Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections September 2020 - 24

Features

Increased Pest Activity During
Temporary Closures Caused by
COVID-19
Brandi S. Coyner and R. Andres Estrada
The Sam Noble Museum (SNM) at the University of Oklahoma (OU) occupies a 198,000 square foot facility, housing
>10 million objects in 12 collections. Located in suburban
Norman, Oklahoma, the SNM and its adjacent ~22 acre
field maintained as native prairie are surrounded by campus
facilities and residential neighborhoods. Since May 2000,
the SNM has operated a full-time Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Department, responsible for emphasizing best
practices, monitoring, and using other proactive methods to
protect the collections from damage. While no building can
be devoid of pests, the goal of the SNM IPM Department is
to maintain the lowest acceptable levels of pests and nonpests in the building.
Pest and non-pest activity is monitored using Victor® M327
roach and insect traps, positioned at 386 locations inside the
SNM. Traps are placed on the first working day of oddnumbered months, with retrieval and replacement on the
first working day of the next odd-numbered month. When
pest activity, IPM concerns, or special needs (e.g., traveling
exhibits) require, additional traps are added and traps may
be replaced more frequently if damaged or full. All insects
are identified and recorded with location and date. Additionally all dead and live insects, as well as other pests, found in
the building not on sticky traps are collected, identified, and
recorded as well. To date, the museum has documented 46
species of insect, spider, and rodent pests in the building, including a number of species that do not harm collections but
pose direct health risks to humans such as venomous spiders
or human parasites.
COVID-19 Closure
On March 14, 2020, the SNM was closed to visitors and nonessential staff due to the novel coronavirus. A temporary reopening to staff occurred on March 23-24, 2020, and phases
of staff have since returned on May 27, July 6, and August 3
(Table 1). The museum reopened to the public on August 4,
with severely limited hours and attendance, and as of August
14, 2020, many staff continue to telecommute. Public access remains limited. Furthermore, the onsite museum café
operated by OU Housing and Food remains closed through
December 2020. Despite a drastic reduction in human activity in the building, essential personnel continued to staff and
operate the building 16 hours per day, 7 days a week. Pest
24 * SPNHC Connection

Table 1. Average individuals present per workday by
month, in the SNM.

and remote environmental monitoring by the IPM Department continued without interruption, and IPM personnel were
present in the building a minimum of 4 days weekly. External
landscaping, provided by OU, continued as normal. And still,
the SNM experienced a dramatic increase in pest activity,
specifically rodents and cockroaches, during the temporary
closure caused by COVID-19 and continued despite full
reopening of the building.
Rodents
Because rodent pests are only rarely detected on sticky traps,
the IPM Department does not continuously deploy rodent
traps, placing rodent traps (Sherman live traps, Victor snap
traps) when sightings or sign of rodents have been reported.
The SNM saw its first rodent pests in March of 2005, with a
female and three juvenile house mice (Mus musculus) captured over a three-week period in areas adjacent to our loading dock. Over the next 15 years, 9 rodents (8 adult M. musculus, 1 juvenile M. musculus) were captured in the building.
These infrequent pests were almost universally captured on
the first floor near exterior exits and often corresponded with
seasonal temperature changes or with the biannual mowing of
the adjacent native field.
Prior to the COVID-19 closure, the museum had been closed
for no more than a few days due to inclement weather, so
human activity in the building was consistent and relatively
uniform. On May 13, 2020, two months after the initial closure on March 14, and prior to phase I staff return, an adult
deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) was found in a 2nd
floor staff breakroom. The next day, an adult white-footed
mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) was found in an office adjacent to the loading dock. As of August 14, 2020, 1 additional
adult P. maniculatus and 9 additional P. leucopus (6 adults, 3
juveniles) have been found inside the building, in a variety of
first floor spaces.
All three rodent species detected to date in the SNM (Fig. 1)
occupy the adjacent field year-round, but house mice are nonnative and commensal with humans whereas the Peromyscus

Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections September 2020

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