Skim through the book and look for black or rust-colored dots (bed bug feces) on the pages, as well as dark spots that may be crushed bed bugs on the pages. If you're looking at a hardback book, shine a flashlight into the space where the spine meets the pages.
If insects or bugs are your main concern, put the book(s) in a plastic bag and stick them in the freezer for a week. That will kill any bugs or eggs.
Open the book up. If little worms fall into your lap, you've got bookworms. They're not really worms, they are little grubs with bristles, and the bore holes through the pages and like to eat spines. Spray with Raid, sweap out all the book dust, wash and spray with Raid the shelves.
Make sure your books are kept dry, and never (as I once discovered to my cost) have books on shelves that back onto an uninsulated exterior wall. Pests are no usually a problem on books unless they are left undisturbed for long periods of time in dark, undisturbed places.
Freezing: - Place the book in a sealed plastic bag and freeze it for at least 72 hours. This can kill any mites or eggs without damaging the book. Humidity Control: - Store books in a low-humidity environment, ideally between 30-50% relative humidity. This will help prevent the return of mites. Regular Maintenance:
The best way to discourage insects (like termites, silverfish bookworms, etc.), apart from insecticides, is to make sure that the books are used a great deal and are dusted and wiped (with a dry cloth) regularly. The shelves must be kept clean and polished.
“I would suggest a cloth dampened with 70% alcohol might be the best option as this is a decent disinfectant and quickly evaporates,” Jason Tetro, a microbiologist, told Well+Good. Another tip: Place a sheet of wax paper under each page you're wiping down so that the alcohol doesn't soak through the paper.
Freezing is a typical method used by museums to kill pest and insects. “Freezing is preferable to heat in this case, as heat can accelerate the aging of books and paper,” Lamson said.
"Firstly, make sure the book is at room temperature, then wrap the book up in a plastic bag sealed with gaffer tape or zip-lock bag and place into your freezer for 48 hours. This prevents damaging the book by keeping out as much moisture as possible."
Signs that they may be lurking in your books include dark spots or stains on the pages where they may have gotten crushed, and tiny specs of bug poop. Sometimes you may also find corpses, eggs, or shells that the nymphs shed on their way to adulthood.
Using Heat Treatment Innovatively
These creatures can't live in temperatures beyond 120°F, and you can use this to your advantage. For the smaller household items like books, you can actually use a portable bed bug heater. Put your things inside, set the correct temperature and allow it to do its job.
Contrary to popular belief, the risk of acquiring bed bugs from library books is exceedingly low.
They can hide behind baseboards and in cracks, crevices, and folded areas of beds, bedding and adjacent furniture, especially mattresses and box springs. In books they can fit into the bindings and leave markings on pages.
I recommend using a damp microfiber or other cleaning cloth (or even an old-tshirt) and just a little bit of water. You can use the cloth on just about any surface or type of books. When I'm cleaning bookshelves or just taking the dust off the top edge of books, I also like to use a Swiffer cloth.
Storage Materials
Acid-free boxes, folders, and sleeves are ideal for protecting books from dust, light, and moisture. Avoid using plastic bags, as they can trap moisture and promote mold growth.
Heat can successfully eliminate bed bug infestations in many places chemicals cannot reach, such as between the sheets of a closed book. If we can successfully heat the interior of a 12' long 4"x12" wooden beam to 140°F, we can raise the temperature within a closed book to levels lethal to insects.
Vacuum each book with a HEPA-vac and place in an airtight bag. The HEPA-vac contains a special filter that traps small particles, like mold, enabling us to clean rodent droppings and dirt without blowing toxins back into the air.
Natural Predators: Spiders and certain beetles are natural enemies of booklice. While you might not want to introduce more insects into your home, encouraging these predators in your garden can help keep booklice numbers down. Essential Oils: Oils such as lavender and tea tree have insect-repellent properties.
Booklice got their name because, although not technically lice, they resemble lice in appearance since both bugs are flat and grayish brown. They also are often found in books, since they like to feed on the glue found in the binding.
Controlling moisture and dust in the unit is helpful, but care should be taken to keep the unit free of debris that can attract pests. Storing books in plastic containers with tight lids can also be helpful.
“You can just let books sit because the majority of microbes can't last without food and water for a long period of time,” he says. “If you just leave a book very, very, very dry and you leave it very, very, very dry for a week, you are reducing probably 99.9 percent of the problems.”
“There is no guaranteed way to apply a chemical treatment like alcohol-based wipes or a Lysol spray to a book that isn't going to cause a reaction,” Morgan said. Morgan also urges borrowers not to use UV ray exposure as a means of sterilizing library materials.
Remember not just to dust the outside, but to clean between all the pages and inside the covers. Use a dry paintbrush or a soft toothbrush to help remove the most stubborn dust. A vacuum cleaner can also be used to help remove dust. However, most modern vacuum cleaners can be too powerful.