Re: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites
Wings and dust and dead insects can actually be deposited through the ventilation system. Check for an overhead vent nearby. Linda Roundhill On Fri, Feb 22, 2019, 8:27 AM Louis Sorkin wrote: > Just to further explain: > > Gretchen Anderson: As for the dermestids (carpet beetles), the larva will > be eating proteins – wool, hair, hide, horn, feather. That kind of thing. > You may have an old, long standing infestation. It is generally the larva > that are causing the damage. > >- Many people seem to overlook that dried up rodent (and other mammals >plus bird) corpses are excellent dermestid larval food sources. It’s not >restricted to fur and feathers. Rodent infestations produce naturally >occurring dead rodents, but rodent bait kills and misplaced snap trap and >multi-capture kills are other examples. It’s not just *Dermestes* >species, well known for museum cleaning of skeletons, but other dermesid >species from other genera as well consume dried muscle and organs. BTW, >some typical tenebrionid grain pests will consume animal matter, too. > > > > Louis N. Sorkin, B.C.E. > > Entomologist, Arachnologist, Myriapodologist > > Insect Cuisine & Entomophagy Research > > *[image: cid:image001.png@01D235DF.2C8D90E0]* > > Division of Invertebrate Zoology|American Museum of Natural History > > Central Park West at 79th Street|New York, New York 10024-5192 > > sor...@amnh.org > > 212-769-5613 voice | 212-769-5277 fax | 917-953-0094 local pager > > http://www.amnh.org/our-research/staff-directory/louis-n.-sorkin > > [image: cid:image002.jpg@01D3782F.ECFAC5D0] > > The New York Entomological Society, Inc. > > www.nyentsoc.org > > n...@amnh.org > > [image: cid:image001.png@01D110A0.A110F570] > > > > > > > > *From:* pestlist@googlegroups.com *On Behalf > Of *Anderson, Gretchen > *Sent:* Thursday, February 21, 2019 6:39 PM > *To:* pestlist@googlegroups.com > *Subject:* RE: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites > > > > Hi Adrienne, > > > Joel’s suggestions are excellent. > > > > I agree, fumigation seems extreme. Termites are very difficult to control, > and I am not an expert on them. However, as I understand it, they live in > large (sometimes very large) colonies and your buildings may be in the > center of it. So strategies on how to keep the termites away from the > property are recommended. You might explore (or suggest to the person who > manages the gallery) the life cycle of termites and recommendations on the > Museum Pest Network > https://museumpests.net/identification/identification-pest-fact-sheets/ > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmuseumpests.net%2Fidentification%2Fidentification-pest-fact-sheets%2F=01%7C01%7Csorkin%40amnh.org%7C95d884974f6d458c90e808d69855bbaf%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C0=qXWUEJTO3X4J4MFCWD%2FaG%2BgIJjH0Vp42a5ACOOUtrVg%3D=0>. > This will give you recommendations on how to proceed. The more you know > about the specific pest the better you can determine how to control it. > Termites swarm at a specific time of the year – otherwise you tend not to > see them at all. That is when you will find the wings. > > > > As for the dermestids (carpet beetles), the larva will be eating proteins > – wool, hair, hide, horn, feather. That kind of thing. You may have an > old, long standing infestation. It is generally the larva that are causing > the damage. Objects should be frozen (follow the recommendations on Museum > Pest Network) and all frass removed. Housekeeping of the surrounding areas > must be thoroughly kept up with. Use blunder/sticky traps to monitor for > ongoing activity. This is the best way to keep up on it. Unfortunately > there is no magic bullet. > > > > Gretchen Anderson > > > > [image: id:image001.png@01D2D3A7.88A416E0] > > Gretchen Anderson > > Conservator > > Carnegie Museum of Natural History > > 5800 Baum Blvd. > > Pittsburgh PA 15206 > > Phone: 412-665-2607 > > Cell: 412-420-9083 > > > > > > > > > > *From:* pestlist@googlegroups.com *On Behalf > Of *Voron, Joel > *Sent:* Thursday, February 21, 2019 6:19 PM > *To:* pestlist@googlegroups.com > *Subject:* Re: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites > > > > Fumigation for termites seems pretty extreme to me. I would recommend a > termidor liquid barrier at least in the area were you may see > reoccurrence...that is if they are subterranean termites. A liquid > foundation barrier would provide residual for many years to comeat > least in that area. It would be best to rod trench and treat around the &
RE: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites
Just to further explain: Gretchen Anderson: As for the dermestids (carpet beetles), the larva will be eating proteins – wool, hair, hide, horn, feather. That kind of thing. You may have an old, long standing infestation. It is generally the larva that are causing the damage. * Many people seem to overlook that dried up rodent (and other mammals plus bird) corpses are excellent dermestid larval food sources. It’s not restricted to fur and feathers. Rodent infestations produce naturally occurring dead rodents, but rodent bait kills and misplaced snap trap and multi-capture kills are other examples. It’s not just Dermestes species, well known for museum cleaning of skeletons, but other dermesid species from other genera as well consume dried muscle and organs. BTW, some typical tenebrionid grain pests will consume animal matter, too. Louis N. Sorkin, B.C.E. Entomologist, Arachnologist, Myriapodologist Insect Cuisine & Entomophagy Research [cid:image001.png@01D235DF.2C8D90E0] Division of Invertebrate Zoology|American Museum of Natural History Central Park West at 79th Street|New York, New York 10024-5192 sor...@amnh.org<mailto:sor...@amnh.org> 212-769-5613 voice | 212-769-5277 fax | 917-953-0094 local pager http://www.amnh.org/our-research/staff-directory/louis-n.-sorkin [cid:image002.jpg@01D3782F.ECFAC5D0] The New York Entomological Society, Inc. www.nyentsoc.org<http://www.nyentsoc.org/> n...@amnh.org<mailto:n...@amnh.org> [cid:image001.png@01D110A0.A110F570] From: pestlist@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of Anderson, Gretchen Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2019 6:39 PM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites Hi Adrienne, Joel’s suggestions are excellent. I agree, fumigation seems extreme. Termites are very difficult to control, and I am not an expert on them. However, as I understand it, they live in large (sometimes very large) colonies and your buildings may be in the center of it. So strategies on how to keep the termites away from the property are recommended. You might explore (or suggest to the person who manages the gallery) the life cycle of termites and recommendations on the Museum Pest Network https://museumpests.net/identification/identification-pest-fact-sheets/<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmuseumpests.net%2Fidentification%2Fidentification-pest-fact-sheets%2F=01%7C01%7Csorkin%40amnh.org%7C95d884974f6d458c90e808d69855bbaf%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C0=qXWUEJTO3X4J4MFCWD%2FaG%2BgIJjH0Vp42a5ACOOUtrVg%3D=0>. This will give you recommendations on how to proceed. The more you know about the specific pest the better you can determine how to control it. Termites swarm at a specific time of the year – otherwise you tend not to see them at all. That is when you will find the wings. As for the dermestids (carpet beetles), the larva will be eating proteins – wool, hair, hide, horn, feather. That kind of thing. You may have an old, long standing infestation. It is generally the larva that are causing the damage. Objects should be frozen (follow the recommendations on Museum Pest Network) and all frass removed. Housekeeping of the surrounding areas must be thoroughly kept up with. Use blunder/sticky traps to monitor for ongoing activity. This is the best way to keep up on it. Unfortunately there is no magic bullet. Gretchen Anderson [id:image001.png@01D2D3A7.88A416E0] Gretchen Anderson Conservator Carnegie Museum of Natural History 5800 Baum Blvd. Pittsburgh PA 15206 Phone: 412-665-2607 Cell: 412-420-9083 From: pestlist@googlegroups.com<mailto:pestlist@googlegroups.com> mailto:pestlist@googlegroups.com>> On Behalf Of Voron, Joel Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2019 6:19 PM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com<mailto:pestlist@googlegroups.com> Subject: Re: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites Fumigation for termites seems pretty extreme to me. I would recommend a termidor liquid barrier at least in the area were you may see reoccurrence...that is if they are subterranean termites. A liquid foundation barrier would provide residual for many years to comeat least in that area. It would be best to rod trench and treat around the entire foundation if they are subterranean termites. If you can schedule cleaning/vacuuming of the high risk objects around the time the carpet beetle larvae are visible with loops that will catch them before they do any real damage. You will probably need to set out pheromone traps to see if you can pinpoint where the hotspot/epicenter of the carpet beetles are coming from in order to find the source. Insects limited can help you with a pheromone game plan. This sounds like you have a challenge on your hands. . JTV Joel Voron Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Conservation Dept. Integrated Pest Management Office 757-220-7080 Cell 757-634-11
RE: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites
Joel, I am sorry for the late responses but I have been out of the office all week. I do not work in the exhibit hall so it is hard for me to tell if the wings are from termites or from ants. I work in another building where all the collections are housed. I do not check any of their traps. I know they only have an exterminator that comes by about once a month, far as traps they do not have any that I know about. I not sure what he does but when checks the exhibit hall. In the building that I work in the exterminator sprays the outside of the building and the area where the offices area, he is not allowed to spray in the lab, and in the collection areas. I always inform him about pest I fine that might be a threat. I am not sure if any of the exhibit hall workers have found anything but wings. The area is away from a windows, and low light. The exhibit hall Manger said that he thought that was where the larger number of termites were at before they fumigated. That they had to take down part of a large display that is on one side where they are seeing the wings. The Manger thanks it could be from an old infestation but I do not see how when they vacuum and clean few hours later they see dust and wings again. I am not sure what type of termites they fumigated for, and I am not sure what they used. I do know that they had to keep the exhibit hall closed for 48 hours when they did fumigated, the exterminator told me that there was all kinds of pest that were killed not just the termites. I am not sure how fast they cleaned up all the other pest that were killed. The concern with opening the one display case up was that the beetles were alive and may fly out into the other areas, but if you do not open it up than the beetles may eat all the items that are in the case. The other display area there is no way to open it up that I could see, guess a drill and borescope. I am guessing this can get into cost. I am also not sure how clean they are getting everything. I am currently the only one campus that knows about museum pest. All I know I learned when I started in 2017. Thanks, for the help Adrienne Dastgir From: pestlist@googlegroups.com [mailto:pestlist@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Voron, Joel Sent: Monday, February 18, 2019 5:03 PM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [pestlist] Carpet beetle large area and termites The wings may be from ants and not termites? Are the wings being discovered in a readily observed space or could they be from an old infestation and just being uncovered now? If near a window the wings are probably fresh. I can't imagine termites having enough meat on them for carpet beetles to take hold. I was under the impression that they would desiccate rather quickly. What type of fumigant has been used and for what type of termite? If your cases with the carpet beetle problems are built ins and sealed you need to see if someone can get a kick plate off or find a place where you can drill and send a borascope in to have a look under them. There is a possibility that there is enough old dust hair and skin under there cases or the floor for that matter where the carpet beetles have set up shop. May be two completely separate issues going on as a coincidence.JTV Joel Voron Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Conservation Dept. Integrated Pest Management Office 757-220-7080 Cell 757-634-1175 E-Mail jvo...@cwf.org<mailto:jvo...@cwf.org> [X] On Feb 18, 2019, at 4:25 PM, Alex Roach mailto:alexro...@modifiedatmospheres.com.au>> wrote: Hi Adrienne You are right that the insect bodies are left in treated items, and they can be a food source/attractant for dermestids. The wings may be alate wings. Reproductive termites have two pairs of wings that they shed following colonising flights. Do you know what sort of termites were in the building? What treatment was carried out? Best wishes Alex Alex Roach Director Modified Atmospheres On Mon, 18 Feb 2019 at 09:52, Adrienne Dastgir mailto:adrienne.dast...@chickasaw.net>> wrote: Hi All I have questions about carpet beetle. I know they are very damaging to collection they can destroy a textile collect in a few days if there is an infestation. They can go unnoticed for long time because of their sizes. Here is the issue about six month ago our main exhibit hall had termites. Which has been an ongoing battle for over year now. I am not 100% sure because of how many times fumigated has happened before I started here. I know that they have fumigated at least three times since 2017. The last time being about six months ago. Which the workers in the exhibit hall thought that there were no more termites. I thank the Manger said that his staff began to fine wings about two-three months ago, and what they thought was termites. The pest guy kept telling him that they were nothing that no way there could
