 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jmorse22003
Date: 2010-08-07 14:06
I hope this is the place to ask this question. I was given a Vito clarinet for my child to use as she is just starting band. I was told it needed pads and corks so I took it in to a reputable music store locally. I actually took it to 2 different repair shops and was told the same story both times. The clarinet pads and case has 'bugs.' They can repad and re cork the clarinet which I am going to have them do. One place said they could fumigate the case. They are the more expensive of the 2 shops. The other place said the only way to get rid of the bugs is to place the case in the freezer for several days. Who is right? Is there anything I can do so the clarinet doesn't get reinfected? After spending $200 to put this instrument in playing condition, I can't afford a new case too. PLEASE, can anyone help me? TIA
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2010-08-07 14:37
If you do a search for "pad bugs" with the BB search function you'll find many discussions of them already. They are real, and those shops are not trying to put one over on you.
I would recommend vacuuming the case thoroughly.
Leave the case in the freezer for a few days.
Vacuum again.
Some people recommend leaving the case open on a sunny day (along with the vacuum treatment), and some people say the case can never be reclaimed...just trash it.
Neither solution provided above is more or less "right"...they are just two methods that should solve your problem.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2010-08-07 14:46
You could have the case fumigated but do you really want your daughter handling (and putting in her mouth) clarinet parts that have been stored in a case that has recently been poisoned? The freezer will probably work but you'll still have to clean the case thoroughly to get rid of the carcasses and freezing might not destroy the eggs. (Perhaps someone else on the Board knows for sure.)
Basic but functional new cases can be had from eBay for $30 or less (including shipping) and for maybe $10 more you can get what appear to be nicer cases at Amazon. Given that you have spent/will spend $200 to put the clarinet in playing condition, that would seem a small amount to protect your investment (and probably isn't a lot more than the cost of a fumigation).
But, FWIW, a number of years ago, I bought an Eb clarinet that displayed the bugs a month or so after I bought it. Cheap replacement cases aren't as available for eefers (and this was a pretty nice case, anyway). I vacuumed the case thoroughly and set it outside in the summer sun for a few days. Knock on wood but the bugs have never returned.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: jasperbay
Date: 2010-08-07 14:55
My understanding (but don't take this to the bank) is that the culprits are common 'wool moths' that lay sandgrain-sized eggs, which become little worms, which feed on the wool felt in the pads! Leather pads seem immune, as well as synthetic pads.
As for the case: I'd vacuum,fumigate with a mothball for a few days, vacuum again, leave out in the sunlight, and all should be well.
Clark G. Sherwood
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-08-07 17:32
On advice from my husband, who worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticides Division for 28 years, I don't fumigate cases, because I don't want the exposure to poisons. If I see signs of pad bugs, I don't bring the clarinet into the house until I've removed the clarinet from the case, discarded all the pads and corks and cleaned the clarinet thoroughly. Then I bring it indoors *without the case* for overhauling.
After I've overhauled the formerly-infested clarinet, I don't put it back in that case until I've refurbished that, too. I don't bring the bug-infested case indoors until I've stripped out every bit of the old padding and lining and thrown all that in the trash. Then I wash the case inside and out with dish detergent and leave it open to the sun to dry thoroughly. Only then do I bring it indoors to install new padding and lining. That's more drastic cleaning than I usually do for an old clarinet, but pad bugs can do drastic damage that's expensive to fix, or time-consuming if you're a do-it-yourselfer.
In my experience, this non-poisonous alternative does work -- but I'd much rather only have to do it once per instrument, while making sure the bugs don't get into anything else. Therefore I commit overkill with enthusiasm!
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Plonk
Date: 2010-08-07 19:44
Live clarinet bug video - ugh!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuLpwGNTUoo
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-08-07 20:03
That's the coolest thing I've ever seen !!!! The moths must be really small and yet easy to see.
I like the synthetic pad idea. I have had a repair person quote me the same price on overhauls for the use of Valentino pads and Kraus Omni Pads. Now, granted his overhauls are much more than quoted above, if the tech has not done the clarinet work yet, I would have him quote a complete Omni Pad price. If this is not too much more, I'd definitely go this route. These are probably the very best pads for clarinet period !!
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: pewd
Date: 2010-08-07 23:32
buy a new case. $40.
http://shop.weinermusic.com/Lightweight-GL-Gator-Clarinet-Case/productinfo/CGC1GL/
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: susieray
Date: 2010-08-08 15:31
Check out www.wwbw.com; they have several Bb clarinet cases @ under $30
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2010-08-08 23:53
That video was nasty. I have never seen bugs like that.
The bugs I have seen are about the size of a grain of sand.
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