Two minutes

Keeping critters out of class

There's a bug in the rug. There's a mouse in the house. Critters at the schoolhouse door! These funny lines from an elementary storybook aren't so amusing when they become reality.

Critter alert: That's when savvy school administrators make a call to Iowa State Extension entomologist Mark Shour, whose mission to keep bugs, mice and other critters out of school.

School IPM: Shour uses Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to make school dropouts of pests. The idea behind IPM is to minimize the need for pesticides by employing more environmentally sound techniques to keep pests at bay. Shour began training Iowa school staff in IPM nine years ago and since has taken his training program to schools around the country.

Fewer pesticides, better results: The IPM techniques work well in keeping critters out of the classroom in Iowa and elsewhere. IPM practices in 10 school districts in several states cut pesticide applications by an average 71 percent and reduced complaints by 78 percent.

Seeking more converts: Shour hopes to see more use of IPM in Iowa schools and child care and elderly care facilities. "Once we get people to stop and think about the ways they can manage pests, we can eliminate the use of pesticides when they really are not needed, be cost-efficient and present little to no risk to people or the environment," he said. "It really is a winning solution."

-- Willy Klein