The top bug pests for National Trust properties

“SILVERFISH” bugs which feed on books, paper and cotton, and webbing clothes moths are the most prolific insect pests affecting National Trust stately homes.

The charity has revealed the findings of its annual assessment of key insect pests that are causing damage to its collections at historic houses and castles in its care.

It is likely that warmer winters and hotter summers as the climate heats up are supporting pest cycles and making diligent housekeeping ever more crucial in protecting heritage, the National Trust said.

Throughout the year, staff at historic properties monitor insect activity indoors to safeguard more than a million objects such as books, carpets, furniture and fabrics, and the information is gathered to create a national picture of pests.

In 2019, 164 historic properties reported on 15 different insect pest species.

The top five problem bugs were:

Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina), which feeds on books, paper and cotton;

Webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella), which feeds on silk, wool, fur and feathers;

Woolly bear (a generic term for various carpet beetle larvae), which eat silk, wool, fur and feathers;

Australian spider beetle (Ptinus tectus), which eats dust and detritus;

Common booklouse (Liposcelis bostrychophila) which feeds on paper.

There is a north-south divide for some bugs, with webbing clothes moths skewed mostly towards the southern half of the country and spider beetles more prevalent from the Midlands.