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Post by wollastoni on May 4, 2015 12:29:51 GMT
Paul, you can find Zensect balls on AmazonAnother advantage of those Zensect balls, it smells lavanda, far better than naphtalene or PDB.
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Post by Paul K on May 4, 2015 13:48:06 GMT
Paul, you can find Zensect balls on AmazonAnother advantage of those Zensect balls, it smells lavanda, far better than naphtalene or PDB. True . Old style balls smell terrible .
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Post by Adam Cotton on May 4, 2015 16:38:29 GMT
The drawer that had the live larva contains a lot of recently acquired specimens; I assume that it arrived with one of them. Usually new specimens are kept in a bin with Vapona until I set them, but occasionally I set them immediately, assuming that Vapona present in drawers will do the job if any pests are introduced. Adam, that's an interesting point about humidity, and one that I hadn't considered. I wonder whether dermestid species in tropical areas are particularly sensitive to low humidity? Humidity at home is typically in the 40-60% range all year. Occasionally I find a larva near one of my bins with papered specimens, but (so far) never inside one of the bins, as they also contain Vapona. I always quarantine all new specimens by freezing them for a week at about -20C before taking them into my room. Spread specimens undergo exactly the same treatment as papered material. I am not sure how fast Vapona is at killing Dermestid larvae hiding inside specimens, whereas freezing certainly does the trick. Vapona or another pesticide is certainly the way to go once the specimens have been spread and assimilated into the collection. I think humidity is an important factor, and Olivier may be surprised how high the humidity actually is in many parts of Europe, never mind the tropics. Naturally Dermestids and Psocids live in relatively high humidity, and Psocids actually feed on fungus growing on specimens before ending up eating the specimens themselves. Adam.
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Post by deliasfanatic on May 4, 2015 17:17:06 GMT
I wonder, Adam, whether dermestids in Thailand and other tropical areas are more cold-sensitive than those in temperate zones. In other words, perhaps those in Europe and North America are more cold-acclimated and can survive freezing? I'd think that Vapona will kill hidden larvae as well as those that are visible, although I have no evidence one way or the other. My experimental "subject", which wasn't killed by cedar oil yesterday, was dead within hours after I placed a several-year-old piece of Vapona into the box, indicating that it is indeed effective for a long time.
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Post by wollastoni on May 4, 2015 17:21:43 GMT
True, but I guess a high percentage of dermestids that I find in my appartment actually come from Papua or Indonesia...
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Post by Adam Cotton on May 4, 2015 18:55:10 GMT
I wonder, Adam, whether dermestids in Thailand and other tropical areas are more cold-sensitive than those in temperate zones. In other words, perhaps those in Europe and North America are more cold-acclimated and can survive freezing? I'd think that Vapona will kill hidden larvae as well as those that are visible, although I have no evidence one way or the other. My experimental "subject", which wasn't killed by cedar oil yesterday, was dead within hours after I placed a several-year-old piece of Vapona into the box, indicating that it is indeed effective for a long time. Temperate Dermestids will be just as susceptible to a sudden change from +20C to -20C as tropical ones, but will be resistant to the sort of gradual drop in temperature they would experience in nature. Similarly pupae of Papilio machaon in Ust Nera survive temperatures as low as -40C in midwinter, but if you were to put a fresh autumn pupa straight into the freezer it would die too. To be absolutely sure it is best to freeze for a week, take the box out of the freezer for a week and then put it back in the freezer for at least 48 hours. Larvae and adults are not tolerant to sudden freezing, but eggs may survive the first freeze. Very soon after they come out of the freezer any eggs that do survive will hatch and a return to the freezer will kill them too. Adam.
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Post by Adam Cotton on May 4, 2015 19:03:08 GMT
True, but I guess a high percentage of dermestids that I find in my appartment actually come from Papua or Indonesia... I would be quite surprised if that was the case. These beetles are more common in Europe than you might imagine. Adam.
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Post by obiwankenobi55555 on May 17, 2015 16:08:26 GMT
Before cca. one year I bought that zensect balls because I have read that some museums are using that method to prevent their collections. And after and I was expecting that Zensect has very intense smell. But that moth balls have very low smell and I have wondering in their function, I have put one in test and no problems for now at all. I must say that I'm using almost 3 years "Raid lavender/cedar gel" produced by SC Johnson, smell are very intense I must say, and you need to replance it one every year. No problems and no single pests for now, I am satisfied. But do you have any bad informations about this product health related?
I agree with Adam, if you want safe and longlife collection, first you need to live in low/normal humidity place, you need to have good and quality drawers, you need to control every income specimens, and of course this fourth prevent method... About cedar oil, that is good for room moths, but try with tea tree essential oil which is x5 stronger than cedar oil, but for that you need to prepare $$.
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Post by wollastoni on May 17, 2015 16:28:06 GMT
Transfluthrin which is the active of Zensect balls is still authorized in the EU. So it should be less dangerous than some other products like PDB. This doesn't mean it won't be banned in the future.
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Post by obiwankenobi55555 on May 17, 2015 17:21:44 GMT
Transfluthrin which is the active of Zensect balls is still authorized in the EU. So it should be less dangerous than some other products like PDB. This doesn't mean it won't be banned in the future. Of course, PDB is pure chemical and I'm not recommending that because of risk of cancer, but about this Zensect balls, do you have any smells outside your drawers? If you don't have, there is no risk for you. Risk is only when you breathe that. Non chemical product is safety, only fresh air is safe, nothing alse.
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Post by wollastoni on May 17, 2015 19:15:10 GMT
Transfluthrin is pure chemical, my friend. And it is not because you don't smell the fragrance outside of the box, that the products don't go also outside. Those entomological drawers, even good ones, are not 100% hermetical.
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Post by obiwankenobi55555 on May 17, 2015 19:49:27 GMT
Transfluthrin is pure chemical, my friend. And it is not because you don't smell the fragrance outside of the box, that the products don't go also outside. Those entomological drawers, even good ones, are not 100% hermetical. hehe , so question is right now, how to prevent your butterflies and you keep healthy, looks like that is impossible.
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Post by mikelock34 on Jun 6, 2015 14:51:54 GMT
www.bengal.com/roach_spray.htmlBengal Roach Spray is great to use in rooms where you store insects. That stuff flushes and kills everything in the area. It is very effective at killing unwanted insect pests all over your house. Great for clearing sheets at night too if you plan on keeping everything that comes in. It is a dry spray.
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Post by obiwankenobi55555 on Jun 8, 2015 15:18:45 GMT
I have one question about using for example cedar oil in glass fumigant holder. Since you have somthing liquid inside of your drawer (cedar oil in this case) is that cause higher humidity level inside of your drawer? or that oils do not cause any humidity. I'm trying like every collector reduce humidity to avoid moisture and other bastards. Thank you.
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Post by deliasfanatic on Jun 8, 2015 17:11:23 GMT
You don't use liquid oil in the drawer. Instead, you place drops of oil on cork pieces, then pin the cork into the drawer.
However....I cannot recommend cedar oil as a pesticide, based on my previous comments (above). Shortly after I began using it, I found a live dermestid larva in a drawer with cedar oil. I immediately stopped using it and returned to Vapona strips.
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