Hello, All TLDR: Are common fruits/vegetables in temporary flower displays really conduits for museum pest infestations? Specifically hypericum berries and artichokes. Where do others draw the line?
----- My institution, like many others, holds an annual flower bouquet 'take-over' in the galleries for one week. It's a beautiful showing that also brings out masses of IPM concerns. We feel like we're running a pretty tight ship, but we'd love to hear what others who have these types of events do in terms of limitations and exclusions. For example, our list of prohibited materials includes: - Wooden objects, new and old. Dried wood, drift wood. (unless providing proof of fumigation within 2 weeks of event) - Preserved insects and animals, nests, antlers, hay bales - Feathers, fur, wills, skins - Silk and wool fabrics - Food items, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, dried beans, rice, etc. We then have a list of negotiable problematic materials that need approval ahead of time after talking with the event lead from conservation. These include: - Dried plants and flowers, hollow reed baskets, gourds - seedpods, wood chips, coir - potted plants, potting soil, gravel, pebbles, sand, Every year, like clockwork, we get people trying to bring in berries (hypericum) and other fruits/vegetables. Trickiest for us was someone who came in with a large amount of artichokes (some bloomed and some not). We confiscate these during check in when we see them come in - but this has lead to some frustration on the florists side as the rules don't always make sense on the outside. For instance, we banned the artichokes but let other (non 'vegetable') types of thistle flowers in. We'd like our decisions on what to include and exclude to be based on what is actually a threat for bringing museum pests into our collections - while also not being ultra-specific that we're splitting hairs. Could anyone share what their determinations are for what is and isn't allowed into the galleries for these types of special events? Are things like hypericum berries and artichokes high-risk for brining in museum pests? We're also compiling whatever forms/pamphlets institutions create to show what is and isn't allowed - how the messaging gets to the exhibitors. If your institution would be willing to share please let me know (I'd be happy to share ours as well). Best, Julie Julie McInnis jmcin...@famsf.org Collections Care Specialist Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/aefcbb66-b759-4c26-83fc-590fbf6e8a1an%40googlegroups.com.
