Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

ing for some time before they are noticed.
Infestations can build up on birds nests or
dead animals in roof spaces and elsewhere
and it is not until the balance of population
exceeds the available food supply and the
insects move out in search of food that they
become noticed. Infestations may also go
unnoticed for long periods as the larvae may
live within the filling layers of upholstery
undetected until physical evidence is observed
at the surface or a structural failure occurs.
The ubiquitous nature of insects means that
it is impossible completely to prevent their
ingress into buildings. Good housekeeping,
however, will ensure that the environment
they find is inhospitable and does not promote
rapid reproduction and infestation. An infestation
will require a two stage response of treating
individual objects and addressing the
environmental conditions in which the object/s
have been displayed. The steps which may be
taken to identify and control an insect infestation
can be summarized as monitoring,
identification, assessment, treatment and, if
necessary, conservation treatment of damaged
object.
Monitoring Although it is not practicable
entirely to prevent entry by all the above
means, nevertheless some measures can be
taken. It may be possible to reduce the
numbers of doors and windows in stores or,
if not, to provide more effective seals on
doors, for example by means of draught
excluder strips. Fine mesh screens can be
fitted to windows and vulnerable objects can
be stored in clear plastic bags provided that
the environment created by the bag is suitable
in other ways. Beyond this, prevention and
control depend on regular and frequent
inspection of the whole environment,
especially of high risk items and areas and on
good hygiene. All newly acquired material
should be similarly inspected. Any active
material found should be put into quarantine
immediately and treated as soon as possible
thereafter. To minimize the impact prior to
detection of any insect damage that may
occur, it is helpful to keep temperatures low,
especially in stores where this is more readily
achieved and to keep RH low, compatible
with other physical needs of the collection.
Good hygiene is especially important since
General review of environment and deterioration 269
debris and rubbish, wherever they may be
present in the environment, provide food and
shelter for insects and can allow large populations
to build up undetected. It is also helpful
if textile objects themselves are clean since
insect damage is then greatly reduced. All
items loaned or acquired should be checked
and surface cleaned. This may be undertaken
ideally in a separate holding area over
polythene sheeting which is destroyed at the
end of the process. At the end of an installation
checking should take place in the display
area before removal to the storeroom. Use of
residual insecticides in dead spaces in buildings
and in cupboards can form part of the
control strategy provided that they are used
entirely in accordance with the manufacturers
instructions and with proper regard for health
and safety. Examples include pyrethrins (e.g.
Drione, Lanasol), synthetic pyrethroids (e.g.
Coopex), carbamate insecticides (Bendiocarb,
Ficam) for use in dead spaces and dichlorvos
(e.g. Vapona), a vapour phase insecticide, for
use in cupboards. For further information on
these materials see Pinniger (1994, 2001).
Despite the small size of most insect species
and life stages, visual inspection is most
important and enables a close check to be
maintained on hygiene as well as on the actual
physical presence of insects. Ideally all material
on display and in store should be inspected
regularly and frequently but this can become
very demanding of resources, which may be
scarce. It then becomes sensible to prioritize
inspections and to put the greater part of the
resources available into monitoring material at
greatest risk, material of greatest value and
parts of the building which have the greatest
potential for, or historical record of, infestation.
Places to look with extra care include
dark corners and dead spaces, window sills
and in among objects that might constitute
potential food sources. Damage is often easier
to see than insects themselves but dead insects
and cast off skins may indicate activity as may
fresh holes in wood or piles of dust or frass.
Various kinds of insect traps are available,
including sticky traps for carpet beetles and
pheromone traps for furniture beetle. Traps
may be placed in storage areas, or discretely
in display areas, to help build up a picture of
activity in the building. Regular inspection of
traps can suggest when activity is reaching a