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Termites & Beetles Found In Room At Vizcaya, Treatment Underway

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A room at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is undergoing a special treatment to get rid of termites and beetles.

The process is called anoxia will remove the pests from the Lady Hamilton Bedroom.

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The Lady Hamilton Bedroom at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (Source: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)

According to Vizcaya officials, the pests were discovered earlier in the summer in the room's furnishings, window frames and doors.

The wood-eating insects, such as termites and beetles, damage Vizcaya's antique furniture and decorative objects.

After communicating with pest removal and furniture experts, the anoxia chamber was determined to be the best solution.

The anoxia chamber, or bubble, is made of a plastic film.

Oxygen within the chamber is slowly replaced with inert nitrogen gas supplied by the large green tanks.

Conditions inside the chamber will be monitored by the museum's collection care team over the next several weeks until treatment is completed.

The insects die within two to three weeks as the relative humidity drops.

The Lady Hamilton Bedroom is decorated in the Neoclassic style popular in the late 18th and early 19th century.

Designer Paul Chalfin named the room for Emma, wife of the English ambassador to Naples and a prominent collector of ancient art.

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