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November 8, 2004

The Monroe County Community Schools Corporation (MCCSC) is the most recognized school system in the nation for its IPM prowess.  How has MCCSC made such a big splash in the school IPM pond? The answer is in the many partnerships developed by John Carter, Director of Planning, and Jerry Jochim, IPM Coordinator.  These partnerships have delivered benefits to more than 1 million students - well beyond the 20 school facilities and 10,000 students in the MCCSC system.

The first opportunity was presented in 1994 by Dr. Marc Lame, a former cotton IPM Extension agent, and at the time new professor at Indiana University in the School of Public Health and Environmental Management.  Jochim, with 11 years experience in custodial management, and Carter agreed to be trained in IPM.  Carter was interested to see if an IPM approach might help resolve absenteeism with one pupil in particular, who would be out sick for 3-4 days after any pesticide treatment at his school.

Lame’s IPM philosophy boils down to “do what you’re doing now, just think pests.” Custodians learn how to defeat ants, rodents and cockroaches by denying food, water and shelter, making sure food crumbs are cleaned up at the end of the day, mops are hung “head up” to dry quickly, and cluttered areas are organized. Maintenance crews are taught to look for absent or broken door seals, to improve energy conservation and keep pests out at the same time. Kitchen staff and faculty are asked to store edibles in pest-proof containers rather than cardboard boxes, which are ideal “condominiums” for cockroaches.

Contractors supplying pest control or landscape service are expected to become educators and diagnosticians, rather than pesticide applicators arriving on a regular schedule and routinely treating for pests that may or may not be present.

Carter and Jochim proved to be very successful guinea pigs for this new approach.  The duo carefully documented a 50% reduction in pest control costs, and a 90% reduction in both pesticide applications and pest problems.  The initial collaboration has now become a road show, with new partnerships with school administrators and IPM experts in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Ohio, Indiana and the Navajo Indian Reservation.  The “Monroe Model” as it is now called, is a full blown IPM implementation program with 22 steps that guarantees fewer pest problems and pesticide applications.

At MCCSC, pest problems are reported to Jochim via monthly “Pest Sighting,” “Monitoring Program” and “Maintenance Needs” log sheets submitted by custodians at each school facility.  The sighting log is used to track any evidence of pests detected by building staff.  The monitoring log is used to record any captures on sticky traps placed in strategic areas, such as kitchens, food storage or locker rooms.  Each maintenance log sheet has check boxes to note “conducive conditions” for pests, such as broken windows, floor tile or wall, or clutter.  Jochim screens these reports and follows up with action when needed.

Jochim also responds to phone calls for urgent issues, such as ants in a classroom.  Rather than race over to the site with the sprayer, which might have been the response “in the old days,” Jochim talks through the problem, making sure than any food source has been identified and removed, and that “pheromone” or scent trails laid down by the ants to recruit other ants to the food source have also been cleaned up. 

“Inspect, detect, correct,” has become Jochim’s mantra to custodians.  By looking for and repairing cracks in concrete, baseboards, wallboards or underneath chalkboards, pest problems can be avoided. Concrete patch or silicon gel sealant become the tools of choice rather than the pesticide sprayer.

Other non-chemical approaches have included trap and removal for groundhogs, snap traps and glue boards for rodents, a “bat net” on the end of an extensible pole, and commercial scale garbage disposals in school kitchens to keep food waste out of dumpsters where it can attract yellowjackets, flies and rodents.  MCCSC recently expanded their IPM approach to managing weeds and insects on athletic fields.  

MCCSC’s IPM program has won more awards than any in the US, beginning with the Indiana Governor’s Award for Excellence in Pollution Prevention in 1997, followed by the US EPA Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) “Excellence Award” in 1999.  In 2001 and 2002, the program was recognized with a joint award from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana University’s School of Public Health and Environmental Affairs, and the Purdue School IPM Technical Resource Center.  The program has also been designated a PESP Champion in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, the University of Arizona presented John and Jerry with a Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding IPM training, in recognition of their efforts to expand the Monroe Model to Arizona School systems.

Look for the Monroe Model Team to descend on a school system near you!