I am a librarian at a small private library in Lahore. We have a collection of rare Urdu books, some over one hundred years old. Last year, a colleague opened a box of books that had been stored in the basement. The box crumbled. The bottom of the books were eaten away. Small pale insects scattered. Termites. I had never thought about termite control in a library. Now I think about it every day.
Why Termites Love Libraries
Termites love paper. Paper is made from wood. Old books are especially vulnerable because the paper is often acidic and brittle. The basement was dark, quiet, and slightly damp. Termites’ paradise. They had been eating our history without us knowing for years.
We called a pest control company that specialized in termite treatment. The technician inspected the entire basement. He found mud tunnels behind the shelves, inside the wooden bookcases, and even inside some of the book boxes. The damage was extensive. About fifty books were partially eaten. Five were completely destroyed.
What Proper Termite Treatment Involves
The technician explained that termite treatment for a library would be different from a home. We could not spray chemicals near the books. Instead, they would use a baiting system. Small plastic stakes containing a slow acting poison would be placed in the soil around the library. Termites would eat the bait, carry it back to their colony, and share it with the queen and other termites. The colony would die within weeks.
They also treated the wooden bookcases with a gel that kills termites on contact. They advised us to throw away all cardboard boxes and replace them with plastic bins. Cardboard is like candy for termites.
The Result
The termite control company came back every month for three months to check the bait stations. By the second month, termite activity had stopped. By the third month, the colony was dead. We have had no termites since.
We now have a termite treatment contract. The company inspects the basement every six months. We also changed our storage practices. No cardboard. No wooden boxes. The basement is now dehumidified. The books are in metal shelves and plastic bins.
If you have paper, books, or important documents, do not ignore termites. They are silent destroyers. A proper termite control program is not expensive compared to the cost of losing irreplaceable history. Our library learned that lesson the hard way. Do not let your home or your collection be the next victim.
The technician explained that termite treatment for a library would be different from a home. We could not spray chemicals near the books. Instead, they would use a baiting system. Small plastic stakes containing a slow acting poison would be placed in the soil around the library. Termites would eat the bait, carry it back to their colony, and share it with the queen and other termites. The colony would die within weeks.
They also treated the wooden bookcases with a gel that kills termites on contact. They advised us to throw away all cardboard boxes and replace them with plastic bins. Cardboard is like candy for termites.
