Eek! Fumigated

Good post. Only believers in homeopathy need fear (but then they would think it cured poisoning, right?). But of course we all know some corks are less sound. For my peace of mind I'd do the plastic garbage bag method, its virtually no effort if you're moving bottles anyway.

Exactly, the exposure to small amounts of poison will only make you stronger!

Walt

Can you simply drape a little Saran Wrap over the bottles or even sheets of newspaper to be on the safe side?

[Jenise]

Good post. Only believers in homeopathy need fear (but then they would think it cured poisoning, right?). But of course we all know some corks are less sound. For my peace of mind I'd do the plastic garbage bag method, its virtually no effort if you're moving bottles anyway.

Ditto. And a warning to Brian: I wouldn't move back into a house after 48 hours even though they say it's safe. When we had a home we were living in done, the smell of the gases was still overwelming--it made our eyes water, and I who have asthma could feel breathing difficulties immediately. We just opened some windows and went back to our hotel for another couple days.

[James Roscoe]

Good post. Only believers in homeopathy need fear (but then they would think it cured poisoning, right?). But of course we all know some corks are less sound. For my peace of mind I'd do the plastic garbage bag method, its virtually no effort if you're moving bottles anyway.

Dale, I am innundated with people who buy into homeopathy. They look at me like I'm some kind of sinner for not believing in the stuff. I call it homeo-pathetic.

As to the original problem, I think some newspaper covering the rack might be the way to go. The difficulty is that I really don't think this is a big issue for correctly sealed wines. My original post was a joke.

There's more than one type of termite, Bob. From what I understand, one is the subterranean type you refer to, another is airborne and looks for decaying wood to live in. California is heavily affected with the latter and in areas that don't get winter freezes which is much of California, termite fumigation is routine preventative maintenance. In So Cal beach areas like where I used to live, nearly every time a home is sold it's fumigated before being turned over to the new owner.

You are correct Jenise, as far as you go 100% correct. There are three different types of termite, the subterranean termites. Wood dwelling termite, and Formosan termite. The subterranean termite is more common here in Kentucky and must pass through the barrier of poison I spoke of in my other post. The wood dwelling is more common along coastal areas where the natural humidity is high enough to prevent the insect from becoming dessicated. the third kind is a Formosan termite that I honestly have very little knowledge of. I have heard though that the Formosan termite can even eat concrete and cinder blocks. AFAIK the only time a termite has wings is when they are swarming to form a new colony. most social insects will do this to prevent colony from becoming larger than the location can feed. Where the wood dwelling termite is prevalent I can see how the fumigation method would actually be the only way to be relatively certain of killing the colony off.

Gary, I have never heard of fumigating for termites. Termites are ground dwellers, except when they swarm to form a new colony. At that time they do grow wings and look like flying ants without the pinched waist. When they swarm, there should be lots and lots of them in one location, but fumigating should not be the method of killing them. a normal can of bug spray should do the trick. At least it did for me some years ago when I had a swarm.

Termite colonies can also infest dead wood, such as house lumber. And ground-dwelling colonies seek out dead wood for food (termites have symbiotic protozoa in their guts that let them digest cellulose). Once a colony establishes itself in a house, fumigation is about the only solution. Things get especially bad in places like the South and California where you don't get a winter frost to halt the bugs once per year, and instead they're active all year long.

-Paul W.

Termite colonies can also infest dead wood, such as house lumber. And ground-dwelling colonies seek out dead wood for food (termites have symbiotic protozoa in their guts that let them digest cellulose). Once a colony establishes itself in a house, fumigation is about the only solution. Things get especially bad in places like the South and California where you don't get a winter frost to halt the bugs once per year, and instead they're active all year long.

-Paul W.

About the rotting wood and termites you are absolutely correct Paul, Home builders are a major cause of termite infestation in subdivisions. They take their scrap wood and dig a hole before putting in the lawn, burying the wood on site is a lot cheaper than disposing of it away from the building site. Of course termites find this treasure trove and set up a colony.I lived for about 8 years in Texas back in the 50's and 60's and at that time I never saw the fumigating thing done. It might even be done here in Ky AFAIK but when I had a swarm in my foyer about 15 years ago the pest control company put down a barrier of whatever chemical they were using at the time on the inside and outside perimeter. I have a policy with the pest control company and I am inspected once per year. If evidence is found then I get a new treatment free of charge.