Anoxic pest treatment is a safe and effective method used to eliminate and control pests, primarily insects, within museum collections, archives, libraries, and other cultural heritage institutions. It is employed to protect valuable artefacts, while minimising the risk of damage that chemical treatments might cause.

The technique involves creating an oxygen-free (anoxic) environment to eradicate pests without using chemical pesticides. It is suitable for most artefacts, including furniture, frames, paintings, paper artworks, books, textiles, leather, and artefacts of composite materials.

Our anoxic chambers can be customised to the size and environmental requirements of your artefacts allowing multiple artefacts to be treated at once reducing the time and expense of individual treatments.

Your artefacts can be treated in situ or at any one of our lab locations across Australia.

The stages of treatment:‍

Sealing: The collection or specific objects to be treated are placed within a sealed chamber or enclosure, which can be airtight.

Monitoring: The oxygen levels within the sealed environment are closely monitored to ensure they drop to a level where pests cannot survive. Generally, the oxygen concentration is reduced to below 1% to create anoxic conditions.

Oxygen removal: Oxygen is gradually removed from the chamber using inert gases, such as nitrogen or argon, or a vacuum pump. This process can take several days or even weeks, depending on the volume of the chamber and the desired level of oxygen reduction.

Pest eradication: As the oxygen levels decrease, pests within the chamber are unable to breathe and die. This includes insects in all life stages (egg, larvae, pupae, and adult).‍

Quality assurance:  Post-treatment inspections are carried out to confirm the effectiveness of the process and ensure that no live pests remain

Anoxic treatment offers a safe and effective alternative for pest eradication that is chemical-free and has no risk of thermal shock, moisture condensation, or adhesive creep.

Contact us today to discuss your specific requirements for pest eradication from your artworks, objects, or collection.