Insect Pests and Integrated Pest Management in Museums, Libraries and Historic Buildings.

Pascal Querner

doi:10.3390/insects6020595

Abstract

Insect pests are responsible for substantial damage to museum objects, historic books and in buildings like palaces or historic houses. Different wood boring beetles (Anobium punctatum, Hylotrupes bajulus, Lyctus sp. or introduced species), the biscuit beetle (Stegobium paniceum), the cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne), different Dermestides (Attagenus sp., Anthrenus sp., Dermestes sp., Trogoderma sp.), moths like the webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella), Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) and booklice (Psocoptera) can damage materials, objects or building parts. They are the most common pests found in collections in central Europe, but most of them are distributed all over the world. In tropical countries, termites, cockroaches and other insect pests are also found and result in even higher damage of wood and paper or are a commune annoyance in buildings. In this short review, an introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in museums is given, the most valuable collections, preventive measures, monitoring in museums, staff responsible for the IPM and chemical free treatment methods are described. In the second part of the paper, the most important insect pests occurring in museums, archives, libraries and historic buildings in central Europe are discussed with a description of the materials and object types that are mostly infested and damaged. Some information on their phenology and biology are highlighted as they can be used in the IPM concept against them.

Highlights

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in museums, libraries, archives and historic buildings is an important part of preventive conservation, focusing on the prevention of pest infestations and the reduction of pesticide application
Few museum organisations are big enough to fund a fulltime position for IPM; exceptions are, for example, English Heritage in the UK, where currently IPM is installed in 62 sites [27], the British
Knowing the pest species and their biology is an important part of IPM in museums, libraries, archives and historic buildings

Summary

IPM in Museums

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in museums, libraries, archives and historic buildings is an important part of preventive conservation, focusing on the prevention of pest infestations and the reduction of pesticide application. Pesticides were used to treat infestation when they were obvious, but the source of the infestation was often not found. It was not always 100% certain that the insects found were pests damaging objects, as the correct identification was not part of the pest management concept. To prevent damage by pests and their introduction, a holistic concept is applied: This is achieved by sealing the building against pest entry, adapting the micro-climate (the cooler the indoor climate, the slower they develop and reproduce), maintaining high hygienic standards (cleaning is an important part of IPM to reduce food sources for pests), quarantining all new and incoming objects and monitoring pest infestations with traps. If an active infestation is found, objects are isolated as fast as possible and non-chemical methods like freezing, heating or anoxia treatments are preferred to prevent damage to the objects or harm museum staff

Most Vulnerable Collections in Museums

Monitoring of Insects in Museums

Staff Responsible for the IPM in Large Collections

Chemical Methods

Non-Chemical Methods

Insect Pests on Wood

Insect Pests on Keratine and Chitin Based Materials

Insect Pests Found in Historic Buildings

Findings

Conclusions