only annoy
people--like fleas!)  Is there a structural or 'cultural' way to avoid the
infestation? Closing doors, using screens on windows, better housekeeping, a
no-food, no-plant policy...2) Will pest control be effective? If you have to
use chemicals, is the dosage effective against that particular insect? I
think of Neem as being effective against cigarette beetles, not keratin
(wool) eating ones, but I'd have to look it up 3) How toxic to staff (&
visitors) will the pesticide be? If the product is not "substantive"--does
not get fixed like a fast dye, will it come off on hands? will it evaporate?
crystalize? 4) will the pesticide harm the art object? Mothproofing agents,
pyrethrin, and Neem--along with cedar wool oil etc-- can cause some
discoloration. Will this be a problem? Will it change the pH?
Mary