If you were to put them in a bag and then inject helium gas wouldn't that kill them without harming the lenses? I'm assuming lack of oxygen would kill the bugs. The gas should be fairly easy to get ahold of. Good luck!
Read Adam Lane's story and tell me what you think from my posted picture. I am going to take a picture with a macro lens today and will show you guys the outcomes.
Bill Lubing wrote:
If you were to put them in a bag and then inject helium gas wouldn't that kill them without harming the lenses? I'm assuming lack of oxygen would kill the bugs. The gas should be fairly easy to get ahold of. Good luck!
Sure, but then all you'd have is dust mites that sound like The Chipmunks when they talk.
I once had an ant on the inside of an LCD display. The light trick worked. I put it in a dark room, shone a flashlight near an opening, let it sit for a few hours, and the and was never seen again.
Then again, not all bugs like light. Some don't even have eyes.
Holy crap! This beats the guy who had an ant crawling under his 1D top LCD window!
Seriously I have no advice to offer you. If that happened to me I would show the lens - well the bug actually - to an entomologist hoping he would tell me how to get rid of it.
I think the best would probably to contact Canon, before trying anything too crazy (for instance, the idea about sugar looks nice, but what if the bugs take the sugar IN the lens ? )
I'd be careful with any gas or vapor producing chemical. something as simple as the vapor from super glue can fog the coating on a lens beyond cleaning or repair.
I work in a lab so I can actually think of these things, but if you work with anyone thats in one as well, consider putting the lens in an enclosure and flooding it with some inert gas that isn't oxygen.
pchaplo wrote:
I do know one thing that will kill bugs: ether put some on a cotton ball (not touching the lens) in a sealed plastic bag like a zipper-lock bag. The fumes will send the worms for a good long nap into never-never land!
What is the "one thing"?
Suffocating them in inert gas is probably the safest for the equipment. I'm not sure how long it would take though.
I just happened to be cleaning my lens today and noticed a couple of those same bugs!! I wouldn't call it an infestation yet (knock on wood), but I'd be interested to see your results.
85% success! So I purchased a bunch of anti-dust mite spray at the local pharmacy, emptied out all of my gear and sprayed the venom on the bag, and then a tad on the gear itself. Put everything back in the bags, sprayed the outside of the bags, and 2 days later the bugs are dead.
So that solved the lens problem! (i hope). Now I just placed a couple of gels that are made to repel these bugs in each of the gears and storage room where I keep the equipment. I think they just simply vanished..they're smaller than dust! I sprayed my entire house with the same anti dust mite venom, that's why its 85% success so far. I just hope it keeps rising, because I don't want these suckers coming back!
Hope this thread was helpful to anyone seeking such an answer. I know it was frustrating for me to find the type of bug and solution, but thanks to many of you I was able to resolve the problem in one week!
wing tong wrote:
I just happened to be cleaning my lens today and noticed a couple of those same bugs!! I wouldn't call it an infestation yet (knock on wood), but I'd be interested to see your results.
I suggest you IMMEDIATELY take care of the problem, and when I mean IMMEDIATELY I mean GET UP from your chair, grab your keys, $10, and go to your local pharmacy or home depot and buy dust mite venom!
These things reproduce by the thousands daily, and I'm not even kidding. I eye-witnessed a bag I had that I didn't take care of and was simply FULL of these tiny bugs that look like dust.
You should have no problem getting rid of them.
And yes, get rid of all of the dust you possibly can. They feed on dust and human flesh.
)
Probably the best line I heard today.