RMIT Classification: Trusted Hi Katy,
I feel for you and your compromise. Do you have access to a large industrial freezer? If it was me, I would be bagging and freezing for as long as possible. The longer the better is what I was told by an entomologist. I tended to try for two to three weeks which is probably excessive, but generally I had only access to a domestic freezer. I have used this technique in a previous role where resources were tight. I have also sent things on pallet in the past to our large state museum and used their walk-in freezer out of the goodness of their hearts. Hot tip, if you have difficulty accessing plastic sheeting, make friends with your local mattress store. They are a waste product and often thrown away but are robust and can be reused. I generally closed mine with gaffa tape or packing tape, with the plastic rolled over to create more of a seal. Obviously just try and make sure the wood is not damp at all. Sometimes we just need to the best we can do with the resources we have. Best of luck, Liz Elizabeth Marsden Manager Collections & Archives A skilled hand, a cultivated mind [cid:cc7c8820-ffe6-4c2e-848b-d989d4e08add] email: elizabeth.mars...@rmit.edu.au | phone: 61-3-9925 2000 | mobile: 0468 618 118 | web: https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/culture RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business. IMPORTANT NOTE This email and any attachments are confidential and subject to copyright. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply email and remove and destroy any copies of this email and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, transmission or other use of this email and any attachments is unauthorised and strictly prohibited. Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail ________________________________ From: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Katy Corneli <katharine.corn...@usu.edu> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2021 4:38 AM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> Subject: [PestList] Wooden storage furniture donation Hello all, A board member recently donated an old map cabinet to us. I was somehow under the impression it was metal but when we went to pick it up it was wood. And had been stored in their garage for 30 years.... I was hoping we could still find a use for it but when I unloaded it outside the museum and took out the drawers I discovered it is, of course, full of pest residue. I had never planned on using it for collections but was hoping it might be useful for storing flat supplies. My sheepish question, now that we have it, is: Can we actually use it? Would you? My main concern is eggs that might be laid in the joints. I have vacuumed it and dusted diatomaceous earth in the interstices where possible but am not sure that will be enough. We do not have access to a freezer large enough to treat it or any kind of oxygen depletion system. Is there another safe treatment method we might use? And is it even worth the trouble for a cabinet made partially of plywood? Thank you for any advice, Katy Katharine Corneli Collections Manager | Conservator Prehistoric Museum Office: 435-613-5645 | 435-613-5765 Email: katharine.corn...@usu.edu <https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fusueastern.edu%2Fmuseum%2F&data=04%7C01%7Celizabeth.marsden%40rmit.edu.au%7C25542cd2a0c349e0840a08d98f397c20%7Cd1323671cdbe4417b4d4bdb24b51316b%7C0%7C0%7C637698299953484100%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=mBM0YlqdpB6lXNf1DFMA5ieLaVPze5RMXgGaQQHJDsk%3D&reserved=0>[1488236675556_PastedImage] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. 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