Chests made of red cedar, popularly known as Virginia[11] or Tennessee
red cedar, if well constructed, will kill the very young larvæ of
carpet beetles. They will not kill the beetles, the older larvæ, or
the pupae, nor will they prevent the eggs from hatching. The writer
has known larvæ of the black carpet beetle[12] to remain apparently
unaffected in a red-cedar chest from June of one year to May of the
following year, and then to transform normally to the adult stage. The
older larvæ of carpet beetles can be removed from clothing before it
is stored in chests by thorough brushing. It is valuable to know that
red-cedar chests will kill the very young larvæ. It should always be
remembered that articles such as balls of yarn, floor skins backed
with woolen cloth, pillows stuffed with hair or feathers, and similar
objects in the interior of which the older carpet-beetle larvæ can hide
should not be placed in cedar chests until fumigated to kill the larvæ
hidden where they can not be reached by brushing.
[11] _Juniperus virginiana._
[12] _Attagenus piceus._