Connecting to Collections Care

Hello everyone,

Seeking advice for a difficult situation. We have a webbing clothes moth infestation in our collections storage building. We have placed sticky traps in every room and have found an area with the highest concentration (the library, which we can't seem to figure out). The original source was a box of raw wool in the basement that was disposed of a year ago, and then the basement was bombed, so they seem to have moved upstairs. The building is a large, c.1908 schoolhouse and full of cracks for insects to get around. We have now caught moths in almost every room (1-3 in each over the course of a week) despite doors being kept closed. The building houses both our costume collection and thousands of objects, some boxed and some uncovered on open shelves (we're a historical society collecting for almost a hundred years, so literally any material you can think of – wool, cotton, silk, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, paint, stone, ceramic…). We are in a year with budget restrictions (even more so than usual) so the idea of trying to rent a freezer trailer and potentially hire outside contractors to remove and freeze every object is untenable, we also don't have a good way to keep the treated objects away from the untreated objects (i.e. no extra space to store things during the process). It seems we are faced with either an inevitable massive infestation of moths in our entire costume and decorative arts collection a year or two down the line, or potentially using fumigant bombs multiple times throughout every room in the building (the current directive we have been given is to do a regimen of no less than 5 bombings over the course of a year, in every room from roof to basement, including costume storage, collections storage, the archives, and the library).

The moths will potentially destroy wool, etc., but the fumigants will potentially affect everything else. Since using fumigants goes against best practice, we can't find anything that references fumigating an entire building of collections, and because of that we can't find much about mitigating potential damage or protecting the health of ourselves and future staff. But we are at a loss with what else to do, and know we can't be the only ones who have experienced this set of circumstances. 

Any realistic advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone,

Seeking advice for a difficult situation. We have a webbing clothes moth infestation in our collections storage building. We have placed sticky traps in every room and have found an area with the highest concentration (the library, which we can't seem to figure out). The original source was a box of raw wool in the basement that was disposed of a year ago, and then the basement was bombed, so they seem to have moved upstairs. The building is a large, c.1908 schoolhouse and full of cracks for insects to get around. We have now caught moths in almost every room (1-3 in each over the course of a week) despite doors being kept closed. The building houses both our costume collection and thousands of objects, some boxed and some uncovered on open shelves (we're a historical society collecting for almost a hundred years, so literally any material you can think of – wool, cotton, silk, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, paint, stone, ceramic…). We are in a year with budget restrictions (even more so than usual) so the idea of trying to rent a freezer trailer and potentially hire outside contractors to remove and freeze every object is untenable, we also don't have a good way to keep the treated objects away from the untreated objects (i.e. no extra space to store things during the process). It seems we are faced with either an inevitable massive infestation of moths in our entire costume and decorative arts collection a year or two down the line, or potentially using fumigant bombs multiple times throughout every room in the building (the current directive we have been given is to do a regimen of no less than 5 bombings over the course of a year, in every room from roof to basement, including costume storage, collections storage, the archives, and the library).

The moths will potentially destroy wool, etc., but the fumigants will potentially affect everything else. Since using fumigants goes against best practice, we can't find anything that references fumigating an entire building of collections, and because of that we can't find much about mitigating potential damage or protecting the health of ourselves and future staff. But we are at a loss with what else to do, and know we can't be the only ones who have experienced this set of circumstances. 

Any realistic advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone,

Seeking advice for a difficult situation. We have a webbing clothes moth infestation in our collections storage building. We have placed sticky traps in every room and have found an area with the highest concentration (the library, which we can't seem to figure out). The original source was a box of raw wool in the basement that was disposed of a year ago, and then the basement was bombed, so they seem to have moved upstairs. The building is a large, c.1908 schoolhouse and full of cracks for insects to get around. We have now caught moths in almost every room (1-3 in each over the course of a week) despite doors being kept closed. The building houses both our costume collection and thousands of objects, some boxed and some uncovered on open shelves (we're a historical society collecting for almost a hundred years, so literally any material you can think of – wool, cotton, silk, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, paint, stone, ceramic…). We are in a year with budget restrictions (even more so than usual) so the idea of trying to rent a freezer trailer and potentially hire outside contractors to remove and freeze every object is untenable, we also don't have a good way to keep the treated objects away from the untreated objects (i.e. no extra space to store things during the process). It seems we are faced with either an inevitable massive infestation of moths in our entire costume and decorative arts collection a year or two down the line, or potentially using fumigant bombs multiple times throughout every room in the building (the current directive we have been given is to do a regimen of no less than 5 bombings over the course of a year, in every room from roof to basement, including costume storage, collections storage, the archives, and the library).

The moths will potentially destroy wool, etc., but the fumigants will potentially affect everything else. Since using fumigants goes against best practice, we can't find anything that references fumigating an entire building of collections, and because of that we can't find much about mitigating potential damage or protecting the health of ourselves and future staff. But we are at a loss with what else to do, and know we can't be the only ones who have experienced this set of circumstances. 

Any realistic advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone,

Seeking advice for a difficult situation. We have a webbing clothes moth infestation in our collections storage building. We have placed sticky traps in every room and have found an area with the highest concentration (the library, which we can't seem to figure out). The original source was a box of raw wool in the basement that was disposed of a year ago, and then the basement was bombed, so they seem to have moved upstairs. The building is a large, c.1908 schoolhouse and full of cracks for insects to get around. We have now caught moths in almost every room (1-3 in each over the course of a week) despite doors being kept closed. The building houses both our costume collection and thousands of objects, some boxed and some uncovered on open shelves (we're a historical society collecting for almost a hundred years, so literally any material you can think of – wool, cotton, silk, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, paint, stone, ceramic…). We are in a year with budget restrictions (even more so than usual) so the idea of trying to rent a freezer trailer and potentially hire outside contractors to remove and freeze every object is untenable, we also don't have a good way to keep the treated objects away from the untreated objects (i.e. no extra space to store things during the process). It seems we are faced with either an inevitable massive infestation of moths in our entire costume and decorative arts collection a year or two down the line, or potentially using fumigant bombs multiple times throughout every room in the building (the current directive we have been given is to do a regimen of no less than 5 bombings over the course of a year, in every room from roof to basement, including costume storage, collections storage, the archives, and the library).

The moths will potentially destroy wool, etc., but the fumigants will potentially affect everything else. Since using fumigants goes against best practice, we can't find anything that references fumigating an entire building of collections, and because of that we can't find much about mitigating potential damage or protecting the health of ourselves and future staff. But we are at a loss with what else to do, and know we can't be the only ones who have experienced this set of circumstances. 

Any realistic advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone,

Seeking advice for a difficult situation. We have a webbing clothes moth infestation in our collections storage building. We have placed sticky traps in every room and have found an area with the highest concentration (the library, which we can't seem to figure out). The original source was a box of raw wool in the basement that was disposed of a year ago, and then the basement was bombed, so they seem to have moved upstairs. The building is a large, c.1908 schoolhouse and full of cracks for insects to get around. We have now caught moths in almost every room (1-3 in each over the course of a week) despite doors being kept closed. The building houses both our costume collection and thousands of objects, some boxed and some uncovered on open shelves (we're a historical society collecting for almost a hundred years, so literally any material you can think of – wool, cotton, silk, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, paint, stone, ceramic…). We are in a year with budget restrictions (even more so than usual) so the idea of trying to rent a freezer trailer and potentially hire outside contractors to remove and freeze every object is untenable, we also don't have a good way to keep the treated objects away from the untreated objects (i.e. no extra space to store things during the process). It seems we are faced with either an inevitable massive infestation of moths in our entire costume and decorative arts collection a year or two down the line, or potentially using fumigant bombs multiple times throughout every room in the building (the current directive we have been given is to do a regimen of no less than 5 bombings over the course of a year, in every room from roof to basement, including costume storage, collections storage, the archives, and the library).

The moths will potentially destroy wool, etc., but the fumigants will potentially affect everything else. Since using fumigants goes against best practice, we can't find anything that references fumigating an entire building of collections, and because of that we can't find much about mitigating potential damage or protecting the health of ourselves and future staff. But we are at a loss with what else to do, and know we can't be the only ones who have experienced this set of circumstances. 

Any realistic advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Keep LIGHTS ON 24 hrs a day in the main hallways, loading dock, etc will help. The adult moths will fly to the lights. At our museum we kept our lights on for a good 6 months. But not where sensitive collections are being stored in the open.  Good luck! Lots of people hours!

Hello everyone,

Seeking advice for a difficult situation. We have a webbing clothes moth infestation in our collections storage building. We have placed sticky traps in every room and have found an area with the highest concentration (the library, which we can't seem to figure out). The original source was a box of raw wool in the basement that was disposed of a year ago, and then the basement was bombed, so they seem to have moved upstairs. The building is a large, c.1908 schoolhouse and full of cracks for insects to get around. We have now caught moths in almost every room (1-3 in each over the course of a week) despite doors being kept closed. The building houses both our costume collection and thousands of objects, some boxed and some uncovered on open shelves (we're a historical society collecting for almost a hundred years, so literally any material you can think of – wool, cotton, silk, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, paint, stone, ceramic…). We are in a year with budget restrictions (even more so than usual) so the idea of trying to rent a freezer trailer and potentially hire outside contractors to remove and freeze every object is untenable, we also don't have a good way to keep the treated objects away from the untreated objects (i.e. no extra space to store things during the process). It seems we are faced with either an inevitable massive infestation of moths in our entire costume and decorative arts collection a year or two down the line, or potentially using fumigant bombs multiple times throughout every room in the building (the current directive we have been given is to do a regimen of no less than 5 bombings over the course of a year, in every room from roof to basement, including costume storage, collections storage, the archives, and the library).

The moths will potentially destroy wool, etc., but the fumigants will potentially affect everything else. Since using fumigants goes against best practice, we can't find anything that references fumigating an entire building of collections, and because of that we can't find much about mitigating potential damage or protecting the health of ourselves and future staff. But we are at a loss with what else to do, and know we can't be the only ones who have experienced this set of circumstances. 

Any realistic advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.