Um, common moth balls aren't toxic and won't solve your problem.  Napthalene
is a repellent; paradichlorobenzine is a fumigant, but needs quite a large
amount to work.   Either can damage various types of material.  What kinds
of objects are we talking about?   Have you contacted someone who deals with
museum pests on a professional basis?   While brown recluse spiders are not
necessarily deadly to human, their bite is truly nasty and can cause major,
major health problems.   Try Tom Parker of Pest Control Services
([log in to unmask]) who has LOTS of experience with museums, libraries and
brown recluse spiders.

Janice Klein
Director, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
[log in to unmask]
www.mitchellmuseum.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Stephanie Daniels
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 3:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Pest Infestation


We are acquiring a large collection that is known to be infested with
brown recluse spiders.  It has been suggested that the artifacts be
treated with a chemical that is the crystalline form of common moth
balls.  Does anyone have a better, less toxic method for dealing with
spiders?
--
Stephanie L. Daniels
Collections Specialist
ITARP
209 Nuclear Physics Lab
23 Stadium
Champaign IL  61820
ph. 217-333-0263

=========================================================
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).