 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ClariAK
Date: 2012-09-28 13:28
Hi everybody-
As i've posted a couple of times before, I'm in India for the year. Today when I went to practice, I went to my room, opened my case, and was horrified to find MILLIONS OF ANTS COVERING MY BEAUTIFUL BUFFET FESTIVAL! :'(
After I had a heart attack I immediately dashed outside and proceeded to do anything possible to get them off. I've gotten the actual clarinet completely bug-free, and there's no evidence of eggs or tunneling or holes or anything horrible like that. They were teeny little red ants, I think, but I'm not any sort of bug expert. The case ( it's an Attache with the combination lock, I'm not completely sure what it is called) however, is infested. They're inside the fabric, in the creases of the leather, EVERYTHING. :'(
I practice a couple hours every day, and yesterday I played and put my clarinet in the same place as usual. I always brush my teeth before playing and I always swab the instrument thoroughly afterwards.
I'm basically traumatized for life, but apart from that, I have no idea what to do. Does anyone have anything to say about anything? My clarinet seems fine now, but the case is a different story. I've tried to exorcise them out as best as I can, but for now it's sitting outside for lack of anything better that I could think of. I'm guessing that covering the case in poison would be harmful, but I really have no idea at all what to do.
HELP ME PLEASSSEEE~
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Author: ClariAK
Date: 2012-09-28 13:36
I'm leaning towards that! Does anyone know of anything that I could have done to prevent this?
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2012-09-28 13:37
I would get a new case and not leave it lying near doors etc. I currently in Mumbai and the weather is such that there are alot on ants and bugs about.
Did you catch any of the Symphony Orchestra of India concerts this week and last?
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2012-09-28 13:55
Sealed plastic bag?
Edit: (I'm not suggesting this as a means of cleaning your current case but rather as a means of keeping ants out of your case in the future.)
Best regards,
jnk
Post Edited (2012-09-29 03:18)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-09-28 14:52
I've read that an effective whole-house extermination method is to wrap the house in plastic and blow hot air inside. I can't find the source, but you could put the case in a paper bag (plastic could melt) and put it in an oven. I think anything over 212 would boil the ants to death. Or wrap it in black plastic and leave it in the sun http://www.nj.gov/health/eoh/phss/documents/bedbugfactsheet.pdf.
Maybe safer would be to wrap the case in plastic and put it in a freezer for a couple of weeks, or to wrap it tight in plastic and put it aside for a couple of weeks to let the ants suffocate. See http://www.ehow.com/how_6783153_rid-termites-furniture.html.
Lelia - HELP.
Ken Shaw
Post Edited (2012-09-28 21:32)
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Author: Campana
Date: 2012-09-28 16:58
This will sound like I have a vested interest but I haven't. Get some Nippon liquid ant killer posted to you. The apartment block I was living in in Spain once had an ant infection. Nothing I could buy locally worked so I had some Nippon sent over. The bath was on their route so I got 3 coins and laid them in the bottom of the bath each with 3 or 4 drops of Nippon on...it was unbelievable. Soon I had thousands round each coin, tasting and dying. In no time the bottom of the bath was covered and still they came. In 3 days I reckon that I had not only cleared my apartment but every other one in the block. The only downside was I had to strip wash in the hand basin while all this was going on.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2012-09-28 20:00
Buy a new case.
In the mean time, if you have access to a freezer, put the case (without clarinet inside, of course, case only) into the freezer for 24-36 hours. A deep freeze is best (mine is -25 F). That should kill them. but won't remove the dead insects from inside - so - yeah, new case.
Good luck.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-09-28 20:59
The ants we often have in the house in late spring are successfully repelled by a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg powder.
Dunno how practical a solution this is in your case (sic).
--
Ben
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-09-28 23:27
Seven easy steps to fix your problem:
1. Fill the case with spices.
2. Fill the case with poison.
3. Suspend the case in midair by either magic or illusion.
4. Freeze the case.
5. Pump hot, nearly enflamed gas through the case.
6. Use the case as a target for a "rogue" nation's nuclear testing program.
7. Buy a new case.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
Post Edited (2012-09-28 23:28)
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-09-29 15:05
I've never had to deal with a case as grossly infested with live insects as ClariAK's. My usual means of cleaning out a filthy old case include dumping dead critters out of it, washing it thoroughly and then leaving it open to the sun to dry and disinfect it, but in this situation that would probably be the worst thing in the world to do -- sort of like tossing a juicy piece of meat on the floor and asking the dog and the cat nicely to please leave it alone. The bugs would spot that open case in a nanosecond and psycho-text all their friends and relatives: "lge lux apt 4 free!"
To avoid having to replace the case (which I think you might have to do if you used the oven treatment: I don't think the case materials could take that), I guess I'd try the plan several people have suggested: clean thoughly, then freeze the case until it dried out. The problem with keeping it in a plastic bag afterwards is that the clarinet and case wouldn't be able to dry and would eventually develop mold and mildew, which would be as bad as the ants. The better plan in the long run would be to exterminate the ants at their source: find their nest and poison the hell out of it, or hire someone to murder the little varmints.
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: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-09-29 16:55
If it's the actual Buffet Festival case, I'll buy it from you and pay the shipping from India. Short of taking the whole case apart and relining it, I know of nothing which will guarantee complete bug removal.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-09-29 18:09
David -
The ant colony queen lays all the eggs, which are tended by workers. I double that the swarm would carry eggs along with them to deposit on anything they find.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-09-29 20:45
Once you strip the case down to the wood, throw away the velvet and expose the interior wood to essential oils like lavender and sunlight, the old smells and eggs will no longer be a problem. I'd love to get a hold of a Festival Buffet attache and re-do it in my choice of new velvet.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: hans
Date: 2012-09-30 00:15
You could try diatomaceous earth. It's not toxic (but not good for your lungs - don't inhale it). It works well on outdoor ant nests so it should work on your case. Vacuum the case after the ants are gone.
Hans
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2012-09-30 02:27
My wife says.....put some "Bounce" dryer sheets in your case.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Buster
Date: 2012-09-30 02:55
Buy a new case.
Buy a jelly doughnut.
Place clarinet in new case.
Place jelly doughnut in old case.
Leave old case (opened) on floor and new case (closed) on table.
Replace jelly doughnut as needed.
I bet the ants choose the jelly doughnut over your clarinet.
Word of caution: do not eat jelly doughnuts, they are simply empty calories and quite poorly ranked on the glycemic index. They destroy any attempt to maintain a healthy metabolic rate. (I know not how the metabolism of the ants will be affected.)
-Jason
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2012-09-30 17:01
I'd deep freeze the case for a while. If it's cold enough for long enough it will kill the eggs, but ants are tough. Just 32F for a few days and they'll thaw back out. Perhaps before that you could put a covered light fixture inside the case (don't set it on fire with a bare bulb or high wattage) or a heating pad, something to make it uncomfortably warm inside the case so the ants will leave before you freeze the eggs. I wouldn't worry about the remainder after freezing. Out of sight, out of mind. But that's just me.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2012-09-30 17:24
There are large plastic sealing bags that you could get (ziplock makes them) that you could put the case in, so that they wouldn't get to it again. Though I'd figure that putting it off of the floor would do it fine.
The floor is a terrible place to rest a Clarinet case on.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-10-01 11:36
This is a tough problem, because using poisons in a case where you keep a mouthpiece and reeds that you put in your mouth probably isn't safe. Gutting the case, washing it thoroughly and replacing the padding and fabric seems like a good idea to me. You can get the case clean and ant-free. But then the trick is to keep the little devils from coming back, and to do that, you need to know what they wanted in there so you can keep it away from them.
Above, I jokingly wrote about the ants sending messages to their kin about "lux apt 4 free," but that was probably wrongheaded of me. Based on my experiences with North American ants and other insects, I'm thinking there's got to be something in the clarinet case that attracted these pests: that they're using your case as a picnic site, not as their bedroom. They're probably snuffling around for goodies they can take back to the nest. If you've ever used orange peels as humidifiers, for instance, that scent could have attracted critters. Some of the worst insect mausoleums I've found have been in old cases that also contained the remains of long-dessicated orange peels.
But there are some species of ants that nest in places like the walls of buildings, instead of building their own labyrinths underground. It's possible that in some parts of the world there might be ants that would see a clarinet case as a nice house. You may even have some species of termite that's unfamiliar to us in the USA. If you put some of the ants in a jar and take it to an entymologist at a university, or to an exterminator, maybe someone can identify the species and recommend a plan that wouldn't poison your reeds.
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: ClariAK
Date: 2012-10-01 16:39
Hey, thanks so much for all of the replies!
I've ordered a new case, and I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival
In the mean time, I've discovered a potential culprit - MY CORKGREASE! I left it out and it was similarly swarmed with the same teeny little ants when I checked on it next - it was mostly closed, but not entirely, and they were covering the opening crack
I also left my case out in the open, because I didn't really have anything to do with it yet (I don't have any freezer or oven big enough...) and the bugs seem to be retreating - there's less and less everytime I check on it, and now there's maybe one or two that are detectable.
So i'm hoping that it was indeed only my corkgrease that attracted them, and I'll just make sure to keep it in the fridge or something in the future. Still weird though - I did NOTHING differently, never put the case on the floor, never left orange peels, nothing. :/
This new case (one of those Lomax Humidipro ones) should hopefully be a bit more bug-resistant.
Thanks again!
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Author: ClariAK
Date: 2012-10-02 15:06
It's the fantastic slippery elm bark cork grease by the Doctor's Products. The cork grease itself is wonderful, and now I just keep it in a sealed plastic bag a safe distance away from my instrument.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2012-10-02 15:16
I use that cork grease and have never had a problem on the four occasions I've been to Mumbai. You were obviously unlucky. I would have though there was more chance getting Dehli Belly than ants in your pants; sorry, clarinet case. :-)
Peter Cigleris
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