Chapter 5: Biological Infestations Page A. Overview ........................................................................................................................... 5:1 What information will I find in this chapter? ....................................................................... 5:1 What is a museum pest? ................................................................................................... 5:1 What conditions support museum pest infestations? ....................................................... 5:2 B. Responding to Infestations ............................................................................................ 5:2 What should I do if I find live pests or signs of pests in or around museum collections? .. 5:2 What should I do after isolating the infested object? ......................................................... 5:3 What should I do after all infested objects have been removed from the collections area? ................................................................................................ 5:5 What treatments can I use to stop an infestation? ............................................................ 5:5 C. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) ................................................................................ 5:8 What is IPM? ..................................................................................................................... 5:9 Why should I use IPM? ...................................................................................................... 5:9 What are the statues and mandates for developing and implementing an IPM program? 5:9 What are the essential elements of an IPM program? ..................................................... 5:10 What types of damage can pesticides do to museum objects? ......................................... 5:10 What is preventive pest management? ............................................................................. 5:11 D. Developing a Museum IPM Plan..................................................................................... 5:12 What is the purpose of a museum IPM plan? ................................................................... 5:12 What are the responsibilities of staff involved in developing and implementing the museum IPM plan? ............................................................................... 5:12 What is included in a museum IPM plan? ........................................................................ 5:13 What is an action plan? .................................................................................................... 5:14 What documentation should be included in the IPM plan? ............................................... 5:15 How do I know if the IPM plan is effective? ..................................................................... 5:15 E. Inspection and Monitoring .............................................................................................. 5:16 What is monitoring and what is inspection? ...................................................................... 5:16 Why should I monitor for pests and the environment? ...................................................... 5:17 How do I monitor for pests? .............................................................................................. 5:17 What is included in a pest trapping program? .................................................................. 5:18 What kinds of traps should I use to monitor for pests? ..................................................... 5:18 Should I use pheromone traps and light traps? ................................................................ 5:19 How do I establish an insect sticky trap program? ........................................................... 5:20 How frequently should I inspect objects and structures for pests? ................................... 5:21 How do I inspect objects for pests? .................................................................................. 5:21 How do I inspect structures for pests? .............................................................................. 5:21 Where should I inspect for pests? ..................................................................................... 5:22 What evidence of pest damage should I look for during inspections? ............................... 5:22 What tools and equipment do I need for inspections? ...................................................... 5:22 When do I isolate and inspect objects? ............................................................................ 5:23 What procedures should I use to isolate objects? ............................................................ 5:23 How long do I need to isolate the object? ......................................................................... 5:24 How do I determine that I have a pest infestation and what are action and injury thresholds? ....................................................................................................... 5:25 NPS Museum Handbook, Part I (2014) Biological Infestations F. Control Actions................................ ................................................................................ 5:26 What control actions will exclude pests from areas housing collections? ......................... 5:26 What are cultural controls? ............................................................................................... 5:26 What are mechanical controls? ........................................................................................ 5:27 Exclusion ....................................................................................................................... 5:27 Sanitation....................................................................................................................... 5:28 Eliminating Harborage ................................................................................................... 5:29 Eliminating Moisture ...................................................................................................... 5:29 Eliminating Food ........................................................................................................... 5:29 Habitat Modification ....................................................................................................... 5:30 How do I establish a rodent snap trapping program? ........................................................ 5:30 How do I clean objects contaminated or potentially contaminated with hantavirus? ......... 5:31 What are chemical controls? ............................................................................................ 5:31 G. Identification of Museum Pests...................................................................................... 5:32 What are museum pests?.................................................................................................. 5:32 Where can I see images to help identify pests? ................................................................ 5:32 What are fabric pests? ....................................................................................................... 5:33 What are wood pests? ....................................................................................................... 5:36 What are stored product pests? ........................................................................................ 5:37 What are moisture pests? .................................................................................................. 5:38 What rodents should I be concerned about? .................................................................... 5:39 What other vertebrates can damage museum collections? .............................................. 5:40 What are general pests (perimeter invaders)? .................................................................. 5:41 What kinds of health hazards can museum pests cause? ............................................... 5:43 H. Bibliography................................ ..................................................................................... 5:44 I. List of Figures ................................................................................................................. 5:46 Figure 5.1 Recommended Freezer Temperatures and Duration of Freezing Cycles ........ 5:6 Figure 5.2 Sample Museum IPM Plan ........................................................................... 5:47 Figure 5.3 Sample Object Pest Incident Report (blank) ................................................ 5:58 Figure 5.4 Sample Object Pest Incident Report (completed) ........................................ 5:59 Figure 5.5 Sample Freezer Treatment Record (blank) ................................................. 5:60 Figure 5.6 Sample Freezer Treatment Record (completed) .......................................... 5:61 Figure 5.7 Sample Pest Trap and Evidence Monitoring Log (blank) ............................. 5:62 Figure 5.8 Sample Pest Trap and Evidence Monitoring Log (completed) ...................... 5:63 Figure 5.9 Sample Pest Monitoring Database Report (blank) ....................................... 5:64 Figure 5.10 Sample Pest Monitoring Database Report (completed) ............................. 5:65 Figure 5.11 Sample Floor Plan with Trap Locations ....................................................... 5:66 Figure 5.12 Sample Pest Identification Request Letter (blank) .................................... 5:67