Please don’t feel obligated to answer, this is a question my wife asked me recently …
We live in Florida and will be evacuating next week, not for a planned vacation nor a predicted hurricane. No, we are evacuating for dry wood termite Fumigation - the tent the house and everything dies routine. Fortunately our house will be a tape and seal, but the preparation on our end is still substantial.
I had expected to leave “most” firearm(s) and ammo secured in the locked safe until I was reading the long list of preparations and came across the bullet that said “if you have any safe(s), the door(s) must remain open during the Fumigation and extraction/air-out” i.e. 3 to 4 days. WHAT?
My wife has arranged for us to stay with one of our neighbors that has extra room available. Unfortunately, there will be an unstable person living there so having firearms and ammo not diligently secured is not an option. My wife suggested I just take my guns to one of my shooting buddies house and put them in his safe
I said I doubt if he has enough spare room in his safe for his AND my stuff. That’s when she asked the question… I gave it a serious 60 seconds of trying to do a mental inventory before I said “I think I need go take a real headcount”. She looked at me and said “just give me a number” - so, I gave her a number. She said “you just made that number up didn’t you?” All I could do was shrug my shoulders and nod.
Both of the guns I keep in the safe are headed to my buddies house next week
My answer is quite simple…I have “almost enough”. I need to get a “couple” more in the future. How many do I have and how many will I buy? I can’t say…but I do look forward to it.
Since safes are not air tight I believe there is risk the fumigation chemicals will not get removed during the air venting period and someone could open it and be exposed to a debilitating or lethal dose.
That makes more sense. Though since most safes are designed to keep smoke out when the fire seals expand you would think there would be a way to seal the door to keep the chemicals out.
@Gary_H I work in the restoration and mitigation business and am familiar with the process. The point I wish to make is that the Termite company needs to provide you with an SDS (Safety Data Sheet) for EVERY chemical they will use in your house as well as have you sign an Informed Consent before they Nuke your house. The regular bug killers don’t bother me in this case it is the one called Chlorine Dioxide(CLO2) and Ozone that do.
The reason is an unlicensed person doing “odor control” can use them and some nefarious pest companies use them as they kill bugs (and everything else) but aren’t EPA restricted if not used for “pesticides”. Now the real reason they bother me is that THEY ARE OXIDIZERS and will rust a piece of steel in a heartbeat. If they are killing bugs you want “Botanical’s” or natural killers, that failing permetherones and such. Oxidizers are no bueno for guns. FWIW, electric tape (buy the 3M good stuff and don’t stretch it) over the door seems and duct tape over that will keep all the bad chem’s out or you could tent your safe. Personally I would do both if it is a “Bug Bomb” situation.
It is a full tent fumigation but no tent because they can "seal " my house and actually do a better job than tenting. Sulfuryl fluoride is what they will be using and they have provided MSDS information regarding it.
I had planned on taping off the door, floor bolt holes, and electrical inlet holes which my fumigator said would work, but their policy is to leave the safe open.
Unfortunately I don’t have enough firearms and ammo to make moving them prohibitive, so going with the least resistance approach. I trust my buddy with my life, so I feel safe leaving my stuff in his care. He also only lives a couple blocks away
Enough to defend my family, not enough to stop buying more. Just like I need every size socket, and multiple styles of hammers (ie Ballpeen, framing, demo, mallet, sledge) firearms have different uses also.
I had a couple, then my dad died and I inherited a few more, then got a couple here and there. By the time it was all said and done I ended up with the exact right amount.
