[Nhcoll-l] Thanks for all the pest control help!

[Brian Sidlauskas]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for the help with our cockroach issue here in Nash Hall 
at Oregon State University.   Here's a little more info in response to 
the various inquiries and messages.

The roaches are apparently of a species not native to this area; they 
escaped from a entomology lab a few buildings over and are apparently 
doing well in Nash Hall.  We've seen just a few of them in the fluid 
collection area (none so far in the dry) and I haven't yet noticed any 
damage to labels or specimens, but the university is trying to halt the 
spread of the little beasts and is perhaps being a bit overzealous in 
control methods.  The building manager for Nash Hall really wants 
spraying to happen and appears to be acting on a higher level directive 
to try to prevent these roaches from invading other buildings on 
campus.  However, I will chat with her about possibly trying some of the 
other solutions (baits, traps and/or borax) before spraying in the fluid 
collection itself.

The collection room itself is new construction, temperature controlled 
and not particularly humid.  I'd guess that the point source is 
something pretty far afield from the collection itself. Aside from the 
vertebrate collections, Nash Hall houses many offices and labs as well 
as student lounges and such.  There's definitely food in the building 
(though none in the collection), and I'd imagine the roaches inhabit 
places beyond the fishcave over which I have direct dominion.

The idea to look for sources of glue in the collection rooms is a good 
one, and I'll look into that.

Thanks everyone!

-- Brian

-- 

***************************************

Brian Sidlauskas
Assistant Professor
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
104 Nash Hall
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-3803
  
Voice: 541-737-1939
Fax: 541-737-3590
Email: brian.sidlauskas at oregonstate.edu
Web: http://people.oregonstate.edu/~sidlausb/