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Do bugs get in caskets?

Once buried, most caskets cannot keep bugs out indefinitely due to the natural decomposition process. However, some measures – such as the use of burial vaults and airtight seals – can keep bugs out for hundreds or even thousands of years.

casketquestions.com - Do Caskets Keep Bugs Out After Being Buried?

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Thinking about what happens to a casket after it has been buried can be downright unpleasant. Most people want to remember the deceased as they were when they were alive, rather than what happens to their body after they’ve been buried.

However, it’s hard to deny natural curiosity. Caskets appear strong and impenetrable in the funeral home, but just how long do they last in the ground?

Moreover, are caskets effective at keeping bugs out?

How Do Caskets Keep Bugs Out?

When and whether bugs will get into a casket depends on several factors, including:

The materials from which the casket is made

Whether a burial vault is used

The quality of the seal.

Here are some of the most common factors that keep bugs out of caskets:

1. The Airtight Seal

Airtight seals for caskets come in two forms:

A rubber gasket (which is used to seal the casket itself and keep out the elements). A concrete burial vault (which is placed at the bottom of the grave). However, these seals aren’t leak-proof. Depending on the climate, soil acidity, temperature, and moisture, the seal will degrade over time and allow bugs into the casket. Even after a casket is buried, heavy machinery passing over the grave or the weight of the dirt itself may cause the lid of the vault or casket to crack, immediately making it possible for bugs to enter.

2. Materials With Slow Decomposition Time

Most materials will decompose with time, the exception being some metals (like stainless steel or gold) and fiberglass. Metal will decompose at a much slower rate than caskets made of wood or cardboard. The slower the decomposition time of the casket, the longer it will keep bugs out. When a material begins to decompose, the casket’s structural integrity becomes compromised, leading to cracks and weak spots in the casket where bugs, water, dirt, and other elements can enter.

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This means that regardless of how long the casket takes to fully degrade, bugs will get inside the casket as soon as it begins to decompose.

How Long Does It Take for Bugs to Get into Caskets?

The amount of time it takes for bugs to get into a casket largely depends on the type of material the casket is made from. Below is a breakdown of how long it takes bugs to get into the various types of caskets:

Eco-Friendly Caskets

Caskets made for green burials (also called natural burials or eco-friendly burials) are designed to decompose quickly and therefore won’t be effective in keeping out bugs. Green burials also don’t incorporate the use of embalming fluid, encouraging bugs and microbial activity to quickly take hold. Cardboard is the fastest casket material to decompose, taking only 6 – 8 months to fully degrade. Of course, bugs will be able to get into the casket almost immediately, given how it disintegrates once it encounters moisture. Wicker is another eco-friendly casket material, which is usually made of bamboo, willow, or seagrass. While the wicker itself takes about 3 – 4 years to fully degrade, it is extremely porous, allowing bugs to immediately enter through the holes in the latticework.

Metal Caskets

Metal caskets – including stainless steel – remain intact for hundreds or even thousands of years. Tin takes about 50 years to fully degrade, and aluminum degrades after about 250 years. However, the most common metals used to make caskets are:

Stainless steel

Copper

Bronze

Gold

Gold caskets are the longest lasting, as archaeologists have unearthed gold artifacts thousands of years old that are still in pristine shape. While the metal caskets themselves remain impenetrable, the seals are not. Depending on how the casket is sealed, the material will eventually degrade and allow water, dirt, bacteria, and bugs into the casket.

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Some materials, such as tin, aluminum, and iron, are susceptible to rust and will corrode within a few hundred years.

Wooden Caskets

Wooden caskets have been used for centuries, from the simple rough-hewn handmade coffins to the lacquered, professional-grade caskets of today. Hardwoods will last longer without wear than softer, more porous woods. The most common hardwoods used for caskets are:

Walnut

Cherry

Mahogany

These woods tend to be the heaviest, and cost quite a bit more than softer woods because of their weight and longevity. Hardwood caskets usually last more than 10 years. However, bugs will get into the casket far before the casket fully degrades. Soft woods are often used in eco-friendly burials because they decompose much quicker. Eco-friendly burials use unfinished wood, ensuring that no chemical materials are used in the burial.

Regarding weight, they are also lighter. These woods include:

Birch

Maple

Oak

Poplar

Willow

Softwood caskets usually decompose alongside the body within 5 – 10 years. However, once the structural integrity of the casket is compromised, bugs will enter, usually within the first couple of years or even sooner.

Conclusion

Unless a casket is made of metal and sealed with a material that won’t degrade, bugs will eventually get inside. The length of time it takes for bugs to penetrate the casket depends on various factors. These include whether an airtight seal or a burial vault is used, and the rate of decomposition of the material from which the casket is made.

casketquestions.com - Do Caskets Keep Bugs Out After Being Buried?

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