Ways to Protect Books from Termites

Would like to know what are the ways to protect books from termites?
I usually put all books on bookshelves, but after moving to another house which has a history of termite, I am not sure whether or not I should wrap all my books in plastics, but read some posts that using cling / food wrap is not encouraged.
Please advise.

Termites live in tunnels attached to wood structures and to the ground. The tunnels extend as they feed on the wood, but the insects don’t go searching for other things to consume. Just don’t put your books in contact with the ground.

I've lived in a house with a termite problem. The insects tunneled in the wood flooring for years but stayed out of the walls, furniture, and books (except for dying all over the place at the end of mating season).

As far as I know, the wood in books is much less appealing than other sources. My amateur guess is that as long as you prevent a severe infestation in which they're eating everything they can, then your books are safe.

Ok thanks very much!

Termites are not a problem. Dermestid beetles, however, can be. They leave little holes and tunnels in your book. Not so much of a problem as a nuisance when you have them and rather rare today, as modern books don't generally use animal glue which was a major attractant for them. Under normal circumstances, these pests aren't a problem today. I have a few older books with small holes in the text block caused by dermestids, but nothing dramatic.

Not to cause anyone distress or paranoia, this article gives a thorough run-down on insect pests that can affect books.

>5 Glacierman: Interesting Wikipedia reference - makes me glad I live in the UK! They do, however, say about termites: Termites are the most devastating type of book eating pest. They will eat almost every part of a book including paper, cloth, and cardboard, not to mention the damage that can be done to shelves. Termites can make entire collections unusable before the infestation is even noticed.

Since there are many different species of termites, advice based on one type of termite might not be useful for other termites.

"As of 2013, about 3,106 living and fossil termite species are recognised, classified in 12 families." Wikipedia.

>6 abbottthomas: Devastating, perhaps, but quite rare, I should think. Everything I have read in the past mentions dermestids, booklice, etc., etc., but barely mention termites as a book problem. They are far more likely to be a house problem, which, of course, could eventually reach your books, but by then, you would have a far more severe problem to deal with: the integrity of your house/foundation.

Personally, I'm much more concerned about silverfish in a collection than termites around the library. Those nasty insects tend to be solitary, but they love to scrape off older book covers. They'll eat both fabric and paper, including glossies. Their excrement stains and stinks like formic acid. And their crawl reminiscent of swimming is freakish.

Termites in a house is not a good thing, but I don't think it's the worst threat for books.

>9 aspirit: I read that fresh cloves (and a few aromatic herb oils) deters silverfish by smell, as does diatomaceous Earth powder dry out their bodies when they contact the powder... and cockroaches similarly re cloves... (by the way, Roaches LOVE old coffee so I purposefully leave some coffee cups with dregs for that... it sorts them well and is a good indicator if cockroaches are around..)... A quick search on these and other critters is most interesting...

Well, don’t put mothballs down if you’re trying to get rid of termites. Apparently they synthesise naphthalene to deter other insects.

We have a termite issue that recurs sporadically but so far (touch wood) I haven’t seen my books being affected. They did munch the bottom shelf out of a bookshelf I had recently bought but I hadn’t put any books in yet.

I was less worried about termites because our home has been treated (we have never had them in the house) but I was worried about other book pests. I studied about was to protect and now use lavender sachets at the back of my book cases and every once in a while I crush the sachets to reactivate the lavender smell--it works.

We’re doing some renovations around the house including for my library. I’ve asked them to do their best to termite-proof my bookshelves - especially after my architect told us a horror story about one house he did where the husband had had a collection of books which his wife hadn’t touched after he passed away. When they took the books off the shelves for the renovations they discovered that though the spines were intact, the innards had been chewed away to nothing by termites. *shudder*