On that same line of thought Pat brought up, booklice are also pests of insect
collections and will consume pinned specimens, so not restricted to molds and
fungi. I worked on a case where the cleaning media in coffee grinders was
infested by booklice. The media is corn-based. Very dry, no mo
Amber,
Can you put some loggers in the areas where you are finding the increased
population? The ambient readings you are getting are probably not from the
areas where you are finding the psocids. You might have some “pockets” where
the RH is higher. Want me to swing by some time to take a loo
Hilary,
Although it has thought for many years that psocids feed solely on microscopic
molds, recent research out of Oklahoma State University suggests otherwise.
Their research focused on psocids in grain storage facilities. They found that
the psocids are actually feeding on the germ of the g
If your RH is consistently below 45-50% in the monitored space, but you're
still seeing periodic increases in the psocid population there may be a few
things going on- the insects are being introduced in new acquisitions. Do
you have a quarantine procedure and space for processing new
acquisitio
Please correct me if this is incorrect, but I seem to recall being told a
very long time ago that "book lice" appear when feeding on mold invisible
to the naked eye. Yes, a reliable indicator of high RH, but I'm just
curious to corroborate whether or not the "feeding on mold" part of the
explanat
We have been monitoring our entire building with data loggers for about seven
years now. The problem is that in spite of low RH readings, we still see
periodic increases of psocid activity, which is indicated through our pest
monitoring program. The traps definitely give us a sense of target
Amber,
You can certainly purchase an electronic hygrometer for spot readings, but
I'd suggest that you set up a long-term data logger monitoring program that
will allow you to collect and analyze data for a more accurate
environmental assessment and HVAC trouble-shooting. Here at the Minnesota
Hi Carolyn,
Your psocid problem sounds a lot like ours. How did you go about discovering
localized high RH issues? Did you take any measurements around the space or
was it just a visual inspection? I'm wondering if it's worth investing in a
handheld digital hygrometer.
Also, if anyone has
Nicely put Carolyn,
Megan, as mentioned below psocids (aka. book lice) are an indicator of problems
with relative humidity - not that you would want a huge infestation. As Carolyn
mentions, they can lead you to the localized problem. Improved management of
RH and improving housekeeping is th
Hi Megan
My practical experience agrees with Richards email.
We occasionally get outbreaks of booklice that seem to grow quickly and then
disappear in our Archives storage.
Consultation with CCI has convinced us not worry about these as a risk of major
damage, because the mouth parts of the b
10 matches
Mail list logo
