The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music - 2009 IPM report
Introduction
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a program that attempts to minimize the use of
chemical pest controls by continuously monitoring the environment of an area to determine
likely causes of and solutions to infestations. Monitoring is done by placing insect traps
throughout an area, collecting them on a monthly basis and identifying the amount and types of
insects on each.
The initial goal of this process is to develop a baseline, or expected population, of insects.
The long term goal of the process is to monitor for unusual variations from the baseline, as
these are possible indicators of infestation. In the event of an infestation, several measures can
be taken before the use of chemicals, such as altering the environment and investigating
possible maintenance concerns. The monitoring process also informs these decisions by
helping to locate the source or entry point of the insects.
At the beginning of 2008, 5 Trapper® insect traps were placed in the Sousa Archives and
Center for American Music.
1. Exhibition Room
One trap placed on west wall near door
Room characteristics that may be factors driving the level of insect activity:
• Foot traffic: visitors and archives staff access the room throughout the day and
may bring pests into the area on their person
• Increased %RH throughout the Summer/Fall seasons (April – October)
• Proximity to main Band Building hallway
• Screened windows on east facing wall
2. Storage Room
Four traps: one at each corner of the room.
Room characteristics that may be factors driving the level of insect activity:
• Foot traffic: the archives staff accesses the room throughout the day to page
needed materials and may bring pests into the area on their person
• Increased %RH throughout the Summer/Fall seasons (April – October)
• Screened windows on east facing wall
• Proximity to main Band Building hallway
Collections within these locations continued throughout 2010.
Reporting
For the purposes of this report, collected data will be broken out into two categories,
Indicators and Damaging pests. Indicators include booklice and springtails. These two insects
indicate the possibility of high relative humidity, aging building materials, moisture, leaks, and
cracks in the structure of a building. It should be noted that in annual reports for 2008 and 2009,
a species of booklouse was being counted as a kind of aphid. It has been corrected for this
report. Damaging pests are those that feed directly on library building materials or collections
and include a variety of beetles, cockroaches, clothes moths, silverfish, and termites. As a final
note, for convenience “insects” and “pests” will be used to mean a broad range of insect-like
pests, including those that are not strictly insects, such as millipedes, mites, pill bugs, etc.
Also, since monitoring of these spaces is done by the Preservation graduate assistant,
the person doing the identification will change on an almost yearly basis. This will have an effect
on the data depending on the person’s acuity and attention to detail, particularly concerning very
small insects.
Exhibition Room (1 trap)
Indicators
The Exhibition Room has only 1 trap, so these numbers may seem small in comparison
to the Storage Room and with other library spaces. The number of Springtails grew
considerably from 2009, continuing the growth from 2008; in 2008, only 1 springtail was caught,
2009 saw 18, and 2010 saw 61. Booklice figures are slightly less dramatic, but still show
increases. 2008 and 2009 each had only 1 booklouse; in 2010 14 were caught.
Environmental tracking shows slightly higher relative humidity (RH) in 2010 than 2009,
which is consistent with an increase in the population of these indicator species. Also, both
years show RH frequently above 50%, which is something of a critical threshold for insect
growth.
Damaging Pests
There were only 2 potentially damaging pests caught in the Exhibition Room in 2010,
one drugstore beetle and one furniture beetle. This is a very small number of pests, so it is most
likely that these pests are blundering into the area rather than infesting it.
Recommended Actions
Though indicator species have significantly increased for the 2010 tracking year, they
alone are not a cause for immediate concern. If indicator populations continue to increase in the
2011 year, we recommend starting discussions with the Facilities and Services office and
considering building assessment options.
Storage Room (4 traps)
Indicators
Indicators for the Storage Room showed similar trends to the Exhibition Room.
Springtails have doubled for the past three years, from a total of 30 in 2008, to 60 in 2009, to
128 in 2010. Booklice went from a total of 5 in 2008 to 34 in 2009, with a very large increase to
131 in 2010.
Environmental data gives some explanation for the increase here as well. From 2008 to
2009, average RH went from 37% to 47%. In 2010, however, the average remained at 47%.
This is a high average RH, ideal for the growth of these insects. It is likely that the continued
increase in indicator populations is due to the fact that they have not yet hit a stabilized
population for the increased RH.
Damaging Pests
There were 22 potentially damaging pests found in the Storage Room during 2010. This
is a fairly high number given that there are only 4 traps; however it is consistent with past years.
The bulk of the pests were silverfish, totaling 15 in 2010 (there were 10 and 11 in 2009 and
2008, respectively). The remainder were a variety of beetles, with no more than 3 of a given
species seen in the year, and a single Oriental cockroach.
Given their small numbers, the beetles and cockroach were likely acting more as
blunderers, wandering into the space rather than infesting it. The population of silverfish is
something of a concern, given that it has been consistently high for the past three years.
Recommended Actions
Finding 10 silverfish over the course of a year is not a certain indication of infestation,
but seeing these numbers for three years concurrently is a concern. An examination of the
materials in the Storage Room for silverfish damage may be prudent, and future employees
conducting IPM at the Sousa archives should be sensitive to increases in silverfish activity. This
is a large enough number of silverfish that Sousa staff, the Preservation dept. and Facilities and
Services may want to discuss non-chemical or low-risk chemical options for reducing the
population.
Additionally, the consistently high RH is something of a concern. This space shows little
seasonal variation, so outside climate appears to have little effect on the area. Further, the
storage room is fairly small. Installing a small dehumidification unit would likely significantly
lower the RH of the space.