Monthly Archives: March 2013

Moths– A Public Service Announcement

Hi – Lisa here, aka lasdcm for all you Ravelry people!  I am fortunate to work in the Conservation Department at the Philadelphia Museum of Art which is a contributing institution to the Integrated Pest Management Working Group  created to develop resources on Integrated Pest Management for museums, and other collection holding institutions.  I get tons of questions about m*ths, and I see a lot of mis-information about dealing with and repelling moths, carpet beetles, so Susie asked if I would post some good pest information or, rather, good information on bad pests!

How to prevent moth damage and what to do when you find it.

So, you open your closet and out flies a moth, or six, what do you do?

The industry standard, a system known as Integrated Pest Management, is actually a great way to deal with bugs in your home as it does not rely on pesticides but combines, preventative and chemical measures along with close monitoring to control pests.

The MOST EFFECTIVE way to control insect infestation is good housekeeping - good housekeeping will eliminate sources of food and shelter for many pests.   Consider the dust bunny: a 24/7 bed and breakfast with an all you can eat buffet!  Vacuum under furniture, put all woolens away CLEAN -  “Dry cleaning or thoroughly laundering items in hot water (temperature above 120°F for 20 to 30 minutes) kills all stages of insects. This is the most common and effective method for controlling clothes moths in clothing, blankets, and other washable articles.” (from UCIPM on-line)  Keep yarn and sweaters in sealed plastic bags or tubs with a good tight seal.  Not all plastic tubs have good seals, check the seal before purchasing.

Chemicals and pesticides should be used sparingly if at all - these chemicals are toxic, smelly, and over time bugs develop resistance.  “Moth balls, flakes, or crystals containing naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene are … available for protecting clothes in storage. These materials are toxic and must be kept away from children and pets. They also leave an unpleasant odor on clothes and other cloth objects. If placed in contact with plastic buttons, hangers, or garment bags, they may cause the plastic to soften and melt into the fabric. As these chemicals evaporate, they produce vapors that, in sufficient concentration, will slowly kill insects. The vapors build up to the required concentration only in an airtight container. If the container is not airtight, the chemicals only weakly repel adults and any larvae already on clothes continue to feed.” Again from UCIMP on-line.  Lavender and other herbal sachets are said to deter insects but a hungry bug will ignore the stench, and there is little if any affect on the larvae (I have found m*th larvae happily ensconced on herbal sachets – grrrr).  Cedar is an effective deterrent, however most cedar chests and closets are not well sealed, thus the vapor in the cedar oils cannot build up to a lethal level.  Remember, if you have not removed the sources of food and shelter, as soon as the effects of the chemicals wear off and a moth comes in on someone’s wool coat you are right back to where you started.

Got bugs already and need to kill them?  First – isolate the infestation by sealing the yarn/sweater in a plastic bag and remove it!  If the item is not ruined, you can kill the moths, eggs and larvae by freezing.  Use a chest freezer, not frost-free* so the internal temperature remains steadily below zero F.  You need to keep the bugs in an environment below -20 to -25 C or -4 to -13 F for  a full week. Don’t stuff a bunch of stuff to be frozen in a big bag – keep it in several smaller/thinner packages so the entire object cools quickly.  Once the infested items have been removed, take everything else out of the closet/shelves/area and clean it. Vacuum the crap out of it – paying special attention to floor baseboards, corners and other cracks where dust accumulates then seal and throw away the vacuum bag, you don’t want those eggs back in your house!

Keep an eye on your woolens!  Inspect them regularly.  Not only will you catch an infestation before it eats its way through your collection of hand spun, or hand knit treasures but the act of opening the closet, letting in light, moving the balls of yarn around is disruptive – moths like a dark quiet corner to eat in.  I keep sweaters in individual zip-loc bags, and yarn in big zip locs. Keep your woolens clean, sealed, and keep the area clean.  Vacuum often, disturb the area often by cleaning, moving, and inspecting.

 

*frost free freezers periodically cycle above 32 degrees in order to melt tiny ice crystals that form on various surface from the humidity trapped in the freezer.

Useful Links:

Colorado State University Extension – excellent fact sheet on clothes moths with pictures!

Cornell University’s Insect Diagnostic Lab has an excellent list of pdf’s with information on all kinds of pests

University of California – Integrated Pest Management – household pests page

National Pesticide Information Center

Museum Pests

A quick update – if you don’t have access to a frost free freezer, you can kill the eggs and larvae with heat. The insects must reach at least 120 F for a minimum of 30 minutes – this can be done in an oven on low heat, or in hot water (or locked in your car on a hot day?!) Personally I am uncomfortable with textiles and dry heat, but if you pay attention, this is another good method of eradication.

Bluberry smoothie

Blueberry Smoothie Blueberry Smoothie Blueberry Smoothie

 

3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 frozen banana, slightly thawed
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Whiz until thick and delicious

Rating

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Movies have a rating system to help guide the consumer weed out adult/violent/inappropriate knds of films. Video games do, too. Do you think BOOKS should have a ratings system?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!


Today in Pictures

Lambing season finally caught up with me today. I am just beat! So please forgive this giant, under-edited photo dump. I hope it will help to make it up to those of you who are missing the lambcam. Don’t worry– we are already working to bring it back next year.

Grantham

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Unexpected Flowers …

These two pictures were taken in May 2007 in Ocean Park.  I love how the daffodils have popped up in an unexpected place behind the bench.  Have to admit I didn’t sit there as some bees had already staked out the area.

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This picture just makes me smile :)

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- by Joan -


Hope Springs …

copyright 2013

- by Joan -


Another set of twins!

Lambs!

Both ewe lambs. More pics to come.

Grantham

And here’s one of Grantham and Capri this morning.

Sir Knight

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Daniel’s latest knitting request was a Knight Helmet. I don’t think has been test knit in the size large. It came out very large and I’d would definitely go down a couple needle sizes next time as well as making the hat about an inch shorter before the crown. There’s a blade shape that goes along the back but he’s not sure if he wants that yet.

Easter Basket Alert- DIY Dye

 

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I don’t like to think of myself as a procrastinator. But I am, so there you have it.

It’s the Tuesday before Easter and only this morning did I start to think about my daughter’s Easter basket.

Normally I’d be headed to Michael’s, or similar, in a panic for what would probably turn out to be some kind of glitterfest egg decorating project, but not this time. This morning a friend sent me a link to an amazing article (how she cosmically sensed my angst I can’t say) about homemade all-natural egg dyes.

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So today I’m headed to the farmer’s market instead of ‘Crafts R Us’ and thanking procrastination for getting me there. Check out Revolution from Home’s awesome post– How To Make Natural Easter Egg Dye (and a Pot of Soup for Dinner) –and I’ll see you there!

 

We have a new ram lamb!

Capri just gifted us with an enormous baby boy! Grantham

Meet Grantham, only moments old in this picture. (These photos are a little strange as a result of being taken in the lambing pen under red heat lamps. I’ll post more tomorrow in the daylight.)

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7 more ewes left to lamb.