Remote monitoring for museum pests ‐ a 21st century approach

Abstract

• Monitoring insects is a fundamental element of Integrated Pest Management, and advanced planning is crucial to enable staff suitable time to replace monitors, identify insects and respond to concerns. As is fairly standard in Museum and other heritage collections, the British Museum, undertakes quarterly monitoring and teams of trained collections care staff check catch numbers, differentiate species and undertake actions based on ‘normal’ expectations derived from previous data, knowledge of their collections and experience. As part of this planning, restricted access, loan agreements, difficult to reach and poor line of site sometimes require complex coordination and a quick response to unexpected high catch numbers can be challenging. Remote pheromone monitors that send a daily photo image of pest captures to a software program via wireless internet signals first became available for indoor storage spaces in 2019. The remote monitoring in this study will focus on the battery‐powered SightTrap™ system and its accompanying software ForesightIPM™ used in conjunction with pheromone attractant lures for webbing clothes moths, Tineola bisselliella. Entomologists employed by the manufacturer will identify, count, and record daily trap captures and then publish this information within the software program. The recorded information and images are then sent to a smartphone app for simple review by museum staff and appropriate actions can be taken based on activity. The British Museum is the first UK museum to pilot an innovative remote monitoring system in two selected areas, a high‐profile temporary exhibition and an identified problematic area with known pest populations. This pilot aims to inform future decisions about how to make insect monitoring more accessible and effective within the organisation.