Learn how to protect historic homes from pest infestations at latest heritage talk

Know your furniture beetle from your death watch beetle? Your silverfish from your wood weevil? Put your knowledge to the test!

Discover how to identify insect pests commonly found in historic buildings and how to tackle pest infestations at the next free heritage skills training talk from Fenland District Council’s Wisbech High Street Project.

‘Pest Identification, Monitoring and Trapping: Part One’ is the third in the series of heritage and conservation sessions and will led by Dr Lynda Skipper, a conservator and heritage scientist at the University of Lincoln.

It will be held online via Microsoft Teams on Thursday, 8 July, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, with a live recording of the talk being made available afterwards via the project’s YouTube channel. The talk is in two parts, with Part Two being held the following week on Thursday, 15 July.

The sessions will focus on familiarising participants with the main insect pests that affect historic buildings and collections, covering how to identify them and detect them through monitoring and trapping.

After the talk and interactive online exercises, participants will have a clearer understanding of pests that can damage historic materials, what types of materials they like to eat, and how to find them. Participants are encouraged to attend both parts of the talk if possible, to get a full overview of the whole topic, but they can also be enjoyed on a standalone basis.

Book your free place

To book your free place, email the Council’s Townscape Heritage Officer Taleyna Fletcher on tfletcher@fenland.gov.uk. You will then be added to the list of participants.

The Wisbech High Street Project, which is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Townscape Heritage scheme, is holding the free sessions as part of its ongoing community activity plan.

Cllr Chris Seaton, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Heritage, said: “Many insects are found in buildings, but it is important to distinguish between those which are not pests and those that can cause damage to objects or building structure. These sessions will help people to deal with and potentially prevent pest infestations from happening, whether in their own properties, or as someone who wants to develop their heritage/conservation career.”