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<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">I wanted to provide a summary and update in response to my
June 10 request for information about handling a dermestid and clothes moth
infestation of vertebrate specimens.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Thanks so much to everyone for all the detailed and helpful
responses!!!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We had a couple of folks
from our entomology department come by to assess the situation and give us some
advice as well.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Below is a summary of
the practices we are implementing and a few alternative suggestions we
received. Sorry this got so long! <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Problem</b>:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Found signs of dermestid (varied carpet
beetle, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Anthrenus verbasci</i> ) and
casemaking and webbing clothes moth infestation (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal">Tinea pellionella</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Tineola
bisselliella</i>) in some of our round skin and skull cabinets and on some
mounts.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is primarily a teaching
collection, but more than half of the specimens have research value.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We wanted to avoid chemical pest
control.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Solutions: <o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">TREATING SPECIMENS: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Although heating specimens used to be an accepted (and
relatively fast) method of pest control, this degrades the DNA in the specimens
too much to be used for specimens that have any research value. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This technique is NOT recommended.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Freezing will kill all stages of most insects that are
museum pests.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There were various
recommendations about duration of freezing (2-3 days to 2-3 weeks at -20<span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-char-type:
symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol">°</span></span>C or colder), and using multiple
freeze-thaw cycles to avoid insects entering diapause.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Rapid cooling avoids this problem.) Given
our lack of clean storage facilities and limited freezer space, a freeze-thaw
cycle would be challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Based on
experiences of other museums knocking out infestations with only 2-3 days at
-20<span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-char-type:
symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol">°</span></span>C and the recommendations
of our entomology department that that would be sufficient to kill all stages
of these pests, we are proceeding with freezing for 2-3 days.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We bag whole drawers full of specimens (Lane
cabinet drawers just barely fit into a 42-gallon “contractor” garbage bag),
duct-tape them to seal the bags, and place the drawers into the walk-in
freezer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Drawers are spaced on shelves
to allow rapid freezing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When we remove
the drawers, we allow them to sit bagged for 24 hours to come to room
temperature before we open the bags and return the drawers to a CLEAN cabinet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You might find a neighboring museum with an anoxic cabinet
that would allow you to bring specimens over for treatment. This technique can take a month or more, depending on the pest.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">TREATING WHOLE CABINETS:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">To make sure that there are no lingering insects in the
cabinets, our entomology folks recommended that we wash all surfaces down with
warm, soapy water.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The manual pressure,
the heat, and the soap would all help to kill or remove eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They did not recommend stronger cleaners such
as bleach. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Others recommended vacuuming
with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We
definitely wanted to remove any debris even if it was not living, so we could
tell if we had a re-infestation. Because dermestid larvae seek out dark
crevices, we were afraid there may be some lingering in holes or corners of the
cabinets, even after a thorough cleaning.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">To treat the whole cabinet, we could have put it on a dolly,
built a ramp, wheeled it into our walk-in freezer, and let it sit for 2-3
days.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Some suggested doing this with a
cabinet full of specimens.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In this case,
the challenge could be that you’d probably want to open the doors in order to
ensure rapid cooling, but then you would likely have a condensation problem.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It would be possible to do the same thing with an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">empty</b> cabinet in a walk-in drying
oven.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Heating to 50<span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-char-type:
symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol">°</span></span>C for 4 hours is enough to
kill all stages of these pests.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Our entomology colleagues suggested a solution for
heat-treating empty cabinets in place.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>(Given the cabinets are heavy and hard to move, and our freezer and
drier space are limited and shared, this was a great solution for us.)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We just borrowed a space heater used under
someone’s desk that could fit inside the cabinet.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We bought an oven thermometer (that had a low
enough temperature range) with a wire probe so that we could monitor the inside
temperature without opening the door. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Our seals were flexible enough that we could
safely shut the doors over the cords, but if yours needed to stay slightly
cracked to accommodate the cords, you could seal with duct tape.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Make sure it is the real high-heat resistant
duct tape, not a shiny look-alike.)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> We just needed to heat to about 48-50</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; "><span>°</span></span>C for 4 hours to ensure nothing was left alive in there. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Because we could not exactly regulate the temperature this way (it
cycled up and down and occasionally approached 70<span style="font-family:Symbol;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:
Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:
Symbol"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol">°</span></span>C),
we were worried about damaging the cabinets or the seal.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I spoke with the always-very-helpful Nancy
Zimmerman of Lane Cabinets and she said the elastomeric seals on their new
cabinets were EPDM, which is very heat resistant.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Their production manager said heating to 70<span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-char-type:
symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Symbol">°</span></span>C would be perfectly safe
as that was well below what the seal and the paint could withstand.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Probably the safest way to treat an entire cabinet including
its contents would be creating an anoxic environment, but this requires at
least 2-3 weeks possibly 2-3 months to kill all stages of insects. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#1237A5">Did you ever try the static
anoxia. In case of infestation and when our freezers are full, we use the
Escal film, RP system type K with Ageless Eye Oxygen.
<a href="http://www.mgc-a.com/AGELESS/RPSystemFeatures.html"><span style="color:#1237A5;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">http://www.mgc-a.com/AGELESS/RPSystemFeatures.html</span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We let on anoxia circa 2-3 months as soon as
the Ageless Eye turn pink, we are great paranoiac people here. But the majority
of conservators let it just for 15-21 days to one month.</span></i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman"">”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><a href="http://keepsafe.ca/oxygen-free-display-storage/ageless-and-rp-system-oxygen-absorbers/barrier-films/"><span style="color:blue">http://keepsafe.ca/oxygen-free-display-storage/ageless-and-rp-system-oxygen-absorbers/barrier-films/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">IMPROVED PRACTICES AND MONITORING:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(1) Institute a regular policy of freezing all specimens
that leave the cabinets before they are returned. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#1237A5"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none">No problem with condensation:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;
color:#1237A5"> “We had a clothes moth problem several years ago, that we dealt
with by freezing, and I don't envy you having to deal with your infestation.
To prevent another infestation, any specimen that leaves the
collection area, whether for loan, exhibit etc. or any new specimen prepared,
goes in our freezer before it goes back in the collection. To
deal with condensation, we don't bag specimens, but we have an empty cabinet in
our collection that we place specimens after they come out of the freezer.
They usually stay there for few days and have never had a
problem with condensation. The humidity in our collection
varies from 40-50% depending on the season, so I don't know if that helps.
The cabinet we use for this is an old one that isn't
great for permanent storage but works for this.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#1237A5"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none">Bag to avoid condensation: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;
color:#1237A5">“We routinely freeze material where we find any sign of
dermestid damage. We also freeze all newly acquired material prior to inclusion
into the collections. We use standard domestic chest freezers as we can’t
afford anything else. We bag the drawers or posting boxes in heavy gauge
plastic bags, seal them with tape and place them in the freezer for 1-2 weeks.
The drawers are placed in the freezer with spacers between them to ensure rapid
freezing. After the freezing period, the packets are placed on a bench or even
left on a trolley until they come back to room temperature, overnight is even
better. After this time the plastic bags are unsealed and drawers placed back
into the cabinets. I would really urge you not to place the drawers straight
back into the cabinets because then you will have condensation problems.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(2) Line all cabinet drawers with white paper so any insect
infestation can be detected more frequently. (Depending on what the drawers are
made of, acid-free or acid-barrier paper can be used.) Monitor drawers weekly
if you suspect an infestation, otherwise at least monthly. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">“</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#1237A5">We found the moths attacked the
side of the specimen that touched the drawer, whether the belly for mammals or
back for birds. I found if I didn't either lift the specimen or
roll it over to check that side I missed some of the infected specimens.”</span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(3) On the inside of each cabinet door, post a sheet on
which you can record each monitoring or treatment event.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(4) Use traps and lures in cabinets and around room to
monitor for insect activity.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Ensure they
are checked on a regular schedule and lures replaced as needed. Dermestid
beetles seem to be expert at avoiding sticky traps.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is a food lure available for monitoring
larvae but it will not trap them so they need to be checked every 2-7 days and
then if empty moved to another cabinet.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>(We are using these dermestid larva monitors <a href="http://www.insectslimited.com/store/museums-libraries-and-herbaria/dermestid-monitors-for-larvae.html">http://www.insectslimited.com/store/museums-libraries-and-herbaria/dermestid-monitors-for-larvae.html</a>
)<o:p></o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment--><div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Carola A. Haas<br>Professor, Wildlife Ecology<br>Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Conservation<br>112 Cheatham Hall<br>MC 0321 Virginia Tech<br>Blacksburg, VA 24061<br><a href="mailto:cahaas@vt.edu">cahaas@vt.edu</a><br>540-231-9269<br>http://www.fishwild.vt.edu/faculty/haas.htm<br><br><br><br><br></div>
</div>
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