When it comes to synthetics, should I also place those in containers with mothballs or pest strips? Since the pest ate through the plastic zip-locks bags to get to my capes, I am assuming the answer is yes.
Personally, in close to 3 decades at the bench, (God, I’m old!), I’ve never had insects attack any of my man made materials. Nor, have I even had insects eat into my Zip Locks. I keep the Moth-B-Dead", in my Zip Locks of course, but, never had insects chew through the plastic, then run into the moth killer and stop!?!
I’d guess perhaps, the insects in question on your capes, were eating their way OUT of the Zip Locks, not IN!?
I don’t think synthetics are a problem, Being that they aren’t natural the bugs wont like them???
TyroneFly,
I have cedar balls in my material drawers and there will NEVER be any moth balls in them!
Here is a suggestion; Get one of these! 
Doug
Dude:
If your bugs ate through Zip Lock bags I’d move to another state!!!
That’s some scary BUGS!
I wouldn’t worry about the synthetics. I never bother doing anything with mine and never had a problem.
If you have bugs that eat synthetic fibers you have a much bigger problem that only radiation will solve.
Sorta like one of those 1950’s monster movies! :shock:
I hope you don’t have any leisure suits hanging around…
Zip locks are good but I put mine a plastic container with a sealing lid. The sealed container keeps out rodents and such as well as bugs. The zip locks are more of a double protection for a bug barrier rather than rodents and the like. I don’t have any bug or rodent problems and I believe its because of the thick sealed plastic containers more than anything. I do this so I don’t have to use moth balls and get sick from smelling the stink of moth ball fumes.
I keep my synthetics in the same containers. Rodents and such may want to use some synthetics and even natural materials for nesting materials. I wouldn’t think that bugs would want to get into synthetics like natural materials though.
Not to highjack or anything,But where are you guys keeping your stuff if you feel you have to protect it from Rodents!!!
Mice can and do get into houses from time to time. I just don’t like to take the chance if one or more does happen to get into the house.
I own a ranch, backed up to forest land.
“Meeces” are a natural occurrence, with farm/ranch life when you have grain, hay, livestock, feed, etc.
We don’t get them in the house all that often, but every once in a great while, Minnie and Mickey will shoot out of a hole somewhere.
Thankfully, our two “mousers” keep things well under control!
The capes that were infested I had for at least 2 to 4 years in zip lock bags. Since I did not have an issue previous to this one, I suspected the buggers must have chewed their way through the zip lock bags. In my research I am finding that eggs can lay dormant for a long while before hatching and this may be what I experienced, a delayed hatch of eggs that where in my capes. But I did read somewhere that bugs can eat through zip lock bags, but I cannot find the source to give you a link at the moment. Could be bad info and the dorman eggs reason seems the likely culprit. Dang bugs! I am about 15% through the cleaning, drying and bagging stage. I don’t wish this on my enemy. What a pain!
Thanks everyone for your help.
TyroneFly,
This is as close as I could get to answering the question of whether bugs eat plastic; http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem/57840/TrainingBugstoEatPlastic.aspx
Doug
Doug,
Interesting article. May be some day all products will be made this way. May be our landfills won’t be so full in the future.