KA-7002 Deep Freeze for Roach Eggs?

dasundas

New Member
I've recieved various components, home theater system (2008) & albums from late 60's-70s. Problem being is the former owner had a problem w/German cockroaches. I'm not interested in any potential lingering eggs. I do not care for posion or heating 140* F for a couple of hrs.

Me choosen option is a couple of days of deep freeze. Six * below 0 F to be exact. The KA-7002 is to be the next in line. Are there any issues I should be concerned about storing at this temperature for a few days?

As well any similar general advice on albums or speakers/subwoofer would be appreciated and thanks in advance.
 
I would think 140* would be closer to design temps than 6 below... think shipping containers. I'd be concerned about plastic cracking and extreme contraction of dissimilar stuff. Still exists with heating, but heat and flexibility go together sometimes...
 
As with most things "plastic", I'm pretty sure that vinyl records would get pretty brittle at extremely low temperatures. I also don't think that electrolytic capacitors would fare very well under those conditions either. PCB/solder joints may also be compromised from contraction stress at that temperature, as well.

I'd fumigate in a controlled space at ambient temperature with a chitin inhibitor pesticide.(also known as IGRs--insect growth regulators). They are pretty non-toxic to humans and pets, but effective against insects. Their mode of action is to prevent the synthesis of chitin--the material that the exoskeleton of insects is made of.
 
Roaches die at 120* F, but regulating/confirming 130-140* on an old electric range could be a mite tricky. Not to mention at this time of year I'm attempting to keep the indoor temps 65-75* or so. I know some equipment comes w/low-high operating temps combined w/lower/higher storage temps. The freezer is the easiest option as eggs die at 0* F after a couple of days.

As is everything is stored inside of garbage bags. Those bags are inside of a car under an open, on two sides, carport. There's no big rush though if freezing was an option it could be carried out fairly swiftly.

Howevah, I will look into "chitin inhibitor pesticide".
 
Howevah, I will look into "chitin inhibitor pesticide".

Worth looking into--as I said, non-toxic to pets and people--they are among the active ingredients for the pet flea and tick medications you see all the time on TV (like Frontline and K-9 Advantix). Their mode of action is to prevent the exoskeleton from forming, so should an egg hatch, the "baby" would never be able to form a skeleton and die very quickly.

Heating to 120-140 *F is probably easier on the records and gear than extreme cooling--most electronic components are rated at 80-105 *C, and vinyl is stable to at least 150 *F.

I'm no entymologist, but are you certain that the temperatures you are referring to will indeed render the eggs non-viable? Those temps may kill adults, but will they actually "kill" the eggs. The cold especially may just cryo-preserve them, just like a human embryo or sperm/egg sample.
 
"I'm no entymologist, but are you certain that the temperatures you are referring to will indeed render the eggs non-viable? Those temps may kill adults, but will they actually "kill" the eggs. The cold especially may just cryo-preserve them, just like a human embryo or sperm/egg sample."


To say I'm clueless would be too kind. The standup freezer can be set from -10 to +10*F. Using the manual I posted it would appear that +10*, over a few days, would be enough to kill potential eggs though I originally posted -6*..

ETA: Well, I did a little search and LPs notwithstanding I found this thread:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....eratures-damage-solid-state-equipment.623403/
 
Yeah, don't ice down roach eggs in MY freezer! Ugh!
 
I once bought a unit from a guy to find out when I got home it was infested, I sprayed it and took it back to him and got my money back.
Won't deal with the filthy little beggars, they make my skin crawl. I once had a small house in Lake Worth that had Scorpions that didn't
bother me as much as roaches do. I wouldn't waste my time on it, take it back to him for a refund. Once you get the German ones, odds
are you'll never get rid of them, unless of course you burn the place to the ground and make it so none can escape.
 
We live in a college town and a couple times a year there are all kinds of neat things on the curb as the latest crop of students bail from their rented housing.
I look at the piles of nice things on the curb and my wife just mumbles "bed bugs; bed bugs" and I know to drive on and let them be ...
 
Iced down eggs on crackers for caviar de la roach.Yummy. Washing them down w/tepid runoff water generously sprinkled w/mosquito larvae for ambiance plus fiber.

The equipment was given to me. Since I have nothing in it I lose nothing if any deep six in a deep freeze. The place from whence they came was sprayed for bugs. I do not know if any eggs are present, but I looked at the big chill as a viable option.

ETA: Research published in the Journal of Economic Entomology found that some bed bugs survived short exposure to temperatures as low as -13 degrees F. However, if they’re exposed to extreme cold (below 0° F) for several days, they will die.
 
If you wish to keep it, that's up to you. If it were mine I'd put it a large thick zip lock bag and store in the garage or even outside where it is warm so that any eggs left would hatch and the
filthy little B*$@%#'s would be trapped and die, and leave it for at least a month to make sure nothing survived, maybe even spray the inside of the bag before closing to make sure they die
because they'll cannibalize to stay alive. Roaches can survive a nuclear bomb and freezing them I don't believe will kill them, there not bed bugs.
If you've ever seen a home that was infested with the dirty things you'd think twice about saying you have nothing to lose. That's just my opinion and not to be taken any other way.
 
As someone who's lived through a roach problem in an apartment (Still not convinced it wasn't caused by some computer gear I bought, but I'm not telling the landlord that...), you do NOT want to learn what that's all about if you haven't already.

I like the sealed bag for a month or more idea, though it may be possible that if there are roaches that they will eat stuff inside the equipment (wire insulation etc) that you might not want them chewing into.

I'd probably build a little box out of foam board, put the equipment inside with a bug bomb and duct tape it to the floor and leave it for a week or two.
 
As someone who's lived through a roach problem in an apartment (Still not convinced it wasn't caused by some computer gear I bought, but I'm not telling the landlord that...), you do NOT want to learn what that's all about if you haven't already.

I like the sealed bag for a month or more idea, though it may be possible that if there are roaches that they will eat stuff inside the equipment (wire insulation etc) that you might not want them chewing into.

I'd probably build a little box out of foam board, put the equipment inside with a bug bomb and duct tape it to the floor and leave it for a week or two.

I don't think they would see wire wrap/insulation as food, and I don't remember there being any paper elements in my KA-7002 (they seek starches/sugars).
 
I don't think they would see wire wrap/insulation as food, and I don't remember there being any paper elements in my KA-7002 (they seek starches/sugars).

Maybe it's only rats/mice that get into insulation.

German Cockroaches LOVE the heat the electronic and electrical equipment produce, it's a great incubator for them, this I KNOW.
I've seen refrigerators infested and not because of the food element inside. They get within the doors and seals and insulation of them and are next to impossible to get rid of.
Some roaches do prefer paper products and damp areas in which to live and eat but, the German roach loves the insides of radios, amps, TV's
stereo equipment, kitchen appliances, electric clocks, so on and so on because of the warmth. They are the hardest little filthy Bast**ds to get rid
of and if by chance you do, odds are they all just moved to the neighbors till it's safe to return or go deep within the walls.
In fact when you see them roaming around during the day in plain sight is a good sign the walls are so full of them that some are forced to look else where for shelter.
There is virtually nothing that can get rid of a bad infestation of them this side a Napalm.
 
I was referring to their diet, and damage caused as a result. I have no doubt that they seek warm and dark spaces.
 
I like the "time is on your side" camp. Personally I would open up the case/cover/ etc., put it all in a big contractor bag, set off one of those fumigation bombs at the opening and seal it up for a month, then do it once more just to be sure. Then again, I'm from the Tim Allen "MORE POWER" way of thinking.
 
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