Molds

[Roger C. KENDRICK]

Hi Stanley,

If you can afford it, invest in a dehumidifier (assuming that you can get one
locally). Here in Hong Kong, all my voucher material is kept in storeboxes
that are topped up with para-dichloro-benzene about every 4 months and held in
a room which has a dehumidifier that automatically cuts in once the % r.h.
rises above 60%. Ideally, the % r.h. should be kept below 50% and this can
usually be achieved with the aid of an airconditioner (for the whole room) or
silica gel crystals (for each storebox). So far I have not had any mold
problems, even when it's been 95% r.h. and 35°C outside.

regards,

Roger.

Stanley L. Cabigas wrote:

> A lot of relevant info has been said about fumigants a few weeks ago. But
> what about the occurrence of molds in the collection? I live in a tropical
> country where humidity is quite a factor and becomes a problem sometimes.
>
> Hope somebody can help with this problem.
>
> Stanley
> juwaki at mozcom.com



--
Roger C. KENDRICK
  Demonstrator / Ph.D. Student
  Dept. of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong
  mailto:kendrick at hkusua.hku.hk

mailing address:
  Kadoorie Agricultural Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong
  Lam Kam Road, Shek Kong, Yuen Long, New Territories, HONG KONG

Hong Kong Moths website coordinator
  http://web.hku.hk/~kendrick/hkmoth.htm

HK Lepidoptera Group webmaster (English version)
  http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1085/

HK Lepidopterists' Society (English version) [NEW]
  http://members.xoom.com/hkls/
  (may be redesignated to http://www.hkls.org)
  (and will eventually replace the HKLG site)