Christina- Interesting... We do use mouse poison bait stations. Moving away from them has been one of those "back burnered" topics for a long time. They are not only problematic because of the potential moth issue if they die in the building, but also a bad situation if the mice do make it out and the poison can find its way into owls/hawks etc. The baiting is done by an outside pest contractor, and that contract is managed by a different department than mine within our museum structure. I feel like elaborating on the nature of that situation may take us "deep into the weeds" and derail the specific question at hand, so I'll keep that topic for another thread. The general area is by a pretty porous location in the building envelope where mice and insects can get in (loading dock/contractor entrance type space). There are door sweeps in place, but they aren't super tight. Most of the walls are cinder block/poured concrete, floors are concrete, and the ceiling is exposed metal. There aren't really spots where larger creatures could die and be hidden behind sheetrock. The pheromone lure isn't too close to the exterior doors in this area to avoid accidentally drawing in moths from outside.
There is a void under a staircase in this area that is basically impossible to access and clean. I'm sure it never has been cleaned. I am certain there are dead insects around in this space, and possibly dead mice. The smell from the dumpster may be enough to hide a dead mouse aroma. I'll see if I can get a selfie-stick or something and lower my phone down into this void and see if I can possibly spot a dead mouse/bird. Thanks for your info, Todd On Mon, Jul 6, 2020 at 3:21 PM Christina M. Cain < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Todd, > > You are giving me flashbacks. I was once at a museum with unexplained > clothes moths. Turns out they were feasting on a dead bird inside of a wall > (new construction building). They were find their way out of the recesses > of the wall by the dozens and it took months to figure out where the source > was. Is there any way you could have a dead rodent in the walls, does your > building pest management use mouse poison, etc? > > That’s my best guess, > > Christina > > > > Christina Cain > > Anthropology Collections Manager > > University of Colorado Museum of Natural History > > 303-492-2198 > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf > Of *Todd Holmberg > *Sent:* Monday, July 6, 2020 1:34 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* [PestList] Webbing Moth Question > > > > Hello Group- > > > > I am wondering if anyone here can confirm if webbing clothes moth larvae > feed on dead insects. > > I have seen dermestid larvae first hand feeding on other dead insects > (stuck in a trap), and am looking into the possibility of that being true > for WCM as well. "Other dead insects" doesn't seem to be high on the list > for materials associated with WCM based on what I seen/hear online, but it > seems like they might be able to be food for them, so I thought I would > check with the group to see if anyone had any thoughts. > > > > There is an area where moths seem to be a somewhat ongoing issue that > doesn't really have any classic examples of "moth material" (wool, > feathers, fur etc). I did see 3 ground beetles in the trap the other day > though, so I thought I would check to see if dead ground beetles (or > insects in general) might be desirable to WCM larvae. > > > > If anyone has any experience with this, I would be interested in hearing > your thoughts. > > > > Thanks! > > Todd > > -- > 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 [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAMxAh%2BjU4aWA1HschFb0yiH7pfe6rvn%3DkTGCBotZfAMtsdehtA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAMxAh%2BjU4aWA1HschFb0yiH7pfe6rvn%3DkTGCBotZfAMtsdehtA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > 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 [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CY4PR03MB278989583EDEB6795FC3D63BED690%40CY4PR03MB2789.namprd03.prod.outlook.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CY4PR03MB278989583EDEB6795FC3D63BED690%40CY4PR03MB2789.namprd03.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAMxAh%2Bh0qWdUAP%2Bog2qPJdha-1%3Dj5%2BG3MgKTxVvdpdXNDDoJfQ%40mail.gmail.com.
