We use -32c for 72 hours with a 24hr reacclimating period. Wrapped in
polyethylene bags and tied or taped shut of course. In my opinion...6" of wood
is nothing to -20c to -32c the core will get that cold in a mater of a few
hours which is faster than most critters could develop an "internal
antifreeze". It is the fast drop in temp that destroys all life cycles. JTV
Joel Voron Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Conservation Dept.
Integrated Pest Management Specialist
Office 757-220-7080
Cell 757-634-1175
E-Mail [email protected]
________________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of
[email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2024 1:43 PM
To: MuseumPests
Subject: [PestList] Re: Freezing Time
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Hello Todd!
My protocol for wood borers is to vaccum all frass, dust, and insect detritus
before freezing. Then I place the item on a clean sheet of blotter paper, wrap,
and freeze for 72 hours. Our freezer gets down to -26 C. What's important is
that after freezing I allow the artifact to rest undisturbed for 1-2 weeks.
Then I unwrap it, tap it gently all over, and watch for new frass coming out.
Any new frass is an indication that the infestation is still active and the
treatment (including vaccuming) needs to be repeated. This is the same protocol
I follow for other insects, but I find that I commonly need to repeat treatment
on wood boring insects 2 or 3 times before they are frass-free. In my
understanding and experience, wood borers are well-evolved for handling winter
temperatures, but the repeated shock of extreme cold will ultimately prevail.
Nicole
Nicole Grabow
she / her / hers
Director of Preventive Conservation
Midwest Art Conservation Center
2400 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis / Bde Óta Otúŋwe, MN 55404
(612) 870-3129
http://www.preserveart.org/<http://www.preserveart.org/>
On Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 12:08:51 PM UTC-5 [email protected] wrote:
Hello Pestlist-
Our normal freezing cycle is "one week" (load in on Mon - load out next Mon
etc). This has always been thinking about moths. We recently prepared a
wooden object for freezing that shows a history of wood boring insect activity.
We are 99.9% sure it is not an active infestation, but want to get it on the
record as having been treated.
I was curious-
How long do people freeze objects when thinking about wood boring insects? The
wood is 5"-6" inches thick in places.
Any thoughts people might have would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Todd
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