Hi The small holes may be from pinhole borer. This insect drills small holes in timber and deposits eggs inside. The hatching larva feed on mould growing in the holes. This may also explain your psocid infestation, as it sounds like the moisture content of the timber is high enough to support both. The application of a liquid borate to the timber would control both, and reduce the risk of further borer attack as the timber dries out (i.e. Lyctus). Best wishes Alex
On Fri, 15 Nov 2019 at 2:16 am, Anderson, Gretchen < [email protected]> wrote: > That sounds good. Have you found live insects or only dead ones? Also, > the pin holes could very well be from insects that lived in the live wood. > Have you found any frass or sawdust that would indicate an active wood > boring beetle infestation? The reason I am asking is that if this is > either an old infestation (already dead) and there are only a range of dead > insects, most or all of which are incidentals, the most straightforward, > most cost effective and least invasive treatment is to remove all insect > debris and then monitor to see if there is anything that is active. If it > is not an active infestation, it is best not to go to great lengths to > treat – monitor and see if there is anything there before you treat! > > > > Good luck! > > > > Gretchen > > > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf > Of *Ariana Webber > *Sent:* Thursday, November 14, 2019 9:35 AM > > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [pestlist] Boractin Treatment on Museum Object > > > > We identified the book lice but there are casings from something else (we > are awaiting an id on that). The small pin hole damage was probably not > caused by book lice then, but some other wood boring insect? Would the > boractin treatment take care of those? I believe our IPM specialist said > it would treat any insect with an exoskeleton. > > > > Our humidity is pretty museum standard - around 45%, though there might > have been humidity problems where the work was stored before it came to us. > > > > Ideally we treat the works in house while they remain on view. They are > very large and it is only a temporary exhibition (month and a half left on > view) so we don't want to take them off view for treatment if we can avoid > it. So heat and anoxic treatment are not options at the moment. It is > possible we could use the boractin treatment as a stop gap measure and then > use a heat treatment once the show closes... > > > > We do have permission from the lender to use Boractin, but I wanted to do > a little more research before we actually proceeded. Supposedly no trace > will be left on the trees, but I was worried about any longer term > effects. It wasn't a treatment I had seen used on museum objects before. > > > > Best, > > Ariana > > > > On Wed, Nov 13, 2019 at 5:40 PM Anderson, Gretchen < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Have you identified the bugs you are finding? Psocids (Book lice) are > mold eaters – so this suggests that your humidity is high enough to support > a nascent mold growth. They will not damage the wood and will go away if > you increase cleaning and reduce RH. From the sound of it the sculptures > are perfect for harboring all sorts of critters, but are these museum pests > that will damage collections? You may have an infestation of incidentals. > That is why I am asking about identifications. Have you seen any evidence > of powderpost or other wood boring beetles? > > > > Heat would be the easiest and quickest treatment. Anoxic will take > longer. In any case, you should contact the artist (or owner) for > permission as to the treatment you propose. > > > <https://www.google.com/maps/search/5800+Baum+Blvd.%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Pittsburgh,+PA+15213?entry=gmail&source=g>Gretchen > Anderson > > > > Gretchen Anderson > > Conservator > > Carnegie Museum of Natural History > > 5800 Baum Blvd. > <https://www.google.com/maps/search/5800+Baum+Blvd.%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Pittsburgh,+PA+15213?entry=gmail&source=g> > > Pittsburgh, PA 15213 > <https://www.google.com/maps/search/5800+Baum+Blvd.%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Pittsburgh,+PA+15213?entry=gmail&source=g> > > [email protected] > > (412)665-2607 > > > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf > Of *Voron, Joel > *Sent:* Wednesday, November 13, 2019 3:52 PM > *To:* Ariana Webber <[email protected]> > *Cc:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [pestlist] Boractin Treatment on Museum Object > > > > If you can’t use anoxia I would see if you can get permission from the > artist to use boracare which is a mild boric acid solution that uses a form > of glycol to transport the boric acid into the cells of the timber. This > product is used on construction and log homes. Mixed 3 parts water to one > part boracare. Drys clear. Dusting cracks may miss powder post beetles. JTV > > > > > > *Joel Voron Colonial Williamsburg Foundation* > > Conservation Dept. > > Integrated Pest Management > > Office 757-220-7080 > > Cell 757-634-1175 > > E-Mail [email protected] > > > > > > > > On Nov 13, 2019, at 2:34 PM, Ariana Webber <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hi All! > > I have a question about book lice and the treatment boractin that I was > hoping to pose to the group. We have a set of works that were lent to our > museum that it became clear are infested. The works are trees that have > been partially carved. So part of the work is the raw outside of a tree, > moss still attached in some instances. Supposedly they were heat treated > in the past, but it is clear that either didn't work or they have been > reinfested at some point. We have seen the presence of book lice and > possibly some moths. I found an additional casing from a yet un-identified > insect this morning. One problem is that the trees are very large and need > to remain on view for this exhibition if possible. > > We have consulted an IPM specialist who recommends treating the trees with > boractin dust. I have not heard of this treatment used on museum objects > before and was hoping to get a little insight from the community. Our IPM > specialist says that the boractin will leave no trace on the trees and only > be inserted into the cracks and crevices using a bulb duster. Does anyone > have any thoughts on this? 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