Please correct me if this is incorrect, but I seem to recall being told a very long time ago that "book lice" appear when feeding on mold invisible to the naked eye. Yes, a reliable indicator of high RH, but I'm just curious to corroborate whether or not the "feeding on mold" part of the explanation is accurate. Many thanks, Hilary
On Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 12:05 PM, <pestlist@museumpests.net> wrote: > > Nicely put Carolyn, > > Megan, as mentioned below psocids (aka. book lice) are an indicator of > problems with relative humidity - not that you would want a huge > infestation. As Carolyn mentions, they can lead you to the localized > problem. Improved management of RH and improving housekeeping is the best > way to control the situation. That is how I have dealt with it in the past. > > Gretchen Anderson > Conservator > Carnegie Museum of Natural History > > -----Original Message----- > From: pestlist@museumpests.net [mailto:pestlist@museumpests.net] > Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 10:43 AM > To: pestlist@museumpests.net > Cc: Luci Cipera > Subject: [pestlist] Booklice - Pest List Digest Mode > > > Hi Megan > > My practical experience agrees with Richards email. > > We occasionally get outbreaks of booklice that seem to grow quickly and > then disappear in our Archives storage. > > Consultation with CCI has convinced us not worry about these as a risk of > major damage, because the mouth parts of the booklice are so small it would > take a major prolonged infestation to cause damage. For that reason we have > rebranded them as "Psocids" not book lice, just to keep them it in > perspective. > > However, they are a real indicator of RH issues that could lead to more > significant pest damage from silverfish or springtails. > In our case we simply could not figure out how we would have a pest that > was an indicator of high RH in a storage vault with good RH control 35% > plus/minus 5% winter, 45% plus/minus 5% summer. We then started looking > for sources of "localized high RH" and sure enough with that perspective we > found it (a plastic tube, designed to carry overflow water from a drip pan > under an localized HVAC unit carries overflow water into a bucket "inside" > the storage room e.g. occasional wet damp bucket breeds booklice). With > this knowledge we are trying to get the wet damp bucket to be located > outside the storage room. > > Hope this helps > > Carolyn Leckie > > > -----Original Message----- > From: pestlist@museumpests.net [mailto:pestlist@museumpests.net] > Sent: November-11-14 7:35 PM > To: pestlist@museumpests.net > Subject: Pest List Digest Mode > > PestList Digest > > > From: Richard Pollack <r...@identify.us.com> > Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 10:42:16 -0500 > Subject: Re: [pestlist] Book Lice > > Megan, > Book lice should be expected in and around any museum, library, office or > home. A few in a library setting shouldn't necessarily cause alarm, but it > would be wise to continue monitoring the archived materials as well as the > general environment. If you see book lice more than occasionally in the > archived materials, then consider trying to reduce the overall humidity in > the facility. That is usually the most practical and acceptable means to > maintain the population of book lice at or below an acceptable threshold > level. I realize this can be challenging in Bremerton, but it is > possible.Good luck. > -Rich > > Richard Pollack, PhD. > CEO & Chief Scientific Officer > IdentifyUS, LLC > 320 Needham Street > Suite 200 > Newton, MA 02464-1593 > ------------------ > 617.600.6360 (W) > 617.513.9266 (M) > > > > > HARVARD UNIVERSITY > Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management (EHSEM) Senior > Environmental Public Health Officer > 46 Blackstone St., South > Cambridge, MA 02139 > Office: 617-495-2995 Cell: 617-447-0763 www.ehs.harvard.edu > richard_poll...@harvard.edu > > > On Nov 5, 2014, at 10:30, pestlist@museumpests.net wrote: > > > > > Hello everyone! > > > > I am wondering if anyone has experience dealing with Book Lice. We have > been finding them in our traps, but we have not been able to find out where > they are coming from or what they are feeding on. The area we found them in > has a number of large map cases and file drawers, but I could not find any > traces of them inside the actual cabinets. Aside from setting more traps > throughout the area and placing silica gel inside certain cabinets(to bring > down the relative humidity), I have no idea what to do. > > > > Any help at all would be much appreciated! > > > > Thank you, > > > > Megan Jablonski > > Collections Manager > > Puget Sound Navy Museum > > Naval History & Heritage Command > > 251 1st Street > > Bremerton, WA 98337 > > p. (360) 627-2272 > > f. 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