Julie,
To fully make use of the "integrated" portion of integrated pest management (IPM) you need to step back and look at each exhibit building from a pest standpoint. Besides being a shelter from the external environment of extreme heat/cold, rain etc., what is drawing the mice into your buildings? Does the museum staff keep food there? Is there lots of high grass or debris on the outside of the buildings that offer optimum nesting sites? Besides garage doors and walk-in doors, are there gaps that allow easy entry to rodents inside? (Anything over a ¼" gap can be considered easy entry.) If you address all of these issues, you will significantly lower the chance of infestation to start with.
With an existing infestation, you need a means to capture and remove the mice living in the cars. As mammals can quickly adapt to sounds and odors when it comes to their survival, sonic devices and aromatic dryer sheets will only deter them for a short time, if at all before they figure out that they can live with this annoyance. I would not recommend putting your efforts into those areas.
You need to ask the question, "What is your institution's philosophy regarding toxic baits?" Baiting programs on the exterior of the building can drastically reduce the rodent pressure trying to get into the building. Traps on either side of each entry door into the exhibit building will help reduce influx from the outside as well. Mice will instinctively look for quick cover to the left or right when they enter an unknown territory.
Much of this information can be found on www.museumpests.net <http://www.museumpests.net/> as well as other great references. It is certainly worth the visit there.
Regards,
Patrick Kelley
Insects Limited, Inc.
16950 Westfield Park Road
Westfield, IN 46074 USA
Phone: (317) 896-9300
Fax: (317)867-5757
email: p.kelley@insectslimited,.com
website: www.insectslimited.com
________________________________
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Grevin, Fred
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 12:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Problems with mice in automobiles
Julie, this may not apply to historical automobiles, but our dealership recommends we place a sheet of Bounce (the antistatic) near the internal air intake vents of all our cars to prevent rodent infestation (which, apparently, happens even with current-use vehicles!).
Best of luck.
Fred
===================================================================
Frederic J. Grevin
Deputy Commissioner and Chief Information Officer
The City of New York,
Department of Records
Email: [log in to unmask]
Land phone: 212.788.8615
Cell phone: 347.436.5360
Fax: 212.788.8614
www.nyc.gov/records
31 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007
USA
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Julie Blood
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 12:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Problems with mice in automobiles
Hi everyone,
The museum where I work is in a rural setting and I was recently informed by our previous Collections Manager that in past winters there has been an issue with mice in some of the exhibit buildings. I'm not sure if there was an Integrated Pest Management program in place at that time, but I have since implemented one. One of the problem spots was the interior of a 1932 Franklin car. It is my understanding that the mice have come up from the floorboards near the gas/brake pedals and have made a nest in the upholstery of the car. I am hoping that our IPM will prevent this from happening and will be having additional traps placed in and around the car. I was even thinking about taking steel wool or some other material to plug up those holes. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Julie Blood
Collections and Exhibit Manager
San Joaquin County Historical Society & Museum
P.O. Box 30, Lodi, CA 95241
(209) 331-2055
(209) 953-3460
[log in to unmask]
www.sanjoaquinhistory.org
========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
