PEST MANAGEMENT IN PAPER SUPPORT COLLECTIONS

Many collections of ancient books, manuscripts and archives show signs of damage from insect pests. Holes in books and bindings, large gnawed areas, and deteriorated surfaces are evidence of pest attack. 🪰🦟🦗🦠

Much of this damage is probably historic and no longer active; however, it is important to understand how pests develop and act to prevent further damage to collections.

Source: frommspestcontrol.com

Different species of insects have different needs for food, temperature and humidity; they are also influenced by the climate and the characteristics of the building in which they are located. Book infestations can be controlled by physical and chemical treatments, but the goal of anyone responsible for collections should be to prevent pests from taking hold and causing damage.

Prevention through the use of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program is cheaper and much more effective than expensive curative treatments.

Because this topic is so important, we share with you the Handbook of pests in collections with paper materials (in spanish).

David Pinniger is the author of this manual, an important entomologist who has published several studies and works about pests in museums, archives and libraries.

✅ Download the manual here and take the opportunity to delve deeper into this topic!

And if you still want to know more about pests, check out our new Integrated Pest Management course where you'll learn to:

1. Identify specimens, structures and traces of different organisms in collections;

2. Understand the behavior of different living things in storage and display areas;

3. Analyze the different situations that favor the contamination of the collections, presenting ideas on how to eliminate or minimize such conditions.

To see all the information about this course and to enroll, visit the link: https://www.icrpachamama.com/challenge-page/10a0ad26-3c6b-4b62-a86e-fb73603f1577

And take the opportunity to watch the welcome video of this course with Prof. Ricardo França!

Activate the gear icon in the video to see the automatic translation.