May 15, 2023

Pests in the Museum, Oh My!

Pest Risks: Environmental Causes

By Helen Alten

A curator returns on Saturday from a donor’s house with a collection of wool textiles. He is in a hurry and places three suitcases in his office, bypassing the IPM procedures. His office is adjacent to a collection processing room that doubles as overflow storage, again by passing the IPM procedures. The museum is in the middle of an installation project, and he forgets to inform collections management or conservation of the new collection. Weeks go by, until the conservator notices small, pale moths fluttering out of the office.

Define the problem.

You know you have a pest problem. You have seen them, or you have seen suspected

pest damage. Do you know why they are there? Do you know the extent of the problem?

Do you know what the pests are? Are the insects you are seeing actually damaging the

collections, or are they simply a nuisance pest? Do they indicate some other problem?

These are all valid questions.

Why are they there?

Pest species, like the rest of us, require certain conditions to live. They need food,

harborage (a place to live) and water (or moisture). (They also need oxygen, but control

of oxygen will be discussed in Section 5 under treatment.) The pest species is in conflict

with us because we are providing them with one or more of these basic needs. By

eliminating access to just one of these elements, then you can begin to manage the pest. Depending on the species this may mean different sources. If you can identify what the pest is there for, and you can come up with a strategy.

The building itself is the first line of defense. The walls, windows and doors are there to

prevent all sorts of unwanted elements, including pests from entering. However, buildings also provide excellent harborage to many species. In cold climates, mice often take up residence when cold weather begins. Once in, why move out? To be effective in eliminating pests from the building, all unwanted holes should be blocked. (Mice can slip through a hole that is one-quarter inch, about two mm, in diameter.) Windows should have screens. Specific mitigation strategies will be expanded on in Section 4. This can be challenging.

Your building contains people in addition to your collections. Where there are people, there is food. And food is a primary attractant for rodents and many insects. So, too, is garbage. Clutter provides harborage. Food is moist and can be a water source. Thus strict housekeeping and food policies are vital in an IPM plan.

Good housekeeping is an on-going requirement in any IPM plan. Insects are small and require very little food. They can exist on dust and crumbs. Some mice get the majority of their water through food, rather than water itself. Debris becomes a food source for pests. And the more dirt, debris and disorder, the harder it is to see the pests. You won’t be able to distinguish the dirt from the bugs.

To learn more about museum pests and Integrated Pest Management plans, join instructor Stefanie Pendergast for Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives starting July 3, 2023.

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Helen Alten lives in Haines, Alaska. Prior to coming to Haines she founded Northern States Conservation Center and Museum Classes. She is an objects conservator with a desire to bring about change through museums, improving our communities and the patrimony we leave to our off-spring.

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Featured Course: Training for Interpretive Trainers

It’s often difficult to teach interpretive techniques and principles to others when you may have not had any formal training in interpretation yourself. The course provides ways to develop and deliver interpretive training courses and workshops for cultural sites and staff charged with developing interpretive training for their docents, volunteers, seasonal interpretive staff, or full time interpretive staff.

This course includes a copy of our new e-textbook, the Interpretive Trainers Handbook.

Course Goals: Upon completion of this course participants will:

- Have interpretive training program lesson plans and schedule of instructions drafted out.

- Have a working knowledge of key interpretive elements they should be teaching.

_____________________________________________________________________Do you train your Interpreters/Docents? Join John Veverka for MS271 Training for Interpretive Trainers starting July 3, 2023 to learn effective techniques to training them to be their best.

July 2023 Courses

MS 207: Cataloging Your Collection

July 3 to 31, 2023  

Instructor: Peggy Schaller

Description:

Cataloging may not be the most exciting museum task, but it is among the most important. Without a clear knowledge of your holdings, you can't protect, care for, research or exhibit them. Without knowledge of an item's history, you can't properly appreciate its value to your museum. Cataloging Your Collection covers all details needed to catalog a collection. Procedures for handling, measuring and describing all types of objects and materials are discussed in detail. Participants receive sample forms and learn the best practices for numbering artifacts, performing inventory and assessing the condition of objects. Participants practice describing everyday objects and cataloging items from their own collections or households.

MS 210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives

July 3 to August 11, 2023  

Instructor: Stefani Pendergast

Description:

The only thing worse than mice or cockroaches in your kitchen, is finding them in your museum collection. Participants in Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives learn low-toxicity methods of controlling infestations. IPM is the standard method for treating incoming items and monitoring holdings. Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives discusses how infestations occur, helps identify risks, provides feasible mitigation strategies, discusses the different techniques of treating infested materials, and helps you complete an IPM plan and monitoring schedule for your institution. The course covers pest identification, insects, rodent, birds, bats, other mammals and mold infestations, as well as other problems raised by participants.

MS 235: Scripting the Exhibition

July 3 to 31, 2023  

Instructor: Karin Hostetter

Description:

So much to say and so little space in which to say it. That is the dilemma when scripting an exhibition. How do you say what needs to be said in the space available? How do you even figure out how to limit the information in the first place? Discover the value of themes, tangibles, intangibles, and universals in writing exhibit text that visitors really want to read -- and remember. Additional resources provided on font size and colors as well as label layout.

MS 267: Museum Ethics

July 3 to 31, 2023   

Instructor: Peggy Schaller

Description:

This course will examine the role of ethics in museums and related institutions. Topics addressed will include the differences in ethics, laws, and morals; what ethics are and where they come from; the ethical codes that museum professionals follow; how ethics affect professional practices; why ethics are important; and how ethical standards can help museums and related institutions better serve society. Participants in the course will gain an understanding of the importance of ethics in professional museum practice, how codes of ethics are written and why they are important, and will develop an understanding of the most significant codes of ethics subscribed to by museum professionals.

MS 271: Training for Interpretive Trainers

July 3 to 31, 2023  

Instructor: John Veverka

Description:

It’s often difficult to teach interpretive techniques and principles to others when you may have not had any formal training in interpretation yourself. The course provides ways to develop and deliver interpretive training courses and workshops for cultural sites and staff charged with developing interpretive training for their docents, volunteers, seasonal interpretive staff, or full time interpretive staff.

This course includes a copy of our new e-textbook, the Interpretive Trainers Handbook.

Course Goals: Upon completion of this course participants will:

- Have interpretive training program lesson plans and schedule of instructions drafted out.

- Have a working knowledge of key interpretive elements they should be teaching.

August 2023 Courses

MS 203: Museum Storage Techniques

August 7 to September 1, 2023  

Instructor: Laura Elliff Cruz

Description:

Is your collection stacked, packed and stressed? Museum Storage Techniques has the solution. The course builds on its sister course, Museum Facilities and Furniture, which looks at the bigger storage environment.. The Museum Storage Techniques course emphasizes the needs of individual objects and collection groupings. Guidelines for specific materials are provided. Participants learn about storage materials and mounts and the most effective use of trays, drawers, shelves and cabinets.

MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics

August 7 to September 1, 2023  

Instructor: Elizabeth Burton

Description:

Cobwebs in the gallery, dust on the dinosaur skeleton, mice in storage - a dirty museum results in poor visitor experience and poor collections preservation. In a museum, cleanliness really is next to godliness. Museum Cleaning Basics explores everything you need to know about cleaning your collections. Participants learn when to clean - and when not to clean. They also learn how to make those decisions. Topics range from basic housekeeping to specific techniques for specific objects. You will learn why cleaning is important and how to prevent damage when cleaning. We will look at specific techniques that minimize damage while getting the work done. And we will discuss when to call in a specialist, such as a conservator. Students will create a housekeeping manual for their institution.

MS109: Museum Management

August 7 to September 8, 2023  

Instructor: Samantha Hunt-Duran

Description:

Sound business practices are critical for a museum to fulfill its mission. Sounds like vegetables, right? Museum management is complex. A museum exists to preserve collections and educate, but it is also an institution that must employ sound business practices while being accountable to the public as a non-profit organization. Instructor Sue Near teaches participants how to administer a successful museum efficiently and effectively. Participants will engage in discussions about the changing cultural climate and its effect on museum operations.

Conferences and Meetings

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