Where ever possible, IPM seeks to prevent infestations rather than treat them. Proper prevention requires determining how pests might get into your building and into collections areas and, once they are in, what might allow them to continue to live and breed there. The sections below detail the various approaches to preventing infestations.

  1. Creating Buy-in
  2. Developing Polices and Procedures
  3. Assessing Collection Vulnerability
  4. Sanitation
  5. Exclusion
  6. Environmental Controls
  7. Examination & Quarantine
  8. Awareness & Training
  9. Working with Pest Management Professionals

To assist institutions in implementing the specific procedures needed to execute a comprehensive IPM program, the IPM Working Group has developed a series of procedures templates. The templates can be found within their respective sections. The documents contain suggested headers and topics to guide you in writing documents tailored to your institution and situation. Some examples of additional resources written by individual institutions are also provided for reference.

Learning how colleagues have implemented IPM programs in their institutions may provide tips  that can be usefully adapted to your own particular circumstances. The Institutional IPM session at the 2014 MuseumPests Conference presented a number of useful case studies.  Also in 2014 the Textile Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation hosted Stressed About Pests? A Panel Led Discussion on Integrated Pest Management. In the session the three presenters discussed challenges and approaches to implementing IPM in their institutions.

This document by the Smithsonian also provides a checklist of considerations for IPM implementation.

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