I asked my pest control contractor (who could finance a vacation home with all of the bed bug work he's been doing) about bed bugs and books. He's heard anecdotal evidence of bed bugs harboring and laying eggs in books found near beds. For example, if there is a bookshelf located in a bedroom and the infestation is heavy, the bedbugs may find their way to the books. The chance of circulating library books becoming infested would be less likely since they don't spend a long time in anyone's house.
He's a fan of heat treatments as well. They heat to 140F, aiming to ensure that the materials will heat to 120F at their core. His company, Adam's Pest Control, has portable heaters and generators and is capable of treating whole buildings. There may be something similar in your area. Good luck, Rebecca Rebecca Newberry Assistant Registrar Science Museum of Minnesota 120 W. Kellogg Bl. St. Paul, MN 55102 651 265-9841 www.smm.org Rebecca Newberry Assistant Registrar Science Museum of Minnesota 120 W. Kellogg Bl. St. Paul, MN 55102 651 265-9841 www.smm.org From: "Holly Prochaska (prochah)" <proc...@ucmail.uc.edu> To: "pestlist@museumpests.net" <pestlist@museumpests.net> Sent: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 12:11:48 PM Subject: [pestlist] Treatment for bedbugs found in bound materials Colleagues, I am trying to work on a procedure for treating bound paper materials that have bedbugs. We haven’t had any confirmed sightings yet in materials, but considering our State-wide problem I fear it is just a matter of time. I've seen plenty of good information related to facilities, but not a lot related to caring for books that have been affected. The most common quick quip is that they should be "cooked" at temperatures around 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours. I've not seen any indication what they are being cooked in. There is a device called Packtite that gets some mention on blogs, but not on any conservation/preservation sites. NEDCC, LOC, and Lyrasis sites don't have anything yet either. From what I’ve read freezing apparently doesn’t kill the egg stage. My concern right now is the general circulating collection, so freezing might be the only option for rare/unique materials…. Has your institution started tackling this question? Any help would be appreciated! Holly Prochaska Head, Preservation Services University of Cincinnati Libraries Tele:513-556-1389 Fax:513-556-0325 Spam Not spam Forget previous vote
