FUMIGATION - Powder-Post Beetles in Furniture
Jim Lockhart of Littleton Colorado writes: "After allowing the infected cabinet to spend 18 hours in the closed freezer with 30 lbs of dry ice at -25 deg F, I went ahead and removed the dry ice, saving what was left of it in a small ice chest. I closed the freezer up again and allowed the cabinet inside to slowly warm up to room temperature (another 12 hours) then took it out. I checked for signs of life with a stethoscope in the places where the powder post beetles could be heard and – not a sound. I checked again for signs of life 24 hours later – still nothing. It would appear that the insects either froze, suffocated or both. Of course I have no way to tell whether or not the freezing or lack of oxygen also killed any eggs – only time will tell. I am confident enough at this point that this worked and would recommend it to anyone in a similar situation. Feel free to include any and/or all the info I’ve given you on your website. This is a much less toxic way of killing insects than the use of chemical sprays and fumigants."
Jim writes one year later to update there is no sign of any beetle activity and "I’ve been telling fellow woodworkers about the idea and they, too have met with success without doing any damage to the wood or it’s finish."
We've been using dry ice for about 7 years to get rid of infestations of CLOTHES MOTHS, and are reasonably sure it takes care of CARPET BEETLES and PANTRY MOTHS as well - probably even bedbugs! (but it's the clothes moths I can speak to for sure).
We provide dry ice products such as: Pellets, Rice Pellets (Dry Ice Blasting), Micro Pellets, 1/4 inch , Special Cut Blocks, Slices, Nuggets and High Density Dry Ice.
