[NHCOLL-L:2828] Re: Vapona Stips for Entomology Collections

[David Furth]

Don't use Vapona (DDVP).  There are many problems with it (see the table at the end of the attached notes for a talk I gave over 10 years ago - sorry for the formatting problems).  There are indications of carcinogenicity, birth defects, it leaves an oily film inside containers, no way to know when it is used up, reaction with various materials.  By now it may also not be registered for use in Museums in the USA.
 
It is much better to use freezing if possible and periodic sites checks if the collection is not too big, rather than chemicals.
 
***********************************************
David G. Furth, Ph.D.
Collections Manager
Department of Entomology, MRC 165
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
P. O. Box 37012
Washington, D. C. 20013-7012
Phone: 202- 633-0990  NOTE NEW PHONE NUMBER
Fax: 202-786-2894
Email: furthd at si.edu   NOTE NEW EMAIL
Website: http://entomology.si.edu  


>>> "Jane MacKnight" <JMacKnight at CINCYMUSEUM.ORG> 09/20 3:16 PM >>>

Dear List:  We have several thousand insects in our entomology collection that includes specimens from the 1800s and early 1900s. Like most museums we are understaffed and have no collections managers.  We finally have a zoology curator who is a field ecologist who works on butterflies so he is trying to improve collections care in entomology. As a curator, he is also responsible for birds, mammals, herps and shells (not to mention a very small botany collection). I want to encourage him in his efforts to re-house and catalog the entomology collections and he wants to manage the collection according to current standards. 

He is very concerned about infestation and he does not have time or volunteers to visibly go through the collection to monitor for damage. He wants to use Vapona strips inside the entomology cabinets (mix of new Deltas, old metal office cabinets and wood cabinets) but wants to be sure that they are okay. I remember reading a decade ago that Vapona strips were banned for museum cabinet use, but cannot locate the reference and his checking the OSHA sites yielded different information.

Can anyone clarify the use of Vapona inside cabinets? If not Vapona, how do entomology collections protect against infestations?

I should add that the collections are stored in a controlled environment (68F at 50%RH), cabinetry and boxes are mix of old and new, and we typically use a freezer to treat any infestations.

Thanks,
Jane MacKnight

Jane MacKnight
Registrar
Cincinnati Museum Center
T (513) 287-7092
F (513) 455-7169
Cell (513) 478-8168



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