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Author Topic: Infestation of fibre????  (Read 3851 times)

Dans

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Spalding
    • Six Oaks
    • Facebook
Infestation of fibre????
« on: December 12, 2012, 05:27:53 pm »
Argh. Right my google searches have been useless, can anyone point me to a guide (internet or book) that will show me the various infestations (or signs of infestation) that fleece and fibre can have? I'll post below describing the situation in case anyone can help.

I was gifted some fibre from the lovely Ina a few weeks ago, which I popped in a warm upstairs room until after this surgery. Feeling better I had a knit and knatter   :knit: yesterday and showed them to Welshcob, but noticed 2 felt slightly damp. I wasn't sure if it was the warmth of the room evaporating wetness in them which then condensed inside the plastic bags or not. I laid them out on towels, turned the radiator up and stuck the dehumidifier on. This evening went to check and both looked lovely and fine. I'm very excited to play with them  :excited:. I popped them into old pillowcases to prevent any evaporation/condensation occurring again.

I thought I should probably do the same to the other two bags. I opened the cashmere, which were in small carrier bags, and started transferring to a pillowcase. I noticed lots of crumbly things which I thought might have been old plant matter (the fibre is quite old). I then started noticing a few holes, like if you took the stick out of candyfloss. I followed them to find more crumbly things and started to get suspicious. I started to shake each bag of fibre out over a towel before transferring to pillow case. Then I got to the last few bags and found a larvae. Cream coloured with a brown head. In all I found about 6. All the cashmere is now in a pillowcase in another room and I'm about to go and hoover the room they had been in and wash all the towels I used at 60C. Is there anything else I can do.  :fc: Is the cashmere lost? I assume that something has laid eggs in there. The largest larvae was about 2cm when stretched out so they may have hatched when I put them in the warm room but my entomology is poor! I know they aren't blowfly larvae and they look like moth larvae from my google hunt. The crumbly things I found really did look long dead though.

I didn't see anything similar at all with the fleeces, so I am hoping they are clear, but would be good to look closer with an idea of things to look for. Everything I have read so far has talked about skirting for poor quality fibre, new growth etc, not found anything about infestations.

Thank you for any help!

Dans - who isn't sure her head was quite up to this today  :unwell:
9 sheep, 24 chickens, 3 cats, a toddler and a baby on the way

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Welshcob

  • Joined Jul 2012
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2012, 05:34:46 pm »
Nooooooooooooooo  :o  :(  >:(

I'm sorry my knowledge of bugs isn't that great either but hope somebody who knows will be along soon. It sounds like you did things with good old common sense - i would have done the same, hopefully is right.

Opening the bags to find the buggers seems the only option though. Unless you fancy dousing the fibres with insecticide (not a good plan if you ask me though).

 :hug: for  :unwell:

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2012, 05:37:04 pm »
Ooops  :o
 
First of all - as you've discovered, never store unwashed fibre in plastic bags as it will sweat.  Wool in particular can hold an amazing amount of moisture which you wouldn't normally notice.
 
The crumbly stuff sounds like frass ie poop from the larvae.  The larvae sound like carpet (ie wool) moth.  Yes, the infested fibre should be burnt. 
 
For the rest, take it outside to spread it out and have a really thorough look, armed with a magnifying glass.  Don't open it indoors as any moths which fly out will be very hard to get rid of
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

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Dans

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Spalding
    • Six Oaks
    • Facebook
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2012, 05:40:08 pm »
Hoovering up and there also seem to be lice *sigh* Feels so wrong to throw away a pillowcase full of fibre :-(  :bouquet:

Dans

9 sheep, 24 chickens, 3 cats, a toddler and a baby on the way

www.sixoaks.co.uk

www.facebook.com/pg/sixoakssmallholding

www.goodlife.sixoaks.co.uk

SmallTimeSmallholder

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • South East
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2012, 05:48:33 pm »
Oh Dans, poor you! That's the last thing you needed when you're trying to get your strength back!
If you put your fleeces in the freezer, that will kill anything living in it and at least give you a chance to look through in more detail without the risk of spreading the dreaded wool moth.
Good luck, hope you don't have to throw too much away!


Orinoco

  • Joined Dec 2012
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2012, 06:08:36 pm »
Not sure if this is the right place to ask (please advise if not).

We had carpet moths when we moved in, hoovered and sprayed a variety of insect killers in the room as moths flew up, all seemed dead and hoovered agan, thought it was all Ok but its praying on my mind we may find loads of problems in the spring.

Any advice

K

Dans

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Spalding
    • Six Oaks
    • Facebook
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2012, 06:11:21 pm »
Ok well the cashmere is now in the greenhouse, the laundry is on and the hoover has been done (but I can't empty it due to my sinuses and the OH is away). I did the cats flea treatments just this past week so hopefully if there are any lice wandering around the cats will act as mobile exterminators.

I'm 99.99% sure that there was nothing at all in the fleeces (sheep). I had a good look over them when I laid them out yesterday and I didn't open the cashmere up properly today until after I had put the fleeces away. Is there anything I can do to prevent moth growth incase there was. Moth balls?  ???

If it isn't wet tomorrow I will see if I can spread them outside. I guess I need to step up the washing the fleeces on my priority list. Will try and get the last fleece that is in a plastic bag into a pillowcase.

Still very glad to have been gifted the fibre, it's all learning, even if some of it feels like a steep learning curve  :dunce:, just wish I could have saved the cashmere. I was hoping to make Ina a thank you scarf.  :-[

And very very happy that I was too impatient to wait to show WC the fleeces yesterday.

Did anyone have any links to other pests I may encounter so I can keep my eyes peeled?

Thanks again all, no idea where I'd be without this place  :thumbsup:

Dans
9 sheep, 24 chickens, 3 cats, a toddler and a baby on the way

www.sixoaks.co.uk

www.facebook.com/pg/sixoakssmallholding

www.goodlife.sixoaks.co.uk

SmallTimeSmallholder

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • South East
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2012, 08:01:50 pm »
I keep most of my unwashed fleeces in cardboard boxes. They're cheaper than pillow cases and hold more, just incase that might help you store them in the future.
Mothballs should help.
Good luck with it all.

Dans

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Spalding
    • Six Oaks
    • Facebook
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2012, 09:00:05 pm »
Ah didn't think of that.

Unfortunately I have a cat that rips any item of cardboard to shreds in minutes, so it wouldn't last long with her.

Fortunately (or maybe not) I also seem to have a problem with hoarding bedding. Did a clear out last month and decided to keep 4 kingsize duvet sets, 6 double duvet sets and 2 single sets. OH and I have 1 king size, the guest bed is Double and we have a double sofa bed, single chair bed and blow up mattress, but we don't often have guests.

The scary thing was that left me with about 10 or so duvet sets to get rid of (mix of double and single). Still couldn't throw them away 'just in case' so have been using the covers and sheets as dust cloths for the DIY, now have a use for the pillow cases too!

Hi my name is Dans and I have hoarding tendencies  :wave:

Dans
9 sheep, 24 chickens, 3 cats, a toddler and a baby on the way

www.sixoaks.co.uk

www.facebook.com/pg/sixoakssmallholding

www.goodlife.sixoaks.co.uk

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2012, 09:20:21 am »
Dans, you can get treatment for it you know  :roflanim:
Sally
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

Dans

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Spalding
    • Six Oaks
    • Facebook
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2012, 10:04:18 am »
 :roflanim: I'm gonna blame a foggy morning brain but read that and though  :o I can treat and keep the cashmere? Then realised you meant the hoarding lol

OH is slowly breaking me and the knowledge that we hope to move in the next 12-18 months helps. Less to pack quicker to move right?

Dans
9 sheep, 24 chickens, 3 cats, a toddler and a baby on the way

www.sixoaks.co.uk

www.facebook.com/pg/sixoakssmallholding

www.goodlife.sixoaks.co.uk

Ina

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • South Aberdeenshire
Re: Infestation of fibre????
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2012, 01:14:27 pm »
Argh!!! I am so sorry to hear that... I admit I didn't open all the individual cashmere bags - I had the fleeces spread out, and like Dans I am 99.99% sure there wasn't anything in them! What a shame. Sorry to have landed you with that... :'(

Stick them in the compost. I'll do the same with the couple of bags I still have left.



 

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