<div dir="ltr">Hi Trish,<div><br></div><div>I'll echo Julia's recommendation on freezing. We keep a regular schedule for freezing, package specimens into plastic containers, and freeze them for at least 3 days at -80. </div><div><br></div><div>For specimens that are used in teaching, a regular schedule really helps keep control over the possible appearance of the pests. When we send specimens out for teaching use, they are frozen before they are allowed to go back into the regular collection. </div><div>I'd recommend freezing all of your pelts, finding an air tight container to store them in, and then freezing each set that goes out afterwards. Hopefully, if you kill all the pests now you won't need to freeze the entire collection all at once again.</div><div><br></div><div>cheers,</div><div>Beth Wommack</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 5:26 AM, Julia Sybalsky <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jsybalsky@amnh.org" target="_blank">jsybalsky@amnh.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<div>Hi Trish,</div>
<div>We have found freezing to be a comparatively straightforward, low cost, low toxicity solution to managing pest outbreaks in pelts and hides in our collections. Particularly with a teaching collection that will be handled by students, I would think freezing
and anoxia are your best options. For freezing to be effective, it's important that the protocol utilizes appropriate air-tight packing, and a freezer that is adequately cold for a sufficient period of time. Pelts do not need to be packed individually. Our
standard protocol is 1 week at -40. In some cases this would be overkill but it allows us to know that we have effectively killed not only the species we know or suspect are present, but also anything that may have gone unnoticed, at all life stages.
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__Museumpests.net&d=DwMGaQ&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=iVWoPQxQ1PYJcNzMmxGooHhGgQU1bikV3nOhxG8ZoPE&s=gqswCkHdxxMD5fKXjy6TiHjnRj1zE5AYSyft4mTeYpE&e=" target="_blank">Museumpests.net</a> is a great resource for more information on freezing and other solutions. <br>
<br>
<div>Julia Sybalsky
<div>Senior Associate Conservator</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Natural Science Collections Conservation </div>
<div>American Museum of Natural History</div>
<div>212-313-7533</div>
<div>413-695-9844 (cell)</div>
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<div><br>
On Feb 1, 2018, at 7:02 AM, Hanson, Trish <<a href="mailto:Trish.Hanson@vermont.gov" target="_blank">Trish.Hanson@vermont.gov</a>> wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I received this inquiry from the coordinator of a natural history education program, and would like to share it with the nhcoll group. The issue is about dermestid beetles in animal pelts that are contained in teaching kits. Thank you!
She wrote:<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">Several of our squirrel pelts have become infested with dermestid beetle larvae and we don't know what to do. We have about 50 pelts of gray and red squirrels, and several tails without the attached pelts (we collected
these from road or cat kills). The beetles first appeared in the tails, but now are spreading to the pelts too.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in">We've been told to put them in a freezer but it's awkward as we have so many, and then we'll have to repack them into our kits every winter when we give them to schools to teach. We wondered if you'd have any suggestions,
or could put us in touch with someone who might. We can't use moth balls because many kids hate that smell (and it's probably bad for them to breathe anyway). We also have deer, beaver and muskrat pelts and deer legs - so far they are clean but we worry that
the beetles might find them.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Elizabeth Wommack, PhD<br>Curator and Collections Manager of Vertebrates<br>University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates<div>Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center<div>University of Wyoming, Laramie<br>Laramie, WY 82071<br><a href="mailto:ewommack@berkeley.edu" target="_blank">ewommack@</a><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__uwyo.edu&d=DwMFaQ&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=HW6wIQiM-IbJi9-G8kcZFm50TVJZeZ1S6AYOh882H2Y&s=bEcwkAGTBYMl7GznHpL7E-22-qPv3eI-k457bfjCxEQ&e=" target="_blank">uwyo.edu</a></div></div><div><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.uwymv.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=HW6wIQiM-IbJi9-G8kcZFm50TVJZeZ1S6AYOh882H2Y&s=-c1G0b0z93kZ8plHCDOmQ9aSERKLfegV_3JwQ1mmF14&e=" target="_blank">www.uwymv.org</a></div></div></div></div></div>
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