Hi everyone, We're currently dealing with an active webbing clothes moth infestation in compactor storage cabinets. We are going though the usual steps of bagging and freezing infested or potentially infested items and isolating items nearby, vacuum cleaning storage components, and increasing monitoring with blunder traps and pheromone traps.
It has been suggested that we direct an insecticide containing active ingredients such as pyrethrum, allethrin, and permethrin into the structural elements of the storage cabinets - there are a lot of interior spaces inside these structural elements that cannot reasonably be accessed by vacuuming. We are hesitant to introduce an insecticide (even one classified as "low-risk") so close to collections materials but are concerned that we will not be able to thoroughly clean the storage furniture. I would very much appreciate any experiences and thoughts on this. Many thanks, Emily Emily Kaplan Conservator Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Cultural Resources Center Suitland, MD 20746 tel 301-238-1418 fax 301-238-3201 [email protected]
