Moth protection

[Les]

There are a few ways to prevent moths from becoming a problem with a collection what has woolen items.

Moth or insect larvae may be on an item when you acquire it, so a period of keeping it seperate from the rest of the collection is advisable. Put the item in a clear plastic bag with something to kill hatching insects, and the bag inside another container for several months. Some moths and insects hatch after a warm frost cycle. They can be tricked into hatching by putting the item into a freezer overnight, and then taking it out the next day and letting it warm up. Doing this several days in a row ought to fool the moth/insect eggs into hatching.

Keep the item seperate from the rest of the collection until moth season is safely behing.

Hand dry cleaning is sometimes an option, although this may not be practical depending on the materials and colors of cloth items. More on this option in another thread. Cleaning or light brushing can remove some of the dirt, old stains (food, organic matter) that insect thrive on, consequently with heavily soiled items, cleaning may be a consideration.

Instead of mothballs, try using cedar. Chips or shavings can placed in a loosely woven bag or wrapped in folded cloth. Cedar odors are far more tolerable to human (and pet) noses than moth balls, which often use naptha as a moth repellant. Old fashioned cedar chests can be bought at second hand stores, etc. Used cedar chests are not expensive, and are good for storage away from light, etc. If you don't have the space, cedar chips in closets or even cedar paneling is an option.

There are ultra-sound devices that are available in some stores, and on-line. You simply plut these into an electical outlet, and they produce sound that is not audible to humans or pets. The sound frequencies are in the range that mess with insects, spiders (not a insect), various other bugs, and even mice. It annoys them and drives them out of the room the ultra-sound device is in.

I've found that a isolation (and possibly cleaning) period prevents bugs from contaminating the rest of the collection is a start on preventing a problem from developing. The use of cedar chips in boxes, containers, and so on, in combination with the ultra-sound devices really seems to work and I've been using these two together upwards of 7 or 8 years now.

Les

[Paul R]

Thank you for this very informative thread!

I will look into the sound devices!

REgards

Paul

[Les]

Thank you for this very informative thread!

I will look into the sound devices!

REgards

Paul

Paul, they are realitvely cheap, and I've been using them for some time now. They don't seem to bother house-hold pets either.

Les