Thank you for your story, Antje. I have had a similar thing happen to me with Mexican book beetles. They are common at the museum and starting last year or so, I began finding them at home too. Except I have no idea how I brought them home, what they're eating or where they are hanging out since I have found them in random places including kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom. These insects are so good at travelling at our expense haha.
Best wishes from Peru, Angelica On Tue, 3 Aug 2021 at 12:51, 'Antje' via MuseumPests < pestlist@googlegroups.com> wrote: > Dear Pestlist-Members, > > > > > > I thought I might share this experience … > > The photograph added shows a huge specimen sitting on toilet-paper. And > that roll of toilet-paper was standing in my private kitchen! > > (The toilet-paper was used due to the lack of regular > kitchen-tissue-paper. The photograph was taken with an iPhone.) > > > > Here is the story to “How it / they got there”: > > > > > > *2018, Hildesheim, Germany * > > In 2018 I joined a project in a museum in Hildesheim, a town very central > in Germany. > > While being there I was asked not just to work in the project itself but > also to help with the regular tasks of the conservators. > > At the same time an exhibition was planned to open soon which consisted > only of paper-based materials (prints, sketches, photographs …). Just > before the opening the volunteering curator of this exhibition came to the > conservators workshop asking for help as he has seen “strange creatures > crumbling around”. > > I was asked to took over this task as I had dealt with pest management > before and so we were checking the rooms where the temporary exhibition was > installed. > > > > At the time we removed the first picture from the wall a huge infestation > was obvious. > > (Later research has shown that there was a flooding in the basement > several years ago and that within the cleaning of the affected rooms an > infestation was already realised but it was not clear which areas of the > building were infested, there was little known about that type of pest and > the museums conservators had to deal with a lot of other things. As usual.) > > > > What we have done for the time that I joined the project were two things: > > 1. Every two weeks on Monday (governmental museums in Germany are closed > Mondays) we took of every single object from the walls and collected all > specimens we could find. We could do that together 8 times before the > exhibition run out and at the end we had collected about 240 alive > specimens. > > 2. We started with testing different materials and methods. And we figured > out that the basic problem was the specimens were living / sitting behind > the hanging objects and not coming down to the floor on their own. So the > regular glue / blunder traps and diatomeen were not working. After that we > have tried using glue traps with additional attractants (from drug stores > and the S-trap from Pankow). This was working already better but the > problem was where to place these traps in a running exhibition with nearly > nothing standing around. > > I left the project and so the museum at the same time when the exhibition > was finished and these rooms were used as a temporary storage within the > movement of the whole objects storage. So the tests didn’t go on and I > don’t know what the situation is now. > > > > But when I left I packed my private stuff in cardboard-boxes from the > museum to transport everything to my flat … > > (The boxes were old ones, having been used already several times in the > museum and of cause have not been treated. They stayed for about two weeks > in my museums-office – in a completely different architectural area that > the investigated rooms – before I could go back and take them home. And I > transported them with a rented car.) > > > > *2019, Cologne, Germany * > > When I repacked everything at my private home one specimen crawled out of > one box. I caught it and hoped that has been the only one. > > > > *2021, Cologne * > > In the last two years it turned out that it wasn’t that way. > > I have already collected several specimens at my place – in the home > office room, in the kitchen and in the bathroom. > > Till now they occurred very seldom so I have just collected them in the > idea to give them to a colleague who is doing further research on > treatments (a paper conservator). > > But I have tracked three specimens in the last two days and I guess now it > is time to place some traps with attractants … > > > > > > > > So far. > > Just a private story of spreading C. longicaudata from one building to > another, in fact one city to another. > > > > > > > > Best wishes from Germany > > Antje > > > > > > PS: If someone likes to have a specimen for a referencing pests collection > I am willing to go on with active collecting – rather than passive > collecting via traps – and send them wherever needed. > > But please note that I am just sending them as dead ones. I don’t want to > spread them even further. 😊 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > *Antje Zygalski * > > > > *Conservation Scientist*, specialised on Ancient Wooden Objects (M.A., > Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences-CICS) > > *Conservator of Wooden Objects and Furniture* (state-certified three-year > apprenticeship) > > *Carpenter / Joiner / Cabinetmaker* (state-certified three-year > apprenticeship) > > > > a.zygal...@googlemail.com > > 0049 - 173 – 67 222 32 > > https://independent.academia.edu/AZygalski > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ > > > > interest of research: > ancient Egyptian constructed wooden objects > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ > > > > > <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> > Virenfrei. > www.avg.com > <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> > <#m_6131535759981767951_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MuseumPests" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/016101d78890%2414643a60%243d2caf20%24%40googlemail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/016101d78890%2414643a60%243d2caf20%24%40googlemail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. 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