Hi Alex, We're having similar problems. We have basement-level storage areas, and we suspect moisture is coming in through the cracks in our cement slabs (both floors and walls). We've increased cleaning (including monthly vacuuming of floor joints and room edges), but the numbers keep going up. It's unlike anything we were seeing five years ago. In particular, our psocid population exploded (e.g., getting dozens per trap per month now). We haven't seen any specific damage to collections, but it seems like we have ecosystems in storage that probably didn't exist a few years ago. My red flags are the sheer increase in numbers plus the sustained populations. I don't worry about a duff millipede or springtail boom during our snow melt, especially in exhibit rooms with a lot of traffic. I am concerned about signs that psocids, fungus beetles, and silverfish are breeding in the more protected areas, where we're unlikely to see incidental catches.
Monitoring takes much more time these days, as does cleaning. Our HVAC system has become much less effective in the last few years, and we recently lost our building mechanic (he was going through great lengths to keep the HVAC limping along). We're located in a mountain desert, but our RH levels have been hitting the upper 50s at times (we aim for 30-40%). I suspect those cracks and joints in the cement are maintaining moist microenvironments, even when our room RH is within prescription. We're looking at setting up a dehumidifier and maybe fans in the storage rooms. A member of our team has some desiccant we could apply to the floor joints. Our mechanic didn't think resealing the joints between cement slabs would do anything to help. He did create a cover for a sump area in one of the rooms. I've wondered about blasting the joints with a heat gun. Anyone else going through this and finding good solutions? Dani On Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 4:58:35 AM UTC-6 Wade, Alexandra wrote: > Hi all! > I was wondering if anyone is seeing spikes in indicator species like > booklice, springtails etc in their spaces with the increasing temperatures > and warm, humid weather that we’ve all been experiencing over the last few > years? I note that several institutions have reported seeing upticks in > pest activity over the last few years which is suggested to be caused by > climate change issues. > Is anyone finding this to be the case with their institution? How much do > you consider indicator species to be a problem for your institution? > I think a lot of places are now struggling with humidity levels and other > issues that are making IPM challenging, and I'm interested to hear about > other people's experiences of how monitoring your collections has developed > and changed over the last 5-10 years. > Many thanks, > Alex > THIS E-MAIL AND ANY ATTACHED FILES ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY BE LEGALLY > PRIVILEGED. If you are not the addressee, any disclosure, reproduction, > copying, distribution or other dissemination or use of this communication > is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error > please notify the sender immediately and then delete this e-mail. Opinions, > advice or facts included in this message are given without any warranties > or intention to enter into a contractual relationship with the City of > London unless specifically indicated otherwise by agreement, letter or > facsimile signed by a City of London authorised signatory. Any part of this > e-mail which is purely personal in nature is not authorised by the City of > London. All e-mail through the City of London's gateway is potentially the > subject of monitoring. All liability for errors and viruses is excluded. > Please note that in so far as the City of London falls within the scope of > the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information > Regulations 2004, it may need to disclose this e-mail. Website: > http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk > -- 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/2b176595-23a9-44ce-bbf1-756d9e99f269n%40googlegroups.com.
