Shipping Live Mollusks How to package your critters so they arrive alive! U.S. Forest Service Region 6 & Oregon/Washington U.S. Bureau of Land Management Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program (ISSSSP) July
Step 1: Fill two quart-size recloseable bags with ice cubes. If it is over 60°, you may want to use 1 bag of ice cubes and 2 that are solid blocks. (It depends on how many specimens you are shipping)
Step 2: Place specimen containers inside their own recloseable bag and seal shut.
Step 3: Wrap the specimen bag in bubble wrap or add packaging “peanuts” to create a dead air space around the specimens to keep them from freezing next to the ice.
Step 4: Assemble all the packaging parts. Specimen bag 2 gal. zip bag 2 bags of solid ice blocks – for when it is over 60° F. Bag of ice cubes
Step 5: Make a sandwich in the 2 gallon recloseable bag – place the 2 ice blocks on the bottom bag followed by the bag of specimen containers and finish with the bag ice cubes on the top. Seal the bag shut.
Step 6: Wrap with newspaper and secure with tape.
Step 7: Place the package in a box and pad with packaging peanuts or air pillows. Ship FedEx overnight to the taxa expert.