Protect NIBs from - Silverfish etc...

[SB_Aust 42]

I was having a bit of spring clean today and decided to open one of my Sand Scorcher 2010 kits. To my horror I noticed a single dead Silverfish on the bottom, inside of the box. I know it's only one bug! I inspected the kit further and luckily there was no damage to any of the box etc. Generally silverfish are not a problem inside my house. This was my fault as I only had bubble wrap loosely wrapping the kit and this inside a cardboard box. Now I have gone through all my NIB's and completely sealed all of them inside large bags with silica gel satchets inside each as well. Bit Extreme?!With all these cardboard boxes in the house it would be a wonderland for Silverfish. I have used the large black 240L street bin bags. I was wondering what measures you all take to protect your precious kits from bugs etc?

[TamiyaDan 8]

del

[djmcnz 754]

Travel (vacuum) bags used for compressing clothes in luggage work well and aren't too expensive I don't think (perhaps I paid €15 for 5?).

They're tough plastic and pretty durable, you can also get most, although not all, air out. I got some that were big enough for an 1xAvante box or 2xM01 boxes. IIRC I had to get the largest size on offer. Also, many bed and bedding stores sell even larger versions (for storing linen etc) but the mark-up is huge in these stores.

Alternative is garbage bags as you've discovered. They should work fine and if they're dark have the added value of UV protection.

[Swarm 242]

It could be worse Stephen .

Mice could have eaten all your silverfish they would be more destructive than silverfish .

Hope you manage to get it under control mate .

[matman 1499]

Yer i have to deal with mice all the time , I didn't think about silverfish ( ******) . I will have to go through all my kits .

I have put out mice bait , traps to get ride of them . But living out in the middle of no where in the country it a big problem .

Some times it's like that movie mouse hunt Grrr . If i didn't have a husky dog that loves cats ( too eat ) i would almost get a cat to help

remove the mice problem .

What about moths as a problem let alone silverfish . This is almost a full time job , keeping our kits safe .

[SB_Aust 42]

Thanks guys I guess having mice puts things in perspective. lol. I do get the odd mouse mainly in summer. Cats and mice traps do the job around my house for now. Almost makes cockroaches and spiders seem like welcome guests, I guess they will hunt the silverfish. lol.

[Wez-li 1790]

Another way to protect NIBs is to open the kit and build it, then run it.

Just an idea

[mr crispy 2293]

Another way to protect NIBs is to open the kit and build it, then run it.

Just an idea

+1 that gets my vote

How about using cling film (or whatever they call the clear food wrap you put sandwiches in where you live). That will keep the insects out but I guess none of the options mentioned will stop determined rodents. I sometimes wonder what a fire hazard my loft is what with all the unmade model kits, boxes and random bits of packaging that'll come in handy one day... Im thinking to put a smoke alarm up there soon as it gets pretty hot in the summer

[TA-Mark 195]

Cats will protect the kits from mice... but what protects the kits from the cat?

My cat decided the Grasshopper box would make a nice bed. While she was in there she shreaded the instructions and the decal sheet with her claws. And she also has a nasty habit of chewing up antenna tubes. I've had to replace many to date.

Have you tried those electronic pest deterrents?

[Swarm 242]

Was speaking to the wife about Silverfish today while on our daily walk .

She said place some moth balls in the room where your kits are say 4 moths balls one for each corner or hang them in an old sock close to the kits so pets and small children do not eat them,I said but they are not moths she said silverfish and other critters as well as mice hate the smell .

Try Moth Balls Stephen .

[WillyChang 1814]

Silverfish go for starch & glue, other bugs eat organic material shedded off your skin or food crumbs etc.

Moths like eating silk & wool but are more attracted when the clothing haven't been washed after last use.

Then you've got the wood borer worms... if you're into wooden shelving.

Regular vacuuming removes most of the food sources.

Don't think mothballs (naphthlene) does much against silverfish, but they do stink up your stuff bad.

Try Camphor in addition to cleanliness... even if it doesn't deter, camphor is meant to reduce rusting,

craftsmen used to put it in their toolboxes to stop the steel edges from rusting.

Or u could just build the damned things & run them

[Swarm 242]

Either way its all pretty YUKKY which ever way you think about it WC .

The wife swears by Moth Balls ,Yes they smell filthy but work so she says .

The local shop had to use Naphthlene recently when we had a mouse plague and the shop still stinks but the mice are gone .

I have Moth Balls in my Army foot locker with all my old gear its stinks to high heaven ,if I ever had to use the gear again for hunting the smell would give me away before I even got close to the Animal.

[WillyChang 1814]

what's yukky... there's whole microscopic ecosystems that live off the dead skin cells & hair you've shedded,

plus a lot more are just waiting spring into action on your viscera soon after your final living breath... its a fact of life

worse are the ppl who go fishing in the Yarra for eels & catfish... do they realise what those scavengers eat?

[Swarm 242]

what's yukky... there's whole microscopic ecosystems that live off the dead skin cells & hair you've shedded,

plus a lot more are just waiting spring into action on your viscera soon after your final living breath... its a fact of life

worse are the ppl who go fishing in the Yarra for eels & catfish... do they realise what those scavengers eat?

Same as Prawns mate they are the scavengers of the Ocean if people knew what Prawns ate they would steer clear of them .

I know about the skin eaters..bed bugs and so forth its all still very unsavoury.

[WillyChang 1814]

yup - prawns, crays, yabbies... they're all scavengers; worse are the filterers (shellfish molluscs)

Bed bugs don't eat dead stuff though, they only want fresh blood.

Caught a bad case of it in a motel in Can(t?)berra, since then we've learnt to detect the faint almondny smell they have.

Unfortunately they're pretty hardy... they can go over a year without eating, lay eggs in every nook & cranny

that most insecticides & fumigation won't kill... only sure way is to deep freeze for a week or autoclave the bed frame.

[Swarm 242]

A body washed up years ago on Stockton beach Newcastle when I was a teenager it had Prawns stuck all over it eating it the hang glider had gone missing about a week before the cops were last seen trying to push the body back out to into the surf they wanted to palm the body off to the water police who were waiting in a boat off shore (paperwork apparently),The cops boasted about this story at the Sergeant's mess where they use to drink with my Dad I overheard them telling the story to my Dad and other Sergeant's,needless to say Ocean finger food was not on the menu anymore at the mess.

Most common way to transfer bed bugs from a Motel room to your bed is to place your bag on the Motel bed nearly everybody does this and once you get home you do the same thing place your bag on your bed transfer complete .

Easy way to avoid Motel bed bugs ,Don't saty in Motels I refuse to stay in them no matter what, if you want to see what is in a Motel room just get one of those UV lights and scan it around the Motel room its enough to get you packing !!

[WillyChang 1814]

Bedbugs aren't just from bedding only either... recently some ppl got itchy after flying some big airline?

Yeah never put your luggage on your own bed after arriving home - never know where's it been.

Ours is usually emptied out outside and dirty clothes washed in hot water.

If you've got the time, case should be sunned before putting away.

Same with newly arrived kits too quarantine them before introducing to your existing stash.

[marui hunter 0]

hi guy's, i have a few vintage kits and have a small infestation of silverfish, id like to know how to get rid of them. prefer to place a natural product in each box so they dont like being in there.

[Percymon 2184]

this thread might have soem solutions..

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=63267&hl=silverfish

[TWINSET 1793]

[Threads merged]

[beefmuffin 1156]

well i keep all my kits and entire collection in my garage, which used to be infested with spiders. i HATE HHHATE H A T E spiders and most bugs. i understand ecology yada yada but i'd be happy to never see another bug as long as i live. i know this is off topic, but i started to realize that the only way to deal with the spiders was to attack their egg sacks before thousands of tiny spiderlings can descend into every corner of your home. i got a fly swatter-like gadget that uses a step-up transformer to zap bugs between two conductive screens. kills them with a pleasing *pop* and spark. i wanted to try not using chemicals so i just went to town zapping all the egg sacks i could find which is just a horrid thing if you know what they are all about. a lot of people don't notice the tiny spiderlings in their house but they are small and light enough to literally float in the air like dandelion seeds and spread all over the place. so when i'd go for an egg sack my zapper would start going crazy zapping like 100 times and frying the lot of them with a little puff of smoke and a nasty burnt hair smell. well, it worked to some extent but i eventually capitulated and got some natural bug spray (essential oils) as well as some poison sprays and to top it off i got some of these to keep one hanging in the garage at all times:

http://www.hotshot.c...Pest-Strip.aspx

now, i'm pretty sure these are illegal in the UK and possibly everywhere but the US and botswana but they are kind of magical. there are strict warnings that you can't use them anywhere you spend more than 4 hours a day, which is fine for the garage. ever since i started using them there have been ZERO webs in the garage, and no other bugs either, which is the only reason i've been able to keep my collection in the garage. these things can be used to keep vacation homes or storage places bug free. they need to be replaced every few months. they slow-release a mild neurotoxin which can be dangerous to people but is much much more deadly to arthropods. when i set it up within a few days there were a scattering of dead spiders and bugs around the floor of the garage. it killed the ones that were there and clearly has kept out any new ones.

now, i do have some misgivings about the active ingredient in these, especially since i have a toddler, but i'm very careful to keep the garage door closed at all times and it is on another floor of the house than where he spends all his time. i don't let him in the garage at all, or maybe once or twice for at most a minute at a time with the garage door open. i may be paranoid, but i'm happy with how well this product works at controlling bugs while at the same time i want to minimize any risk to the human pests living in the house.

now another thing that i've found very effective, though significantly less effective than the poison strips, and needing to be refreshed much more often, is essential oils. particularly peppermint, eucalyptis and cedar oils. bugs hate these and will stay away from anywhere you've drizzled or sprayed them. these are the active ingredients in most natural insect control products... but you can get them in little concentrated vials and in addition to working wonders on bugs they also smell great and are used for aroma therapy. you can get special diffusers to help spread them around a room, but i've just gone with the direct method of applying directly to window sills, corners of rooms, inside my piano, etc where i know bugs like to be. i've also found cedar blocks and balls to help keep away some bugs. i hate the smell of moth balls, so i've never tried them, but they might work too.

so, there you have it. sorry for the TL;DR.

[Daves956 157]

You can try cinnamon and cloves around the boxes themselves but a quick call to an exterminator is your best bet.

[Tamiya1/10 382]

1) Air out the box and manuals

2) Place box in air tight container, if possible

3) Place some moth balls inside the container or box

check out google for ridding of silverfish.

[backtomyroots 432]

Build the kits .

Then store the built rides in big storage bins ! (As I have done).

[mr crispy 2293]

Build the kits .

Then store the built rides in big storage bins ! (As I have done).

A big +1 to that!

Build the kits, throw away the boxes or sell them on eBay to fund more kits. Drive your new builds daily. Problem solved!