Hi Gentlemen what is the best way to prevent moth damage to visor and M43 style caps? I have looked into freezing them but for how long? 2 days or 2 weeks?
regards Matt
Hi Gentlemen what is the best way to prevent moth damage to visor and M43 style caps? I have looked into freezing them but for how long? 2 days or 2 weeks?
regards Matt
I've looked into this in the past, having had similar fears myself. Hopefully I can be of some assistance.
Freezing is only necessary if you think the cap is already infested (check under folds, inside the cap, all the nooks and crannies that light can't reach). Infested fabrics should be placed in plastic bags, and left in the freezer for 48 hours. After that, they should be removed and allowed to return to room temperature, and then placed in the freezer again. The reason for this is that while freezing will kill any adult moths and hatched larvae, it will not kill unhatched larvae. Upon removing the items from the freezer, however, the sudden rise in temperature will cause any remaining eggs to hatch. Placing the items in the freezer for a second time kills those off, and hopefully renders the garment 'sterile'.
If there aren't already signs of moth activity, keeping the cap in the open and moving it fairly frequently will be enough to keep most of them at bay. They hate light, and do not like being disturbed. Depriving them of a dark, quiet place to hide and lay their eggs helps immensely. Displaying the cap under a plastic cover or inside a sealed display case helps too, as well as mothballs, cedar wood and sticky traps. There's a wide range of moth repellents to choose from, though some of them can be rather smelly!
Take most of this with a pinch of salt. I'm by no means an expert, but have done quite a bit of googling in regards to clothes moths! I hate the little buggers with a passion.
Regards, B.B.
I use serpollet Essence, not good for the nose !
The best Militaria forum in France is here : http://deutsch-militaria.forumactif.us/
I would be very careful freezing anything that is lacquered - visors/peaks, lacquered leather. No Problem with fabrics, but there are so many materials used for peaked/visor caps that I wouldn't freeze these.
Does anybody have experiences with freezing visor caps against moths?
thanks, everyone, this has been very helpful
regards Matt
Hello,
Just chiming in on this one, I have an Allegemeine ss armband that began to grow mould spots due to our humid climate. I researched this problem and found that museums freeze the item in a plastic bag for a couple of days and remove it and vacuum very gently to remove all mould and residue. I followed this process and the issue has not occurred again, I am guessing this method would also benefit moths and larvae as the light vacuum will remove any residue or eggs and larvae. Also keeping the item in plastic or glass after treatment will help continue the preservation.
Joel
Similar Threads
Bookmarks