OSU School IPM Program: Custodial Training Guide
Case #3
IPM Communication
You and the staff have received IPM education.
You have been chosen to place and check pest
monitoring traps in certain areas of the school.
However, you notice that some traps keep going
missing. Meantime, one of the teachers with a
recurring rodent issue has failed to reduce clutter in
his classroom, but keeps asking for snap traps.
Choose one or more answers for each option below. Discuss your choices with the IPM
Coordinator.
1. To address the mysterious disappearance of the monitoring traps, do you:
a) Ignore it, and feel thankful that you have an excuse not to monitor
b) Talk to staff individually, one at a time, over a period of weeks as time allows
c) Complain to the principal
d) Craft a brief e-mail with IPM/monitoring facts, and ask the principal to share it
2. If a teacher admits to removing the traps, citing them as a distraction to young
students, do you:
a) Stop monitoring in their room – you don’t have time to argue, or rock the boat
b) Hide the monitors and hope the teacher doesn’t notice
c) Discuss the importance of monitoring with the teacher and how they can help
with the pest issue that warrants the monitors
d) Work with the teacher to find less distracting places for the monitors
3. To address the clutter issue in the classroom with recurring mice issues, do you:
a) Shine a black light on the fresh mouse urine. Rely on shock and awe for an
attitude change
b) Provide educational materials on diseases that mice vector or cause
c) Provide another storage space
d) Ask the principal to deal with the teacher
e) Other (explain):
This document was created with funding support from the USDA/NIFA E-IPM grant program
J. Snyder