The Battle against Pests in a Victorian Home: A Case Study of the Effect of Diatomaceous Earth

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on integrated pest management (IPM) in historical interiors, where authenticity is an important part of the audience's experience. The brown carpet beetle Attagenus smirnovi Zhantiev (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) and the Berlin beetle Trogoderma angustum Solier (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) have been permanently present for two decades in the National Museum of Denmark’s exhibition The Victorian Home, located in central Copenhagen. Pest control is increasingly challenged in the old flat, originally furnished in 1890. The most recent measures, i.e. treating the premises with diatomaceous earth (DE), provided encouraging results. Using blunder traps, a reduction of A. smirnovi and T. angustum was demonstrated. In rooms where the application of DE was difficult due to heavy, hardly movable furniture, the effect of DE was reduced. A promising plan for future pest control was described for the premises. In addition, a short introduction to The Victorian Home is given.

KEYWORDS:

• Integrated pest management
• IPM
• museum pests
• Attagenus smirnovi
• Trogoderma angustum
• diatomaceous earth

Acknowledgements

Mette Knorr (www.skadedyr-id.dk) is thanked for laboratory examination of traps and species identification. The pest control firm Mortalin by Morten Helholm is thanked for their collaboration. The production company Tergent is thanked for providing Myrnix®. The owners of the building are thanked for their positive interest and help to make a museum environment possible in difficult conditions. Conservator Lars Aasbjerg Jensen is thanked for climate observations. Lise Stengaard Hansen is thanked for revising the English language.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).