Pictures - moths poop in my woofer!

[irb]

In a previous thread (here) I mentioned that one of my Pentachord woofer modules had suffered a particularly undignified fate - moths had got inside it, and had eaten their way through all the original wool stuffing. (To be more exact, it would have been moth larvae that did the eating, as Vinny pointed out.) The result was a pile of moth larvae poop (or frass, to give it its proper name), on my carpet.

Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the disaster - cleaning it up seemed more important at the time. However, earlier this week I decided to dismantle one of the woofers from that module, as it was still not working properly. Turns out that the moth poop had got inside the driver. So here it is, in all its glory. No wonder the driver was making funny noises.

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[Vinny]

I take no pride at all in any contribution to correct allocation of blame etc., but that looks like some very serious and incredibly extensive damage, but entirely similar to what I have seen elsewhere other than in speakers.

Hopefully getting sorted?

 

[irb]

I take no pride at all in any contribution to correct allocation of blame etc., but that looks like some very serious and incredibly extensive damage, but entirely similar to what I have seen elsewhere other than in speakers.

Hopefully getting sorted?

Yes, all cleaned up now. Here's a picture after a cleaning session.

I've reassembled the driver and have been testing it over the last few days. All seems OK. Full reassembly of the bass modules should happen in the next day or two.

 

[stevec67]

That's bad news. Moths are a pain, theyw ill live on any natural material and once installed they get enough water from eating and digesting the food. Wool, cotton and similar are all fair game, and once they get into a speaker cabinet they will stay there until there's nothing left to eat.

 

[irb]

That's bad news. Moths are a pain, theyw ill live on any natural material and once installed they get enough water from eating and digesting the food. Wool, cotton and similar are all fair game, and once they get into a speaker cabinet they will stay there until there's nothing left to eat.

This has been my first experience of moths attacking speakers. I'd like it to be the last, so I made sure that the long-fibre wool I bought to replace the old stuff is mothproofed!

 

[Marchbanks]

I hope you have Moths Poop In My Woofer under copyright as an album title.

 

[irb]

I hope you have Moths Poop In My Woofer under copyright as an album title.

Excellent idea! Or maybe a short story.

 

[stevec67]

This has been my first experience of moths attacking speakers. I'd like it to be the last, so I made sure that the long-fibre wool I bought to replace the old stuff is mothproofed!

Seems wise. Some general purpose insecticide will do it.

 

[irb]

Update: the modules are now restored to health. I ended up having to do repairs on all four drivers, replace the lost wool, and find a way to seal the gap round the woofers. Worth it though. Here's a picture of the Pentachords back in action:

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[JimmyB]

Look great! Are they small (sealed?) boxes on top of bass columns?

 

[irb]

Look great! Are they small (sealed?) boxes on top of bass columns?

Yes they are. The bass columns have twin woofers in an isobaric configuration, the sound exiting at the bottom.

 

[Rug Doc]

How amazing. I obviously see a lot of moths in my trade, but I have never heard of a moth attacking a speaker!

They’ll probably be lurking in the carpet.. if you’d like me to send you a pet proof moth killer spray once my work is open again I will do with pleasure.

 

[irb]

Thanks - I'll pm you.