<div>Genius. Nuke 'em. </div> <div> </div> <div>What do they use for termites? The alternative to the bag and chemicals? Ultrasonic?</div> <div> </div> <div>Keith Roberts  </div> <div>On 5/13/07, Ed Sutton <<a href="mailto:ed440@mindspring.com">ed440@mindspring.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Annie- How about microwaving them? Ed Sutton ----- Original Message ----- From: "Annie Grieshop" < <a href="mailto:annie@allthingspiano.com">annie@allthingspiano.com</a>> To: "College and University Technicians" <<a href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</a>> Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 12:33 PM Subject: [PHISH] Re: [CAUT] Critter-damaged punchings > Israel, > > Put the new punchings in a cloth or mesh bag, toss the bag in a > clothesdryer, and let it tumble for 15-20 minutes.  That will certainly > kill > any larvae and probably do in the eggs, as well, without any chemicals at > all.  Heat would guarantee the eggs are killed (and it shouldn't harm the > punchings -- try it with a few to find out), but even cold-air tumbling > will > probably do a thorough job on them. > > The bag does need to get thrown around inside the dryer, so you might have > to add tennis balls or tennis shoes (the same procedure as fluffing a down > comforter). > >>From your description, my guess is the damage was done before the pianos > left the factory and is not an ongoing problem.  But better to have some > extra insurance. > > Annie Grieshop > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: <a href="mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org">caut-bounces@ptg.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org">caut-bounces@ptg.org </a>]On Behalf Of >> Israel Stein >> Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 9:39 AM >> To: <a href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">caut@ptg.org</a> >> Subject: [CAUT] Critter-damaged punchings >> >> >> At 11:01 AM 5/11/2007, James Ellis wrote: >> >Whenever I would find moth-critter damage to punchings, I would strip >> >the >> >keybed clean - puncings, key cloth, and all, clean the whole piano >> >thoroughly, looking for any evidence of moth eggs.  If I found them, the >> >job would become more extensive.  After that, there would usually be no >> >problem, provided the piano was cleaned once in a while. >> > >> >Tuners Supply Company used to have a moth proofing liquid called X-Hale. >> >Fumes from that stuff were so strong they would make your eyes >> burn.  There >> >was no water in it.  One would soak the insides of the piano >> with it, close >> >it up, and cover it for 24 hours.  No live critters or eggs would be >> >left >> >after that, and the funes would soon dissipate after opening the >> piano back >> >up. >> > >> >That was 60 years ago.  I don't have that problem now.  Israel, >> do you find >> >the damage in several pianos?  If so, there is a common source of these >> >critters, and perhaps you should get the pest control people involved. >> >Clean the pianos out, and replace anything that shows any sign of >> >critter >> >gnawing.  You don't want to leave any critter eggs in there. >> > >> >Good Luck,  Jim Ellis >> >> >> Jim, >> >> Thanks for the information. We found the problem in several pianos - >> but only in Asian ones: Yamahas and the Korean Kohler & Campbells, >> all about 10 years old. No problems with American pianos - and we do >> have lots of much older Steinways, Baldwins, Wurlitzers and Everetts >> at the school. So we suspect that the critters are imported with the >> pianos from the source country and are not a local infestation. I >> hear that this is common. Since there are no wool furnishings around >> here - curtains, stuffed chairs, carpets, etc. - I don't see how >> these critters would spread from piano to piano. Add I don't see >> moths flying around. But then there is the theater department on the >> other end of the building - costume shop, wardrobe, prop storage... >> Hmm...  Maybe I should check with them about moth damage in their >> stuff... >> >> Yamaha sent us a bunch of replacement punchings free - but I hesitate >> to put them in pianos, since they might be the source of the >> infestation... Maybe fumigating them with or dipping them in one of >> the suggested substances before use might be a good idea? >> >> Israel Stein. >> >> >> >> >> > </blockquote></div>