What is actually Eating Your Violin Bow Hair? It May Be Bow Bugs
We’ve all heard of “Mattress Bugs.” But did you know there are also “Bow Bugs?” Without a doubt there are — small arthropods (similar to moths) that reside inside of your violin scenario and munch horse hair. How do you know that your circumstance is infested? There are specified tell-tale signs. A person is an accelerated fee of horse hair breakage on your bow(s). Yet another is the physical appearance of damaged bow hairs in a spidery pattern inside of your situation. You may well even see crawling or dead bugs, or discover the exoskeletons they depart behind when the molt.
These bugs like to are living in the dim. They are most probable to reside in situations that are remaining shut for extensive intervals of time. Simply because they abhor the mild, they are rarely uncovered in cases that are opened usually. Fortuitously, they do not like to try to eat violins and, aside from destroying horse hair, they are or else harmless. On the other hand, once they have taken up home, they are tricky to eradicate and can be transferred from situation to scenario.
How to get rid of them? It is generally a very good plan to invest in a new case and to re-hair any affected bows. Nevertheless, if this is not an possibility, one more option is to expose the situation and bows to daylight more than a interval of many days, which need to destroy the insects. You might also opt to spray the circumstance with moth insecticide. Nevertheless, you must then continue to keep the violin in a risk-free place right until the chemical dries, to stay away from harm to your violin.
For working with “Bow Bugs,” avoidance is the best overcome. Consider not to permit your circumstance to sit unopened or in storage for very long periods of time — violinists who observe on a regular basis not often encounter this challenge.