pad bugs

[Susan Bentley]

Can anyone tell me what, exactly, pad bugs are? What can I do to
avoid getting them again? (my wood clarinet was recently diagnosed
with a bad case of 'em). I've been playing for nearly 20 years as an
amateur and this is first I've ever heard of them ...

Thanks! Susan

[SFAlexi]

There was a post about this on a different bulletin board. I think they are
similar or the same as dust-mites. One method was to take your clarinet case
and stick it in the freezer for two weeks to freeze them and their eggs to
death. The other method was to buy a new case!

Alexi

[Stephen Howard]

I think they're a good deal larger than mites!
I've often found empty larval capsules in the bore of old instruments,
which implies a chrysalis stage - so I would suggest it's a moth
that's the culprit. Certainly the typical damage to the pads indicates
a larvae of a size quite visible to the naked eye ( though I have
never actually seen one personally ).

On the whole their occurrence is rare - it's unlikely that instrument
pads are their food of choice, and I certainly can't recall ever
seeing any such damage on an instrument in regular use.

As for the origins of the larvae - well, either the female adults fly
in and lay their eggs in your case when your back is turned.... or the
eggs are already incorporated into the fabric of the case during
manufacture ( and perhaps in the felt of the pads too? ).
Such eggs can lie dormant for some considerable time whilst waiting
for the right conditions in which to hatch.

I'm not sure that freezing the eggs will work.... any gardener will
assure you that even the fiercest of winters fails to kill all the
bugs - so one must assume a degree of tolerance to freezing in insect
eggs.

I'm pretty sure there must be some proprietary treatments for moth
larvae on the market ( I'd avoid mothballs though! ).

Regards,

--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

[Thomas Herbell]

Pad Bugs can be easily dead bugs. Just put a small cake of
camphor in your case. Most pharmacies carry them (about an inch
and one half square and on quarter of an inch thick). Remove a
small corner of the cellophane covering and they should last many
years in an instrument case.

I don't believe I have replaced any in the last 20 years or so
and they seem to be still good for another 50 years or so. It's
a cheap fix that works.

--
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.