80 THE EEPOL'T OF THE No. 36 



but a large isolated mill, catering mainly to export trade, sliould avoid infestation 

 if proper precautions are taken. 



In probably 90 per cent, of the mills noAV infested with moths the pest has 

 been introduced in second-hand bags. These bags are rarely taken into the mill. 

 In most cases they are dumped into the adjacent warehouse to be used for feed 

 stuffs. Sometimes they are cleaned with beaters or by suction, but a few eggs 

 are liable to escape destruction by either treatment. More often the bags are not 

 treated at all. In either case, the warehouse sooner or later becomes infested and 

 it is only a matter of time as to when the pest will appear in the mill itself. The 

 moths are rather unwilling fliers but they are \evy tame and are readily conveyed 

 from one room to another on the clothes of people passing back and forth. 



The remedies which are suggested for this means of infestation are: 



(1) To avoid using second hand bags entirely. This, however, is not often 

 ])racticable, except in the case of manufacturers of special brands of breakfast 

 foods, whose reputation would suffer immeasurably were they to be unfortunate 

 enough to distribute a consignment of " buggy " cereals among an unforgiving 

 j)ublic. 



(2) To sterilize l)y heat all second-hand bags before they are allowed to enter 

 the warehouse. The bags should be allowed to accumulate in a small detached 

 building which can be superheated say, once every two weeks; after each operation 

 all of the contained bags should be transferred to the warehouse before more are 

 admitted. 



For a new uuinfested mill such a method would pay for its small initial cost in 

 a few months. In so far as we are aware, this method is not actually in use as 

 yet in any mill, though it is " under construction "" in at least one plant. 



(3) To superheat the warehouse as well as the mill. This method would 

 entail too much expense to be practised for most mills, thougli it would be of 

 great value. 



Generally speaking, then, millers throughout the country are keenly alive to 

 the questions relating to the control of pests, but it would seem that a little mure 

 attention might be paid to the problem of avoiding re-infestation of a mill once 

 it has been effectively cleared of its present unwelcome guests. 



