Good afternoon, PestListers - My understanding of the freezing process is that freezing if done correctly also kills the eggs, very important when you are dealing with infested textiles.
Check out the following NPS ConserveOGram on freezing: http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/publications/conserveogram/03-06.pdf It appears that you do need to get that freezer temperature done to -20C for 48 hours. Rapid cooling to -20C is also necessary to assure a complete kill. The ConserveOGram covers the whole procedure very well. Depending on your budget and your staffing, perhaps anoxic treatment should be considered? Regards, Meg ._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney Textile/Costume Conservator in Private Practice in beautiful Northern California Professional Associate, AIC [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____ .are in a freezer that is set at 0 F (-17 C). We are in the process of packing the other half in preparation to move them into the freezer as well. I would like them to be frozen in a freezer set to at least -20 C, however, the freezer company quoted exhorbitant fees for lowering the temperature of the freezer, even for only a few days. I'm concerned that -17 C isn't cold enough to ensure that the moths are killed, even if we keep them in the freezer for several weeks. Is this true? I'm also thinking that we should do a second freeze, to ensure that all life stages are killed, but if the temperature is not low enough, then maybe this is pointless. I plan to do a test by putting a bag of live moths/larvae into the freezer along with the objects, to monitor what's happening, but does anyone have any experience with this, or have any suggestions about adjusting the temperature and also about the recommended length of time to freeze at -17C to ensure mortality of the moths? No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.173 / Virus Database: 270.8.0/1724 - Release Date: 10/14/2008 2:02 AM
