Here’s a poster that our objects conservator uses in our “Integrated Pest Management” program to protect our collection from insect attack.   As the weather starts getting cooler this time of year, you may notice insects starting to move indoors to keep warm and to look for food.  Many pests like to try and sneak into the museum for the same reason.  Different types of pests are attracted to different art materials.  For example moths like to eat wool, beetles like to eat wood, etc.  Our objects conservator has set up a system to monitor and eliminate pest populations before they become a problem.  Sticky traps are strategically placed in the museum’s many storage areas.  The traps are checked at three-month intervals that coincide with each season, winter, spring, summer, and fall. Trapped pests, if they are present, are looked at under a microscope, identified, counted and recorded.  Our conservator looks in particular for trends in insect populations so that we can protect the materials most likely to be targeted by each type of pest.  Integrated pest management is an important component of the preventative conservation we practice at the museum.