MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — On Sept. 13, the South Orange-Maplewood School District sent a letter to the community alerting it of a mice infestation in school buildings.
“SOMSD recently received a letter from the Maplewood health officer about the problem of mice in school buildings,” the Sept. 13 letter read. “This is, of course, an issue which the district addresses year round. We have an Integrated Pest Management plan which complies with state requirements for schools, including that schools use methods that eliminate mice and other pests, but which are safe for everyone else.”
According to the district, following reception of the notice from the Maplewood health officer, the district “has heightened our monitoring for pests, met with cleaning crews, expanded our cleaning and prevention protocols and increased the frequency of pest control treatments.” The district stressed that extra attention is being paid to areas where food is prepared or eaten.
In order to better remediate the mice problem, the district is asking all staff, families and students to limit food in areas outside of cafeterias to the fullest extent possible; store snacks in metal or hard plastic containers that prevent mice entry; pack lunches in containers that prevent mice entry; remind children not to open their lunch boxes until they are in the cafeteria; and ensure that wrappings and leftovers are only disposed of in proper receptacles. Additionally, building principals will be notified directly if there are additional steps that need to be taken in their school.
According to the district, it uses a three-step approach in manage pests: monitoring, prevention and control.
The first step is to monitor and identify pests. Pest control logs are available in the main office of each school. When a sighting or area of concern is identified, the information is placed in the log. On a regular schedule, a vendor comes in and treats the areas reported in the log. Measures have been stepped up in areas designated for food consumption and large group areas will always be assumed as an area of concern. Custodians are being instructed to list pest sightings or evidence of pest sightings in the logs.
As for prevention, the No. 1 rule to managing pests is to limit food consumption to designated areas of the buildings. In addition to limiting food sources — pests are attracted to food — throughout the building, the district reorganized custodial services to improve the cleanliness of the buildings.
In addition to the health departments’ request to limit food consumption in the classrooms, the district has been: cleaning out the inside of all motorized equipment such as vending machines; thoroughly cleaning cafeteria equipment and floors; installing exterior first-floor screens to prevent mice from penetrating buildings through ventilation ducts; and continuing to seal holes and cracks to prevent mice from penetrating buildings.
As for control, the district is increasing the frequency of treatment across all buildings, according to the SOMSD.
“As always, our top priority is to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all of our students and staff,” the Sept. 13 letter read. “We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our schools clean and reducing possible attractions for mice.”
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