Caring for Cultural Material 1

Caring for Cultural Material 2

Damage and Decay

Managing Collections

Managing People

Handling, Transportation, Storage and Display

Glossary

Index

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Damage and Decay
In this volume:
– Light and Ultraviolet Radiation
– Humidity and Temperature
arrow Biological Pests
– Dust and Pollutants
– Common Deterioration Processes
– Acknowledgments
Biological Pests
In this chapter:
– Objectives
– Introduction
– What damage do moulds cause?
– What can be done to control moulds?
– If a mould outbreak does occur?
arrow What damage do insects cause?
– Other pests
– Control of common insect pests
– Common insect pests: a guide to identification and non-toxic control
– Tropical insects
  MORE ABOUT BIOLOGICAL PESTS
– Moulds
– Insects
– Common pesticide application methods
– For further reading
– Self-evaluation quiz
– Answers to self-evaluation quiz

 

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Biological Pests

What damage do insects cause?

Insects eat organic materials, leaving them damaged and weak. In some cases, the damage is obvious: holes in textiles, for example. In other cases, you have to inspect things carefully to find the damage, for example, some borers in woods.

The following table briefly outlines the insects which are likely to be a problem in museums, galleries and libraries, and the materials they are likely to feed on.

Insect What they eat in museums, galleries & libraries
Cigarette beetles A wide variety of plant and animal-based materials.
Drugstore beetles A wide variety of plant and animal based materials.
Spider beetles A variety of plant and animal-based materials.
Carpet beetles Wool, fur, hair, feathers, silk, insect specimens, books and other products of animal origin, for example, horn.
Green timber borers Freshly-felled trees.
Green to dry timber borers Live and freshly-felled trees. They will complete their life-cycle in, and continue to feed on, dry or drying timber.
Dry timber borers Dried wood.
Powderpost beetle The sapwood of hardwoods.
Furniture beetle The sapwood of softwoods; will infest some hardwoods.
Common clothes moths Wool, fur, hair, silk, dead insects, horn and feathers.
Casemaking clothes moths Wool, fur, hair, silk, dead insects, horn and feathers.
Cockroaches Cockroaches will eat just about anything, including leather, hair, skins, paper and books. They also cause damage through regurgitation or by gluing their egg-cases onto objects.
Termites Timber. Termite damage can be extensive if left undisturbed or if not discovered. Dry wood termites will infest small pieces of timber, and are easily transported in artefacts such as wooden carvings.
Psocids—booklice Booklice feed mostly on mould growing on old books or dead insects, but they can also damage the surface of materials.
Silverfish Paper, fabrics—starched or stained material especially—cotton, linen, photographs, book bindings and paste or sizes.

 

 

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