While not used for bugs, we were fortunate to have walk-in low
temperature freezers available on campus to stabilize soaked historic
newspapers -- one of the benefits of working near an animal science
program.



Stephen Van Buren, C.A.
UNIVERSITY Archivist and Special Collections Librarian
BL241/Box 2115
North Campus Drive
Brookings, SD  57007
605-688-4906

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Marielle Fortier
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 7:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Freezing treatment

Angela,
Thank you very much for all of your advice.  That is the same process I 
learned at the Fairbanks Museum (Not in Alaska-but equally fun- check
out 
fairbanksmuseum.org ) The one difference is the length of time. It was 2

weeks in the deep freeze, thawed, cleaned and back in for 2 more weeks.
I 
am the the second person to clean and now inventory and number the 
collection. The textiles were vacuumed with a Nilfisk HEPA through
filters 
(which were saved). Currently we are vacuuming everything again. On
almost 
all of the textiles I've found dermestid casings and have even found
live 
little buggers. Two days ago walking by an exhibit (with yellow wool 
backing) I found a live dermestid happily munching away. (yes I killed
him) 
We do not currently have an IPM document, but I am begining the cleaning

cycle.  Currently we do not have a freezer but we will within the next
year. 
  You mentioned Ben and Jerry's, they are actually very close by. My 
question would be how to wrap the items and not take up too much of
their 
space? Also you mentioned cleaning the surface area of exhibits, floors,
etc 
with a bleach solution. That doesn't cause other issues with bleach and
off 
gasing and other chemical issues?  I actually have a case "Quarentined"
due 
to finding live dermestids on cleaned textiles inside a cleaned
case,that 
had been painted.
Oh one more thing what are Nitrile gloves?

Thank you.

Marielle


**********************
Marielle Fortier
Registrar
Norwich University Museum
Northfield, Vermont 05663
**********************




>From: Angela Linn <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Freezing treatment
>Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 09:34:44 -0800
>
>MIchelle,
>Our standard operating procedure on all infestations (and is our IPM  
>policy for all new collections)  is to bag the object in question,
place 
>inside a box, and then put into our ultra-cold freezer that  takes the 
>piece down to -40 almost immediately. The objects are left  in for 48 
>hours, then brought slowly back to room temperature by  bringing them
into 
>our lab in their bag with a small hole punched in  it to release the 
>condensation. The temp in our lab is about 65  degrees year round, so
it 
>takes most of the day for the piece to warm  up.
>
>If we find live specimens, we will leave things in for longer than 48
hrs 
>occasionally (mostly because we'll forget to take them out) - up  to a 
>week. Depending on the creature, we'll cycle them. In for 48  hrs., out
for 
>24 - 48, then back in for another 48, just to make sure  we've taken
care 
>of all phases of life (adult, larvae, and eggs).  Then we clean the
buggers 
>up using a good artifact vacuum with a HEPA  filter and nitrile gloves.

>Clothes moths are a good candidate for  cycling up here because if they

>come in from outside, our winter  temps always get to at least -40 in
the 
>winter and so bugs in the  Fairbanks area are a bit heartier than other

>parts of the world.  We're extra cautious for this reason. I would
guess 
>Vermont can get  pretty chilly also. If you're looking for large
spaces, 
>you might  check with a local meat locker. I don't know how cold those

>refrigerated trucks can get - maybe a freezer truck (how far is Ben &  
>Jerry's from you? :) )
>
>You might find objects that are too large to go into the freezer.  Past

>posts on this list have talked about bagging and placing oxygen
scrubbers 
>inside to suffocate them. This is also good policy for  composite
artifacts 
>that may have materials that are inappropriate  for freezing due to the

>structure of that material - ivory doesn't do  well when it gets zapped
to 
>-40 that quickly. For cases when you only  suspect infestation or 
>contamination, we bag and monitor for 45 days  (the live cycle of the 
>dermestid) and if we see no evidence in the  bag after that amount of
time, 
>we generally can accept that the piece  is "clean" and is safe to bring

>back into the collection. If we know  there are live specimens on
board, 
>we'll either take the chance with  freezing or we'll look into oxygen 
>scrubbers.
>
>After dealing with two fairly extensive infestations, we've also  
>implemented a good cleaning regiment of the actual drawer/exhibit  case

>where the infestation was found. Wipe down all the surfaces with  a
bleach 
>solution (about 10%) to kill any eggs that might be  lingering on the 
>surface or cracks, that aren't visible to the naked  eye.
>
>Good luck! It's a gross battle to wage, but it's got to be done!
>Angela Linn
>
>On May 12, 2005, at 5:05 AM, Marielle Fortier wrote:
>
>>Good morning!
>>
>>I am wondering what everyone's opinion is on freezing treatments  for 
>>dermestids. The objects themselves are not the issue today, but  what 
>>length of time to freeze.  When I was an intern at a museum we  froze 
>>infested items after a good vacuuming, wrapped in acid free  tissue, 
>>bagged and sealed, we would freeze the items for a two week  period. 
>>Remove and gradually thaw to room temp then clean again,  bag and seal
for 
>>one more two week period. I've caught wind of the  new idea that 48
hours 
>>in -20 F would be all that was needed. For  me the jury is still out
on 
>>such a short treatment.  Also are there  better options than freezing?
We 
>>have also thought of oxygen  deprivation chambers. I welcome
everyone's 
>>opinion.
>>
>>To give some history my infestation is of dermestids (pesky brats
that 
>>I've been lucky enough to find live and dead!) They are  everywhere
but we 
>>are mostly concerned with our vast uniform  collection. What also
would be 
>>the most convenient way in time and  money to treat over 200 items.
>>We will be moving to a new building in about a year and I don't  want
the 
>>infestation to follow. But I also don't want the next 5  years of my
job 
>>to be spent freezing, thawing and cleaning this  enormous collection.
We 
>>have thought of renting a refrigerated  truck, has anyone tried this 
>>method?
>>
>>Thank you all for advice in advance. I really enjoy the discussions
on 
>>this board.
>>
>>>From the Dermestid Queen of the east coast!!!!
>>>
>>
>>Marielle
>>
>>**********************
>>Marielle Fortier
>>Registrar
>>Norwich University Museum
>>Northfield, Vermont 05663
>>**********************
>>
>>_________________________________________________________________
>>
>
>Angela J. Linn
>Collections Manager, Ethnology & History
>University of Alaska Museum of the North
>907 Yukon Drive
>P.O. Box 756960
>Fairbanks, AK 99775-6960
>TEL: (907) 474-1828
>FAX: (907) 474-5469
>www.uaf.edu/museum
>
>=========================================================
>Important Subscriber Information:
>
>The Museum-L FAQ file is located at 
>http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed 
>information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail 
>message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message
should 
>read "help" (without the quotes).
>
>If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
to 
>[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
"Signoff 
>Museum-L" (without the quotes).

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's
FREE! 
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
"Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).