Wow- that is so interesting! It's encouraging to hear WCM success stories like this where the problem vanishes after a specific cause is positively identified.
Thanks for sharing this info! -Todd On Mon, Jul 6, 2020 at 4:24 PM Christina M. Cain < [email protected]> wrote: > Todd, > > Getting rid of bait stations is a common challenge. If you can move away > from those, it would be best for all of the reasons you mention. For our > situation, we ended up hiring a plumber who had a scoping camera that we > could drop into the wall from a small hole. That sort of equipment might > be helpful for under your stairs. > > > > To locate our culprit, we put out a grid of pheromone traps and tracked > the numbers daily using Excel. We were able to create a graph showing the > activity was focused around one particular wall. Seeing no other options, > we dropped the camera down through a hole in the wall from above the > ceiling tiles (this kept us from making several random holes in the gallery > wall). The monitoring ended up being so precise that we dropped the camera > directly on the dead bird. We were then able to extricate it and the moths > vanished almost immediately. > > > > The other thing is to eliminate whatever might be drawing mice indoors. > Examples include moving the dumpster far from the door, cleaning, taking > out the trash daily, ensuring no food or drink is left in the space, > ensuring no sinks or other plumbing are leaking, etc. > > > > Hope this helps. > > Best, > > 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 2:57 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [PestList] Webbing Moth Question > > > > 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 > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAMxAh%2Bh0qWdUAP%2Bog2qPJdha-1%3Dj5%2BG3MgKTxVvdpdXNDDoJfQ%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/CY4PR03MB2789DC34520557A87B4E7436ED690%40CY4PR03MB2789.namprd03.prod.outlook.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CY4PR03MB2789DC34520557A87B4E7436ED690%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. 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