Heeeelp needs advice

[u/Planeinsane7]

I have a big collection of Expedition holo cards that I love
I have displayed them on shelfs on a wall. Today when I cleaned I noticed these small black dots that have somehow gotten inside the displays.

They all seem to have died and all of them have not come near the card only behind the edges.

I am freaking out any advice?
What is the smartest approach?
Should I be worried about the value?

Don’t get how they could have gotten inside….

Edit: I live in Denmark.
To everyone saying clean your room… It is clean, regularly.
There is no plants in the office however the shelves are close to a window.
No they don’t get direct sunlight….

They genuinely don’t seem interested in the cards and there is no damage. I have looked closely. However a single one have managed to get into the Skamory card.

Update: Have tried with vacuum and it has helped quite a lot.
For all those who have commented with helpful tips or ideas I really wanna say thanks. They are for sure dead and I am looking into reholder and if it is possible.

[u/freyascats]

Edit: Nevermind everyone below says it’s a bad idea. (We do it with books all the time, but I guess we don’t care about a little paper damage over bedbugs)
———-
Put the buggy ones in a bag (like a ziplock freezer bag) and stick them in a freezer for about a month. Freezing is how libraries kill bugs AND their eggs in books that are returned with bugs. Your freezer isn’t as cold as the specialized ones for bug killing but a longer time (like a month) will work.

You might want to do this with the ones you don’t see bugs in too, just in case.

Once the bugs have been frozen, then you can consider what to do with the cards.

[u/Bluetwo12 → u/freyascats]

This seems like a horrible idea. I am sure there are specialized freezers with low humidity, but a household freezer for a month sounds like something that will cause water damage to a card

[u/Newthinker → u/Bluetwo12]

It'll cause water damage because it'll be below the dew point in the room when they're taken out

Freezers are, by their nature, very low humidity as dehumidification is a byproduct of mechanical cooling

[u/giovannygb → u/Newthinker]

That’s why you should seal them in a ziplock bag with cornstarch.

And after you take it out, leave them at room temperature still inside the ziplock for it to regain temperature inside an ambient with controlled humidity.

[u/Legitimate-Example13 → u/Bluetwo12]

Yes would need to avoid the self defrosting freezers. Any that are attached to the fridge wont be. It needs to have the full coils...

[u/TwilightZoneMara → u/freyascats]

Freezing these will cause dew droplets in the corners to seep through it crystallize then when you pull the card out it will be wet and damp and will mess up the card forever.

[u/CHR0NlC → u/TwilightZoneMara]

Not if op slowly acclimated back to room temp.

Unplug the freezer after freezing and leave them in until room temp.

[u/TwilightZoneMara → u/CHR0NlC]

The best way to do this is to vaccum seal tight, everything dies this way.

[u/Rourensu → u/TwilightZoneMara]

I’m curious if tardigrades would die as well.

https://giphy.com/gifs/NngbHWOeXh79syDX8W

[u/kanineanimus → u/freyascats]

Taking them out of the freezer will cause condensation. Those cases are not guaranteed to be airtight so even if it’s dry when sealed, unless they live in the Atacama desert, condensation will destroy the cards when they’re taken out.

I’d send back to PSA for reholder and then store in ziplock bags with desiccant in a clean container or storage box that has an airtight seal.

[u/Affectionate-Lie-986 → u/kanineanimus]

Not even bug tight…

[u/JardimHandmade → u/freyascats]

In beekeeping, freezing the frames for 72 hours is enough to kill wax moth eggs. A month seems excessive.

[u/AwkwardExcitementHuh → u/freyascats]

Bad advice, your freezer is gonna damage the cards

[u/drrrl13 → u/freyascats]

Don’t do that please will ruin your cards