Hello folks, I am the new Curator of a house museum in South Dakota that has been overrun with insects, primarily cluster/wood flies, hornets, box elder bugs, and pine leaf beetles (stink bugs). We are experiencing warm autumn weather here and the seasonal pests have been thriving in the attic and throughout the warmer parts of the house. This is a giant concern asthetically (try giving a tour of the house without seeing or hearing the bugs fly around!), health-wise (no one has been stung by a hornet...yet), and of course for the artifacts (flies are getting mashed into floors, leaving debris, and may be a food source for larder beetles). We don't have an IPM in place, unfortunately it did not receive board approval. Hopefully, with renewed energy on my part, we can get something in place.
>From my understanding, the flies in the house have been an on-going issue since it was converted into a museum ten years ago. Unfortunately, most of what I know about the pest problem is institutional mythology and very little has been recorded. What I do know is that until recently treatment has been superficial- mostly vacuuming when necessary and semi-annual pesticide sprays. The house was sprayed in the spring and the fall until 2008 because of budget cuts. Now the house receives a treatment (spraying around the foundation and inside around base boards and windows) in the fall, though it was not done last year because of early snow fall. Spraying period is something I would like to eliminate. Unfortunately, we simply can't afford expensive fly catchers. Earlier this year, our facilities manager fabricated our own version of a fly catcher for our attic- a blue light mounted on wood with removable sticky fly strips. While these do appear to be attracting flies, we don't have an adequate way to collect them so they form piles of dead flies, which is just plain gross. I created a Pest Management Log to start keeping track of what kinds of insects we are finding, how many, where, and when. I have also met with our pest elimination specialist, who has sprayed at the house and our sister museum for years. We went around the house to identify routes of entry, but I would also like to know what is allowing them to continue to live and breed in the house. The treatment of an active pest infestation without understanding the cause of the problem is of limited value in the long run. My goal is to be proactive and address these problems for a longer-term solution than simply vacuuming up the bugs once, twice, three times a day. I know that my situation is not unique. Bugs are a problem wherever you go, especially in older buildings. I am writing to those of you out there that may have experienced something similar and are willing to share (horror) stories. I also want to know what resources are available that are geared specifically towards museum pests (aside from museumpests.net, of course). Also, we are on the National Register, so what are we allowed to do then? And what about the more unusual pests- box elder and stink bugs- how harmful are they to museum collections aside from leaving a residue? Are there "acceptable" levels for these pests to be in the House? Lots of questions, but any response will be helpful. Thanks for your time! Hayley Chambers -- Hayley Chambers Historic Adams House Curator Adams Museum & House 22 Van Buren Avenue Deadwood, SD 57732 605/578-3724 hay...@theadamsdeadwood.org http://www.adamsmuseumandhouse.org/
