With school about to go back in session, the Omaha and Lincoln Public schools held in-service training for their custodial and food service staff this week and we were invited to speak. On Monday, Clyde, Stephen Vantassel, Barb Ogg, and I spoke at the LPS custodial in-service with about 300 people in attendance. We gave them information about general IPM and the demonstration project going on in the district,as well as presentations on specific pests--flies, rodents, and cockroaches. We also got questions on ants and head lice!
On Wednesday we met at a school in Omaha to train about 100 food service managers. In addition to doing the IPM, roach, and rodent presentations again, we did a talk focused on head lice and bed bugs. Although these wouldn't be probable pests in a kitchen setting, we discussed them at the request of the school. We certainly had their rapt attention, but also saw many shivers and scratching heads during the talk :-)
Finally, today I did a 45 minute presentation on IPM for around 325 LPS food service staff.
We hope that through these in-services and demonstration projects we are doing in the districts that Lincoln and Omaha Public Schools will embrace IPM and encourage its use in all their schools. Cooperation between the pest management company and the school is also of great importance in order to make a good IPM program work. We have emphasized both in the in-services and the visits that a good recordkeeping practice should be put in place to keep the PMP and the school informed of pest sightings and what IPM methods are being used to control pest problems.
We look forward to moving the schools in the direction of IPM with a goal of district adoption.
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