 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Simon
Date: 2010-03-30 02:19
One of my pads on the clarinet needed to be changed as it was damaged. I took the clarinet to the tech and to my surprise I was told that in fact nine pads required changing because a bug had actually eaten into my pads. The repair it's self has not been that succesful and its a discussion for another day. My question is, what can I put in my case to ensure that bugs are kept out of my case. Would unscented moth balls be o.k. or would these cause some sort of a chemical reaction and damage the clarinet/pads keys etc.
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Author: GLHopkins
Date: 2010-03-30 02:26
You can use cedar strips or balls. Walmart should have those where you find moth balls.
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Author: jasperbay
Date: 2010-03-30 03:23
There may be several bugs that eat into clarinet pads, but it seems to me that wool moth larvae are usually the culprit,going after the wool felt underneath the sausage skin surface layer of the pad. Nice to know about cedar strips and balls, as that would sure smell better than moth balls! If its aromatic cedar, might smell pretty dang good! I don't think mothballs (napthalene??)would corrode keywork, but I'm also not sure you could take that opinion to the bank.
For some reason I haven't had trouble with moth larvae going after the felt inside leather clarinet pads, I wonder why not?? Do saxophone players have trouble with bugs eating their pads? Synthetic pads would be an option, of course, in really insect prone areas. Good Luck
Clark G. Sherwood
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Author: RoBass
Date: 2010-03-30 07:03
...leather or corc pads would be an option too ;-)
kindly
Roman
PS: Check your bag for moth spoors! The larvaes could be covered underneath the felt and velvet of your bag interior.
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Author: Mike Clarinet
Date: 2010-03-30 07:15
Cedar wood is a good idea. Old (and probably high quality new) furniture for storing clothes, blankets or similar are traditionally made from, or lined with, cedar wood. I understand there is an oil in cedar which discourages moths.
Cedar wood clarinet ???
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2010-03-30 11:59
I have seen this damage many times, but only ever on instruments that had been stored unused for long periods. Has yours been used all the time?
I have also only ever seen it on skin pads but of course these are the most frequently used.
I have never seen an actual live bug, just the debris left from the chewed felt however sometime last year a colleague of mine found a live bug on a clarinet brought in for repair and there is a video of it on Utube.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-03-30 13:05
Pad bugs can be difficult to eradicate from an infested case. They'll just go right back to work on the new pads. If that case were mine, I'd rip out all the old lining and padding, wash the wood or plastic, dry the case open to the sun and then re-pad and re-line it at the same time you have the clarinet pads changed.
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: pewd
Date: 2010-03-30 14:39
throw the case away and buy a new one
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: sbrodt54
Date: 2010-03-30 17:32
Those bugs will eat flute, clarinet or sax pads, they love them all! I have not seen them enjoy the gortex pads yet but they really go after the felt, the outside material doesn't seem to bother them much.
Cedar strips should work and moth crystals will surely work but then the case has a VERY strong moth crystal odor which transfers nicely to your clarinet. I'll relay to a customer the story as to why their pads had tunnel shaped holes in them and then allow them to decide what they wish to do concerning the case. They can get a new one, shampoo and vac the old one (not a bad success rate), cedar strips, but many folks go for the new case.
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Author: Simon
Date: 2010-03-31 01:29
Thank you all for your responses. Is there a way of perhaps to fumigate the case instead of ripping open washing etc the case? Can I perhaps use one of those insect bombs to fumigate the case?
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-03-31 14:58
>>Is there a way of perhaps to fumigate the case instead of ripping open washing etc the case? Can I perhaps use one of those insect bombs to fumigate the case?
>>
No! The insecticide might leave a toxic residue behind. In addition to handling the case and the clarinet later, you'd be putting your mouthpiece and reeds into the poisoned environment. My husband, who worked as an attorney for the EPA's Pesticide Division for 28 years and in retirement now does pro bono legal work for environmentalist groups, would like to see those bombs off the market altogether. They're bad enough in a well-ventilated space, but exposing a clarinet case and then closing the case -- yipes.
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: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-03-31 15:14
Throw the case away.
Burn it.
Bury it.
Buy another case.
Get the clarinet repadded.
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Author: RoBass
Date: 2010-04-01 05:58
All insects and spiders you can kill by use of a nervous toxic gas like pyrethrum. It's an organic poison made from chrysanthemum and handled as a spray against flies. It works well and quickly.
But you should ventilate the bag and clarinet very well, if you used this poison. It's a nervous toxic for people too (in higher doses of course;-)!
kindly
Roman
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2010-04-04 23:33
I have seen bug-eaten pads, but never on good quality pads when the instrument is being used, even when the case had a history of bug-eaten pads.
It seems the bugs don't like being exposed to normal light and air circulation.
Good quality pads possibly have a bug deterrent in the felt.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2010-04-05 23:13
The best you can do if you don't replace the case is to let it sit out in the sun for a while and vacuum it out.
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Author: susieray
Date: 2010-04-05 23:36
Putting the clarinet case in the freezer for a day or two would be the easiest way to kill any bugs. When I was a kid I used to collect insects, and the #1 way to kill them for specimens is by freezing.
The other way I used to kill bugs was with fumes from acetone. I would put some nail polish remover on a cotton ball and put that in a jar, then put the insect in the jar with the lid on tight; the fumes would kill it very quickly.
I'll bet you could do something like this with a buggy clarinet case. Maybe take a couple of film cans with holes drilled in both ends, put some acetone-soaked cotton balls inside. Place these inside the case, then close the case, enclose it in a plastic bag to keep all the fumes inside. Next day, open it up and air it out real well in the sun. I don't think the fumes from nail polish remover would linger too long and I'd feel safer using something like that rather than insecticide.
BTW I would not bother with any of this unless the case is something really special, usually it makes a lot more sense to just buy a new case!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2010-04-06 11:06
"...The other way I used to kill bugs was with fumes from acetone. I would put some nail polish remover on a cotton ball and put that in a jar, then put the insect in the jar with the lid on tight; the fumes would kill it very quickly..."
A weta is a large native insect here in NZ.
http://www.manaisland.org.nz/images/GiantWeta.jpg
Hence the name for our "Weta Workshop", responsible for special effects & props in LOTR, King Kong, Avatar, etc.
I really don't like them, partly because I imagine what the fate of humans would be if these insects were many times their current size.
I once put one submerged in a jar of water overnight. Still alive next morning.
I collected a jar of LPG 'over water' and left it in that overnight. Still alive.
I put one submerged in a jar of denatured alcohol overnight. Still alive.
[Shudder!]
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-04-06 12:19
> A weta is a large native insect here in NZ.
Are they edible? They look crunchy. :-)
FWIW when we assume that insects are likely to survive a nuclear incident, then I'm quite sure they aren't all that impressed by a jar of alcohol or a fridge.
--
Ben
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2010-04-06 14:32
They are certainly very crunchy when I squash them when I find them in my letter box - ughhh! And they're juicy inside. I'm sure they would be a luxury to eat in some parts of the world, say northern Thailand.
BTW I forgot to mention that they are being studied as to how they survive being frozen.
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