Handmade sticky traps

Pilar Hernandez <pilarny [at] yahoo__com> writes

>I am from Mexico and I'm doing a survey in a photograph collection.
>I need to recognize the bugs that are in the storage area so I want
>to know if someone has done sticky traps for pests (handmade), which
>materials you've used and if they work well.

We recently used some homemade traps for intensive insect monitoring
of an area of our museum which had an infestation. We simply used
paper strips approximately 15cm x 2-3 cm and double sided sticky
tape which is slightly narrower (This makes them easier to remove
from the floor) cut slightly longer about 18-20cm. Place the tape
over the paper, with excess of tape at each end so that the trap can
be stuck to the floor. These were very successful (in fact better
than the bought traps we normally use) for monitoring for the larva
and beetles we were particularly interested in, as well as trapping
the usual spiders, flies etc. They were very cheap and easy to make
-I now make them by printing out sheets of A4 paper, with lots of
lines of 'INSECT TRAP - PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE' written on, and then
use a guillotine to cut them up. Then I take the roll of tape around
with me to sick them down.

I will still use the bought traps for long term monitoring
particularly in display areas, as they are more durable, look more
professional around the museum and they are easier to label and
remove/reuse if they are empty. But for heavy monitoring of a
particular area and behind the scenes the homemade ones were great
and much cheaper.

Helen Spencer
Preventive Conservator
National Museums of Scotland
Chambers Street
Edinburgh EH1 1JF
+44 131 247 4347
Fax: +44 131 247 4306



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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:35
                 Distributed: Friday, October 17, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-17-35-005
                                  ***