[Nhcoll-l] Dermestid control in pelts

Thu Feb 1 11:50:47 EST 2018

Hi Trish,

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.

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.
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.

cheers,
Beth Wommack

On Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 5:26 AM, Julia Sybalsky <jsybalsky at amnh.org> wrote:

> Hi Trish,
> 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. Museumpests.net
> <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=>
> is a great resource for more information on freezing and other solutions.
>
> Julia Sybalsky
> Senior Associate Conservator
>
> Natural Science Collections Conservation
> American Museum of Natural History
> 212-313-7533
> 413-695-9844 (cell)
>
> On Feb 1, 2018, at 7:02 AM, Hanson, Trish <Trish.Hanson at vermont.gov>
> wrote:
>
> 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:
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
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-- 
Elizabeth Wommack, PhD
Curator and Collections Manager of Vertebrates
University of Wyoming Museum of Vertebrates
Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center
University of Wyoming, Laramie
Laramie, WY 82071
ewommack@ <ewommack at berkeley.edu>uwyo.edu
www.uwymv.org
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