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Integrated Pest Management can generally be defined as the coordination of all available information on
environmental conditions, in the broadest sense possible, and the knowledge of pest control. A good IPM programme
is based on the use of minimal quantities of poisonous substances through integration of a combination of
mechanical, cultural, biological and chemical elements. It is a management instrument, in which all strategies linked
with infestation are brought together.
In essence IPM is all about the population dynamics of pest species. It is a process to determine WHERE, WHICH,
HOW, WHY and WHAT should be done. At first certain questions need to be answered:
• is control needed at all and can it be justified?
• when is control needed?
• where is control needed?
• what kind of control is needed?
The whole system of IPM is build around these four questions and they should be carefully considered one by one.
After the first four questions (see above) have been answered, the next matters which need attention are:
• at what point has the infestation reached its extent?
• are the repositories constantly monitored to identify the pest species?
• once the pest has been identified, is sufficient information collected to understand their biology and life?
• when the proper pest control measures and methods are chosen and imp lemented, d o they all fit into a well
integrated programme?
• when the programme is well on its way is it evaluated continuously and adjusted if necessary?
Probably the most difficult step in the entire IP M programme is to determine the moment when an infestation has
reached its limit and action is desirable. This implies the question how m uch dama ge to archival material is
acceptable? Translating it to the pest itself – how many of a certain species are acceptable? This limit of acceptance
may differ from repository to repository.
It is absolutely imperative to learn everything about the identified species in order to choose an appropriate
treatment. Some of the questions which should be asked include the following:
• how do the pests come into the building?
• where is their breeding place?
• what do they eat?
• where do they hide?
For mechanical pest control the following actions are advised:
• use self-closing systems for the doors to the storage roo ms;
• close all windows or apply 16 – 18 mesh netting in front of the windows;
• apply 16 – 18 mesh netting for all grids;
• eliminate all water and moisture prob lems;
• ensure that the climate in the storage rooms is stable;
• use outdoor lamps around the building to disturb the life pattern of pests;
• avoid flowers and decaying wood around the building.
For cultural pest control the following actions are advised:
• avoid all plants (green or dried) in the building, including the offices;
• eliminate food sources and allow no food in storage areas;
• improve good -housekeeping habits and take special care of floors and waste pipes.
It is essential that the different measures of control are integrated with one another. Every action whether
mechanical, cultural or chemical should support other actions.
Monitoring for pests is a daily business for any serious archive. When signs of infestation are ascertained,
monitoring must be intensified. This should take place around the source of the problems. Once control measures
prove to be successful, the intensity of the monitoring can be brought back to the normal level. If control measures
are without result the entire chosen IPM system should be adjusted. During the evaluation it should become clear
where the IPM programme went wro ng. Possibly restrained chemical control needs to be added to the programme.
The use of chemicals is often restricted because of environmental and health laws. Only qualified people, usually
a recognised firm, are allowed to use pesticides.
7.2.4 Literature
An enormous amount of literature has been published on Integrated Pest Ma nagement. Before the 1980s almost all
the publications were directly or indirectly aimed at pest control in agriculture and urb an sites. Tod ay many journals
are still dedicated solely to IPM in (tropical) agriculture or stored food stuffs. When IPM became popular in the field
of conservation, many IPM publications appeared tailored to archives, libraries and museums. In fact, the books and
articles are nearly countless.
CoOL publishes several bibliographies on pest management on their website, see Sánchez Hernampérez, 2001;
Jessup, 2001 and SOLINE T, 2000. The best-known general books on IPM are Florian, 1997; Harmon, 1993;
Olkowski et al., 1991; Parker, 1988. Other literature is Baish, 19 87b; Flint et al., 1981 a; Han lon et al., 1993;
Mitchell, n.d.; Parker, 1987 and 1993; Trinkley, 1990; Valentin et al., 1997; Wearing, 1988.
For pest control in the tropics see Agrawal, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995; Agrawal et al., 1991; Anonymous,
1962; Aranyanak, 1988a and 1988b; Baynes-Cope et al., 1966; Ezennia, 1991; Florian, 1997; Garg et al., 1994;
Kumar et al., 1999; Mo re et al., 1975; Nair, 1974, 1993b and 1995; Nair et al., 1972; National Resource Institute,
1992; Quek et al., 1990.