Exploring

Pest Management

Responding to Pest Infestation

Monitoring

Sticky traps such as this one can help to determine the number and type of insects in a specific area.

If a few insects are observed in the building, monitor the situation with sticky traps (available in hardware and grocery stores) to determine the type of insect(s), the number of insects, and their entry points. Place traps in consistent locations, number and date them, and inspect them routinely. If results are negative, relocate the traps. Once insects have been trapped, identify them to determine what threat they pose to collections.

In cases where there is a serious insect infestation that does not respond to preventive techniques, direct treatment for insect infestation may be necessary.

Non-chemical Treatments

Controlled freezing and modified atmospheres have been used successfully to eradicate pests in cultural collections. Controlled freezing can be done in household or commercial freezers, blast freezers, or freezers with controlled temperature and humidity. Modified atmospheres (decreased oxygen, increased carbon dioxide, or use of an inert gas such as nitrogen) can be applied in a fumigation chamber or bubble, or in low-permeability plastic bags. Specific procedures must be followed for both methods; see Integrated Pest Management for details.

Heat, gamma radiation, and microwaves are used for insect control in food processing and other industries, but are not recommended for cultural collections due to their damaging effects on collections.

Chemical Treatments

Current preservation practice does not recommend extermination (chemical treatments) for pest problems except as a last resort, due to the toxic nature of pesticides.