Hi Museum Folks,

I need some advise and I am hoping you would be able to help me.

Here in the Transvaal Museum we have 10 research departments and all
of the Collections Managers fumigate their own collections.  We use a
variety of poisons and methods nl:

Vapona (Active Ingredient: Dichlorvos (Organaphosphate) mainly in the
vertabrate collections.

In the display halls we use: Vapona and a mixture of Tempo SC (Active
Inggredient: Betacyfluthrin (pyrethroid)) and Starycide SC (Active
Ingredient: Triflumuron (Benzoyl phenyl urea))

In the Invertebrate collections we mainly use naphthalene.

We have a beetle colony, we use to clean skeletal material with, and
the specimens are usually frozen, before they are marked and placed
into the collection.  (This takes care of a possible infestation from
that side)

We are considering moving away from these methods and doing a general
fumigation once a year.  The museum is closed to the public on
Christmas day and the research department are closed from 24
December till the 2 January.  We are thinking of doing this general
fumigation when the visitors leave on the 24 December and then
opening the windows so that the poisons can air out on the 26
December before the visitors arive.

I know that all these poisons are (seem) excessive but we are trying
to change.  Please remember this is South Africa so money is a
problem (like anywhere else) and that we do not have the abundance of
poisons you might have.

I would be intersted to know how other museum deal with this problem.
What do you use?  When do you use it?  What is the effectivness?

There is another question I would like to ask: what is alcohol
persentage you store your vertebrates and invertebrates in, is it 70%
or 75%.

Thank you.

Yours

Karin

Miss Karin Scott
Collections Manager: Archaeozoology
Transvaal Museum
P.O. Box 413
Pretoria
South Africa
0001

Tel: 27 12 322 7632
Fax: 27 12 322 7939
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://www-tm.up.ac.za