[NHCOLL-L:2825] Vapona Stips for Entomology Collections

[Jane MacKnight]

Dear List:  We have several thousand insects in our entomology collection that includes specimens from the 1800s and early 1900s. Like most museums we are understaffed and have no collections managers.  We finally have a zoology curator who is a field ecologist who works on butterflies so he is trying to improve collections care in entomology. As a curator, he is also responsible for birds, mammals, herps and shells (not to mention a very small botany collection). I want to encourage him in his efforts to re-house and catalog the entomology collections and he wants to manage the collection according to current standards. 

He is very concerned about infestation and he does not have time or volunteers to visibly go through the collection to monitor for damage. He wants to use Vapona strips inside the entomology cabinets (mix of new Deltas, old metal office cabinets and wood cabinets) but wants to be sure that they are okay. I remember reading a decade ago that Vapona strips were banned for museum cabinet use, but cannot locate the reference and his checking the OSHA sites yielded different information.

Can anyone clarify the use of Vapona inside cabinets? If not Vapona, how do entomology collections protect against infestations?

I should add that the collections are stored in a controlled environment (68F at 50%RH), cabinetry and boxes are mix of old and new, and we typically use a freezer to treat any infestations.

Thanks,
Jane MacKnight

Jane MacKnight
Registrar
Cincinnati Museum Center
T (513) 287-7092
F (513) 455-7169
Cell (513) 478-8168



It's an out-of-this-world summer at Cincinnati Museum Center with the exciting new exhibit, SPACE: A JOURNEY TO OUR FUTURE, and the visually stunning OMNIMAX® film, SPACE STATION. Visit the thinkers of the past who dared to dream of life in space, and meet the men and women who are living that dream today. For information, tickets or to become a member of Cincinnati Museum Center, call (513) 287-7000 or (800) 733-2077 or visit www.cincymuseum.org.