Pest management

Cihat Uzun <objectconservation [at] yahoo__com> writes

>We need machines that prevent pests like mice and rats.  We found
>some electronic pest management machines.

It is unlikely that machines are needed to prevent rodents from
entering the museum. The key with all pest management (referred to
as Integrated Pest Management or IPM) is to avoid creating pest
habitats within and around the building (quoting from CCI Framework
for Preservation of Museum Collections). Basically this means do not
invite pests to make their home in your building. This might seem
obvious but often the application is the tricky bit, and the key
here is understand fully the pest's biology, i.e. its life cycle,
what it eats, what conditions it requires to complete its life
cycle, etc. The approach is effective building maintenance, high
standards of hygiene, waste containment, disposal and on-going
monitoring for pest activity. The fewer attractions provided the
less likely it is that their will be a rodent problem. It is best to
keep systems as simple as possible. Introducing rodent control
machines means more expense and maintenance for a problem that can
be mopped up in other ways, with more widespread benefits for the
whole museum.

Ian Fraser
Conservator
Leeds Museums and Galleries
Temple Newsam House


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:40
                  Distributed: Friday, April 16, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-40-005
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