Wendi, Sorry that this occurred, but the risks may be minimal. Most kinds of creatures in that riverbank mud won't likely cause direct harm to the collections. You can further reduce the potential that little beasts will wander, jump, or fly out by freezing the mud or by heating it to ~125F. The duration of treatment will depend upon the volume and kind of container. If possible, spread the mud out on baking pans or similar. A half-inch layer will come to temperature far faster than will a thicker mass in a bucket.
Even better, remove all of the mud or dirt and return it to the riverbank. Then, if a dirt layer is necessary, get a few bags of topsoil or similar from your local nursery or big box store. I'd still 'process' it by freezing or heating small batches of the product before considering it to be low risk. Do be mindful that moisture and organic matter in the soil will promote growth of diverse microbes, and foster some museum pests (e.g. book lice, silverfish, etc.). Best of success. Rich Richard J. Pollack, PhD Senior Environmental Public Health Officer Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) | Harvard Campus Services 46 Blackstone Street., Cambridge, MA 02139 C: 617-447-0763 www.ehs.harvard.edu<http://www.ehs.harvard.edu> ________________________________ From: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Wendi Field Murray <wmurra...@wesleyan.edu> Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2024 4:42 PM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> Subject: [PestList] soil exhibit - advice appreciated! Hello all, I have run into a strange predicament and could use some advice. I manage an East Asian art collection – the historic house/building has both gallery and collections storage spaces, and for the past few years we have had some pest issues (mostly carpet beetles and wood pests, in one of the collections storage spaces). If exhibits in the gallery do not relate to collections I manage, then I am not consulted on the gallery exhibitions (usually curated by students). But imagine my surprise when I found out that the latest student exhibition included 15 bucketfuls of soil collected from a local riverbank and spread across the gallery floor ?? We have since remedied the communication issues that led to this (I will now be looped in), but I obviously have major concerns about the introduction of pests, eggs, etc. in the building as a result (in one 20-minute period, I found two live insects and 2 dead ones in this small gallery). In case it is helpful, the installation was in late February, but I did not find out about it until two weeks ago. The curators have been very understanding about the risk this poses to the collections and are willing to rehab the exhibit in whatever way eliminates or mitigates the pest risk (though it was installed in Feb, so I expect much of the damage re: hatching and escapees is already done). As they brainstorm solutions, they are asking if there is a way to sterilize the soil so that the exhibit can stay intact. Can anyone advise on what non-chemical sterilization techniques would be sufficient to eliminate the pest risk if the soil were to stay? I am leaning toward an option that removes the soil altogether (or at least encapsulates it), but wanted to get people’s thoughts since they asked me this question directly. I have no idea if baking or steaming soil is sufficient for ridding it of pests, eggs, larvae, etc. Be Thanks for your patience as you read through my weird problem – I would be so appreciative of any direction you could provide! Best, Wendi [cid:image001.png@01DA91AA.4B8535A0] WENDI FIELD MURRAY, PHD COLLECTIONS MANAGER/REPATRIATION COORDINATOR, Archaeology & Anthropology Collection COLLECTIONS MANAGER, East Asian Art & Archival Collection Wesleyan University | Olin Library Exley Science Center, 301 | Middletown, CT 06459 P. 860 685-2085 pronouns: she/her/hers -- 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<mailto:pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/BL0PR04MB45949AC6E431B968DEBD7321C80E2%40BL0PR04MB4594.namprd04.prod.outlook.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__groups.google.com_d_msgid_pestlist_BL0PR04MB45949AC6E431B968DEBD7321C80E2-2540BL0PR04MB4594.namprd04.prod.outlook.com-3Futm-5Fmedium-3Demail-26utm-5Fsource-3Dfooter&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=GO7C3XN3WgFy2IP-bFBbnUs_CYntqj57Dprtl40-_KE&m=8TOuidHg-Ln2Jxx0JqBGwJ9U4szz8wLxG1O-f2Ak2kE4Zuw-xBEspMd0nSzfvjAS&s=l8ZVaelrlCxhHU2jtS4GPvo5dqYn_1CxxJiNsT7Rw9I&e=>. -- 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/MN2PR07MB7839957AB6C4A0187C88ADB3940E2%40MN2PR07MB7839.namprd07.prod.outlook.com.
