Books with bedbugs

Margaret Elizabeth Garnett <mgarnett<-a t->umd< . >edu> writes

>Has anyone dealt with bedbugs in books, on books, in a collection,
>or in a library?  Do you have recommendations?  Is it practical (or
>wise) to kill them, then clean the items and send them back to the
>stacks?  I believe all the materials affected are general
>collections, so they should be able to take freezing or a certain
>level of heat safely, but it's possible we'll discover more fragile
>materials as well.

Bed bugs have been found in libraries for several years now. At a
forum for public libraries I spoke about the preservation aspects of
dealing with them and the Connecticut  State Library compiled a list
of resources:

    <URL:http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/pages/bed-bugs-libraries>

Here are a few facts.  Bed bugs don't carry disease.  Trained dogs
can sniff out their location and allow you to treat only the
affected areas.  Heating books and rooms to 120 degrees is the most
common treatment.  Libraries have been using the "PackTite Heating
Units for Bed Bug Control", intended for traveller's suitcases, to
heat books suspected of being infested.  One library was putting all
Interlibrary Loans through the device.  There was a recall of the
device in December 2013 and I don't know what alternatives are out
there.

I advised public libraries that heating might be okay for their
circulating collections but they should treat their permanent
collections by freezing.

    <URL:http://www.ctlibrarians.org/associations/10663/files/Pestcontrol2012handout.pdf>

There is a wealth of information at

    <URL:http://www.museumpests.net>

Jane F. Cullinane
Preservation, Digital Projects and CDNP
Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Ave.
Hartford CT 06106
860-757-6524
Fax: 860-757-6559


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:3
                  Distributed: Tuesday, June 24, 2014
                        Message Id: cdl-28-3-003
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