[Nhcoll-l] Killing dermestids from large cervid skulls

Sun Aug 3 11:57:13 EDT 2025

Hi All,

Another option is seeing if any facilities near you would let you use their
walk-in freezer. I've built a relationship with a nearby university, and
their zoology department lets me use their freezer as long as they have the
space. Since we have both a living and non-living collection, we try to
avoid as many chemical options as possible. I've also looked into doing
Anoxic Microenvironments but I can't justify the cost as our freezers
usually are sufficient.

Best,

*Sariah Rushing*

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Natural History Collections Specialist

Lindsay Wildlife Experience

*Celebrating 70 Years Wild!*

925-627-2937 | srushing at lindsaywildlife.org

193
<https://maps.google.com/?q=1931+First+Avenue,+Walnut+Creek+94597&entry=gmail&source=g>1
First Avenue, Walnut Creek 94597
<https://maps.google.com/?q=1931+First+Avenue,+Walnut+Creek+94597&entry=gmail&source=g>
*M**y working hours are Monday **- Friday **from 9 AM - 5 PM. I will get
back to you as soon as possible, thank you.*

On Sat, Aug 2, 2025 at 1:24 AM Hans-Joachim Händel <
Joachim.Haendel at zns.uni-halle.de> wrote:

> Hello everybody,
>
> well, 1,4-dichlorobenzene is now difficult to obtain.
> However, there are insect sprays that contain pyrethroids (the most
> effective ones also contain  insect growth regulators like Pyriproxyfen or
> Fenoxycarb).
>
> I use these on objects that don't fit into the freezer.
>
> On the other hand, is there a company near you that has a nitrogen
> chamber? Maybe The Montana Museum of Art & Culture?
>
> You might be able to use that too.
>
>
> Good luck
> Joachim
> --
> Joachim Haendel
>
> Center of Natural Science Collections
> of the Martin Luther University (ZNS)
> - Entomological Collection -
>
> Domplatz 4
> D-06099 Halle (Saale)
> Germany
>
> Phone:  +49 345 - 55 26 447
> Email: joachim.haendel at zns.uni-halle.de
>
> >>> Am 01.08.2025 um 19:24, Simon Moore <couteaufin at btinternet.com>
> schrieb:
> I agree with Katrina for this as the 1,4 (or para) dichloro-benzene does
> kill off little critters effectively. I used to use it in taxidermy cases
> and entomology collections until it was banned from use in the UK being an
> organ-chlorine! It dissipates quite quickly and I find it more effective
> than naphthalene which was in UK mothballs and can make one feel woozy!
>
> With all good wishes, Simon
>
> Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR
> Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian.
>
> www.natural-history-conservation.com
>
>
> > On 1 Aug 2025, at 18:12, Jacqueline Miller <jmiller at rom.on.ca> wrote:
> >
> > Hello Katrina,
> > I would adopt the second option, but I would not advise isoflurane.
> Instead, try 1,4-Dichlorobenzene (what is used in “mothballs” or toilet
> bowl deodorant).
> > Hope you find this useful.
> > Jacqui
> > Jacqueline Miller, PhD (She/Her/Hers)
> > Collections Technician 2 - DNH
> >
> > 100 Queen's Park
> > Toronto, ON M5S 2C6
> > 416 586 5769
> > ROM acknowledges that this museum sits on the ancestral lands of the
> Wendat, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinaabek Nation, which
> includes the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, since time immemorial
> to today.
> >
> > Le ROM reconnaît que le Musée est situé sur les terres ancestrales des
> Wendats, de la Confédération des Haudenosaunee et de la Nation Anishinabek,
> y compris la Première Nation des Mississaugas de Credit, et qu’ils occupent
> ces terres depuis la nuit des temps.
> > From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Derieg,
> Katrina
> > Sent: August 1, 2025 12:08 PM
> > To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> > Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Killing dermestids from large cervid skulls
> > Some people who received this message don't often get email from
> katrina.derieg at mso.umt.edu. Learn why this is important
> > [EXTERNAL EMAIL] DO NOT CLICK links or attachments unless you recognize
> the sender and know the content is safe.
> > Hi folks,
> > I'm looking for some advice on how to proceed with some large cervid
> skulls I've got in my bug colony. One is a bull elk with a full rack, the
> other is a mule deer buck, also with a full rack. I don't have a walk-in
> freezer and none of my freezers are large enough for these skulls with
> their racks. The skulls are clean and I need to move them out of the bug
> colony, but I'm not sure the best way to get rid of any stray bugs.
> > Options I've considered:
> > •
> > Bagging them up with some dry ice (will sublimate fast though, a little
> pricy)
> > •
> > Bagging them up with isoflurane-soaked cotton (maybe not a good use of
> veterinary-grade drugs)
> >
> > But I am open to suggestions if anyone has dealt with something similar.
> > Many thanks in advance!
> > -Katrina
> > KATRINA DERIEG (she/her)
> > Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator
> > Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)
> > Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406-243-4743
> > katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu
> > University of Montana
> > On now, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. Tickets on sale now at
> rom.ca.À l'affiche : Auschwitz. Pas si longtemps. Pas si loin. Billets en
> vente sur rom.ca/fr.
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> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
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> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
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