woodworm query

[jmontagu@vax.ox.ac.uk]

Gentlemen, a question regarding a woodworm treatment.

A flyer has just arrived from a firm called Thermo Lignum purporting to
provide a treatment well-established in Germany, in which articles of all
sorts are heated to 55 degrees C, which kills all manner of pests (not
just woodworm but all sorts of furniture and other beasties) while doing
no damage to your object becuase the relative humidity of the object is
measured before treatment begins and the humidity is then controlled to
stay at that level throughout. 

Sounds improbable to me, but worth checking since, as they point out in
their sales literature, it avoids the use of all toxic materials. They
don't specify sizes in the initial literature, so while I assume they
could debug a flute, I don't know whether harpsichords are possible*. Nor
do they say anything about costs. 

Before investigating further I thought I'd ask MICAT advice; maybe
Friedemann has come across the German parent firm? 

*Just noticed that the brochure illustrates a large (c.2m high) bookcase
or wardrobe, so presumably a harpsichord might be possible.  Also books
and clothes. 

They don't give the name of the German firm but merely say that there is
now a complete network of treatment centres in that country. Personally I
suspect that even if the heat killed the bugs it would probably also open
all the glue joints, but I'd be interested to hear a more expert opinion. 

Jeremy Montagu (jmontagu@vax.ox.ac.uk), Bate Collection, Oxford