Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely peaceful and relaxing holiday season.
Like the topic of the last blog, this one also "came" to me - not in the form of a hurricane this time, but in the form of a mouse. Or rather, the signs left behind that a mouse had been visiting. Yup, it's well into that time of year where the little critters seek a warmer home hopefully with the added benefits of a food source. So while I was gazing critically at the well-formed tunnel that the mouse had left through my mother-in-law's loaf of homemade bread, I thought of what I would have done, PREVENTIVELY, if it had been my home. (And no, I didn't say so out loud, I know better...)
While mice in your home will likely go to food sources rather than your collection of photographs or books, there are many other pests that will; silverfish, firebrats, and booklice, for example. These and other pests feed on a variety of archival and library items - binding materials (particularly the adhesives), paper sizing (especially glossy paper), cellulose (i.e. paper and cardboard) and proteins (i.e. parchment and leather). And if eating it isn't enough, collections are also damaged by the tunnelling and nesting activities, and secretions from these insects. Since the majority is attracted to the tight, dark places (like most storage areas) and since most holed-away items are handled infrequently, significant damage may occur long before being discovered. So for this blog, we'll talk about what to do preventively in the case of both rodents and pests, as the preventive measures are generally the same for both.
So what do we do? In the big archival world, we practice a strategy called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). In a nutshell, it is a Preventive approach that relies mostly on non-chemical means to preventing and managing infestations, such as controlling climate, food sources, and building entry points. Because chemical treatments generally can cause long and short term health problems (from nausea and headaches to cancer), the non-chemical approach to controlling pests is an obvious preferable choice.
So, short of getting a cat and putting out poison that will inevitably make said cat sick, there are several simple preventive measures you can take in protecting the more pest-prone materials in your collection. First, knowing what is attractive to them - most obvious is human food waste and stored food, but there are many other less obvious food sources; leather, wool, human dander, other insects, debris, for example. So, it is clear that the first step must be to eliminate or sequester sources of food (hark! there's that tupperware word again...) and strongly emphasize good housekeeping.
Secondly, how are they getting into your home? Inadequately sealed windows and doors, windows and doors that are left open routinely, cracks and crevices in walls or foundations, openings around pipes, and vents/air ducts can all provide entry for rodents and insects. Not only would addressing building issues, like fixing cracks and bad seals, be better for your home (and wallet), it would help keep the pests moving along to somewhere easier to access. Also, think about 'layers of protection' - if the outside layer isn't working (i.e. the building), add an inside layer to your special collection, in the form of cabinets, boxes, and enclosures.
Third, what kind of home do the pests like? In sum, a warm and damp one. This one is easy - paper-based collections should NOT be stored in warm and damp conditions in the first place!! Mould! So keep your important things stored in a relatively cool, dry area.
Lastly, insects can also be brought into the home in books and papers themselves - if you're one to collect books and hooked rugs at yard sales for example, check the items and the boxes they were brought in before bringing them into the house. As an added preventive measure, treatment through controlled freezing could also be done (this one you should call for more information on first though, please!!).
For the sake of keeping this blog a blog and not a full-on report, the preventive recommendations given are general and the most ideal. Without appearing flippant again, I realize full well through my experiences that sometimes it's not that easy to provide the most ideal building or environment and that sometimes you do have to store those books in the damp and warm basement. That's why I'm here - I encourage you to call/write to ANLA for more information on what you can do in those particular situations. As easily as I could put down these preventive measures, there are simple and cost-effective solutions to your particular storage situation. So start calling!
