Bugs???!!

[Pam]

Ok, now I know bugs like to nibble on matboard, but I just assumed that this always happened after the package was hung on the wall. Today I pulled out a mat and, to my dismay, found a bug on it. ish.
So, do you all keep bug motels around the shop to entice them to chew on something else?? I'm just trying to stay one step ahead of the potential problems here...

Pam

[D_Derbonne]

I have a monthly pest control service in my shop. I usually find only dead or dying bugs in the shop and haven't found any clinging to matboards or artwork!
:eek:

[MerpsMom]

Was it flat, lots of legs, two long antennae, and altogether repulsive? There are not very many things in the world I don't weep over when they're dispatched: an exception is made for silverfish. Gross.........

[MerpsMom]

Was it flat, lots of legs, two long antennae, and altogether repulsive? There are not very many things in the world I don't weep over when they're dispatched: an exception is made for silverfish. Gross.........

This posted twice: see how much I despise these things? :mad:

[framermike]

;) I would be so happy if I never saw another silverfish in my life! Unfortunately I know those creepy little critters are just waiting to surprise me...
Mike

[Ron Eggers]

Pam,

Don't assume that the bug you saw was interested in eating your matboard. It may have been just passing through. The bugs that like to eat dry paper products aren't common in our part of the country. They mostly live in Florida and the Gulf Coast regions.

I did have a small tarantula jump out of a crate of Mexican ready-made frames once and thought, "Oh, now I've done it!" But it didn't like Wisconsin. It was probably killed by one of our mosquitoes.

[AndyPan, CPF]

Okay, tarantulas jumping out of boxes would do it for me!I have enough problems not freaking over spiders that are small, never mind spiders that can eat my hand for breafast. <shudder>

I agree that it is entirely possible the buggie is passing through. I had seen bugs as my last job, but they never seemed to be doing anything. Those bugs that look like centipedes freak me out though. Nothing that ugly should be alive LOL.

I once received some moulding that looked harmless enough, but when I unwrapped the lengths they were infested! I had to keep it away from my regular stock before I brought it back to the company I received it from. I wonder why they wouldn't let me bring it in?? ;)

[Pam]

Whew, it's not just me. Well, hopefully it was just passing through. (and no, I don't believe it was a silverfish, it was black).

I'm going to think REALLY long and hard about ordering anything from Mexico.... Although, if a big spidey lived in your shop, would you have to worry about the little guys?

[AndyPan, CPF]

Hmm, maybe not. You could just put it on the payroll. ;)

[wpfay]

The roaches here will eat the paper, but what they are really going for is the protien in the glue. A friend brought in a painting that he had used hide glue for a binder and some of my local roach buddies ate the paint right off the masonite. Friend was able to make repairs, and will no longer use hide glue. These guys live outside and make forays into the inside. They can do a lot of damage before the poison gets them.
While were in the world of crawley things...I noticed some movement on a poster in a plastic sleeve that had just been returned from a clients home in a new developement. Upon closer inspection I found a small and highly irritated scorpion. I whisked him into a plastic bag and into the freezer for show & tell with the client.

[Jack Cee]

Invest in some moth crystals and place them in several locations thoughout your storage area.

Jack Cee

[Oliver Hirsch]

Try to avoid chemical treatment to rid yourself of vermin. Often you will be exposing yourself, art and art materials to chemicals that will ultimately do more harm than good. This from the National Safety Council: "The major component of mothballs is naphthalene. Inhalation of naphthalene may cause skin and eye irritation; gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea; neurologic symptoms, such as confusion, excitement, and convulsions; renal problems, such as acute renal shutdown; and hematologic features, such as icterus and severe anemia."

Better to try insect traps available from the collection storage section of the major archival supply catalogs, and monitor the situation.

Good Luck!