Tania - A three foot border of dark-colored, crushed stone is ideal as a barrier against pests. Landscaping fabric should be put down first and then 4"-6" of the crushed stone. On the sunnier sides of the building this area will heat up and really make the barrier inhospitable for all sorts of crawling insects. It usually prevents rodent burrowing also.
Tom Parker -----Original Message----- From: Tania Collas <tcol...@nhm.org> To: pestlist@museumpests.net Sent: Thu, Oct 29, 2009 3:22 pm Subject: [pestlist] "dead zone" to isolate museum from plantings Hello, The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is undergoing an extensive landscaping project around the north half of our building which will include an area of natural vegetation to attract insects and birds. This broad re-design of the museum’s grounds offers the opportunity to create a better separation of our outdoor and indoor spaces than currently exists. In considering our new project, I wanted to find out about measures that other museums or collections facilities had taken to isolate their buildings from the insects and rodents that may harbor in planted areas. Specifically, I was wondering if other institutions have found that leaving a margin of unplanted space around the perimeter of the building (a.k.a. the “dead zone”) helped to exclude pests? How wide should this margin be and should it be paved or covered with gravel? Any other advice about incorporating preventive measures to keep pests out of the museum into landscape and outdoor space design would be appreciated. Many thanks, Tania Collas Tania Collas Head of Conservation Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90007 (213) 763-3513 tcol...@nhm.org
