Connecting to Collections Care

Last year we discovered that mice had made their way into one of our collection storage rooms. The problem was dealt with and the space was cleaned, or so we thought, but we've just discovered that they had made their way into a storage box. I'm wondering if there are any best practices, suggestions, or tips I should know before we re-house these objects (I believe the box contains small dolls and perhaps other small toys). Thankfully all objects are wrapped in tissue. The tissue is saturated with dried mouse urine, but I'm hoping the objects themselves are ok. The box has been chewed on, but it doesn't look like the tissue was chewed. Obviously staff will wear appropriate PPE, but what else should I know?

Thanks for any help!

------------------------------
Stephanie Lee
Curator
Arlington Heights Historical Museum
Arlington Heights
United States
------------------------------

Hi Stephanie

While not a direct answer to your question, it may be helpful to know that the museumpests.net site has useful information on dealing with rodents and vertebrate pests. Vertebrates | Museumpests.net

There is also a NPS Conserve O Gram with useful information Conserve O Gram 3/12: Identifying Mouse and Rat Damage in Museum Collections (U.S. National Park Service)

------------------------------
Rachael Arenstein
A.M. Art Conservation, LLC
rachael@amartconservation.com
------------------------------