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"Yes, bugs are the national plague of
This quote is from Father Francis Xavier Seelos, a Catholic priest who died in 1867 after contracting Yellow Fever, a fatal mosquito-borne disease. In one of the ironies of all ironies, pests continue be a part of his story; the reliquary containing the remains of Father Seelos (kept at the National Shrine of Blessed Francis X. Seelos, in New Orleans) was being destroyed by furniture beetles Anobium punctatum. But thanks to a collaborative effort by The City of New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board (NOMTCB) and
The Seelos shrine is an account of E&G Pest Control, and it was E&G Owner/Manager Gary Whelen who brought the situation to the attention of NOMTCB. Parishioners actually noticed the problem first after observing the powder that the furniture beetles left behind.
The account presented several challenges, beginning with the inspection. Although it was apparent the reliquary was being destroyed by a wood-destroying insect, the reliquary was behind a glass encasement, making the exact identification of the WDI pest nearly impossible. “At one point they were able to open the glass encasement because they were re-doing the glass, so they called us and we were able to come in and collect a sample,” said Ken Brown, principal research entomologist, The City of New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board.
Brown confirmed that infestation was furniture beetles Anobium punctatum. “The defining
About Anobium punctatum
characteristics are a series of pits on the elytra that occur in longitudinal rows,” Brown said.
After confirming the pests as furniture beetles, it was decided that the best treatment strategy was a seal-and-tape fumigation. The reliquary, however, could not be moved from its location for religious reasons. Mr. B’s Services,
“Probably the most unusual part of the fumigation was that it was a seal-and-tape fumigation within a structure. Most of the time in these situations you can remove the item and do a container fumigation,” said Brown. “Otherwise it was a fairly standard fumigation.”
Seelos was a popular priest in