London (CNN) – An army of small parasitic wasps will be unleashed inside the English manor house where Anne Boleyn was born, to hunt down and eradicate the moths that threaten the mansion’s furniture and artifacts.
The Blickling Hall in Norfolk, in the east of England, could not contain an invasion of clothing moths, which could damage carpets, furniture, clothing and other wool and silk objects inside the historic house.
But administrators believe the creatures will gather when they introduce several microscopic wasps and parasites into the building.
The wasps – Trichogramma evanescens – measure approximately 0.5 millimeters and are barely visible to humans.
They will look for moth eggs and lay their own eggs inside, so a new wasp emerges instead of a moth larva.
Once their kamikaze mission is over, the wasps will eventually die and disappear into domestic dust, according to property managers, who believe the pest control attempt is the first of its kind within a heritage environment.
“We really hope that this pioneering approach will provide a practical and sustainable method that any of our properties can use to deal with serious infestations,” National Trust Deputy Conservative Hilary Jarvis said in a statement.
“While rare, (moths) can sometimes be immune to our usual milder approaches, with potentially serious results.”
The Trust, which runs the property, said the wasps will be supplied in small card dispensers that can be “discreetly hung or placed in drawers or open rooms.”
Blickling Hall was listed in the 11th-century Domesday Book, Britain’s first public register, and was later owned by Geoffrey Boleyn.
Her granddaughter, Anne Boleyn, is believed to have been born at home. It happened to become the unfortunate second wife of Enrique VIII, giving to light to the future queen Isabel I and, later, being assassinated by its beheading after not to have given a son to the governor.
It now welcomes visitors, but is closed during the third national coronavirus blockade in England.
“When we closed all our homes, we knew that insects would probably thrive, so pest monitoring was high on the list of essential tasks in 2020,” said Jarvis, who also cited the mild British winter as due to the growth in the number of moths.