Ms. Shelton makes an excellent point here.  For years I was pestered to put
pheromone baited traps in our display area.  I resisted for exactly the
reasons she lists.  I purchased for each member of our staff a small,
lighted, magnifying glass.  I changed the culture of our facility to have
the staff examine the exhibits whenever it can be done without attracting
undue attention.  In addition there are periodic inspections (weekly) which
re-examine the entire collection in detail.  I have found the benefits of
ongoing re-examination far outweigh the resource commitment.  Minor problems
discovered in other areas are taken care of before they detract from the
impression or more importantly, damage the collection.  It is important we
use our tools wisely to assist us in doing a better job, not rely on our
tools to do our jobs for us.

Wayne Hart
Museum of Valor
[log in to unmask]



At 09:19 AM 11/4/96 -0800, you wrote:
>One thing important to bear in mind *before* you rush out to buy sticky
>traps is that they are good monitors but poor control. That is, they are
>excellent at giving you an idea of what the problem is, but will not
>solve it for you. For this and other reasons, you are much better off
>sitting down to draw up an integrated pest management plan first. You do
>not have to panic: you have time to plan a course of action.
>
>Bait-type sticky traps (whether pheromone, peanut butter, or anything
>else) actually draw more pests into your area of concern--if you think
>about it, you will see why this is so--and actually can increase your
>problem over time. It's better to get non-bait traps for a more accurate
>sample of the true problem. Don't forget to get traps for flying insects,
>too. And for godness' sake talk to someone who specializes in museum pest
>control and is aware of all the issues, rather than simply the nearest
>licensed pest control professional.
>
>No trap system is any good if you don't use the results to make
>significant changes that get at the source of the problem instead of
>treating the symptoms. Pests in your collections are there because they
>can physically get in, have a source of food, and are sheltered (usually
>they are able to find dark, seldom-disturbed, seldom-cleaned areas). These
>three factors are what you must address if you want to get the pest
>problem under control. Like hygrothermographs and light meters, traps are
>monitors but not controls. You will waste your money if you buy them as
>anything other than part of an integrated control program that also
>addresses gaps in the building fabric, open doors and windows,
>failing case gaskets, food (yours and theirs), and building-wide
>maintenance programs.
>
>Sally Shelton
>Director, Collections Care and Conservation
>President-Elect, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
>
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>|                                                                       |
>|                 San Diego Natural History Museum                      |
>|                          P. O. Box 1390                               |
>|                San Diego, California   92112  USA                     |
>|             phone (619) 232-3821; FAX (619) 232-0248                  |
>|                     email [log in to unmask]                          |
>|                                                                       |
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