“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin Franklin
When thinking of preventing pests, getting rid of what they eat often tops the list of recommendations. Mice, roaches, and ants will find and consume any available food, including things we might not consider to be food such as glue, soaps, and their dead brethren. We’ve written about addressing food availability in the past. There is, however, a food adjacent issue that also needs to be considered. Written for homeowners, the article, This 1 Common Household Item Actually Attracts Cockroaches, is probably even more relevant to schools. (Spoiler: it’s cardboard.)
There is plenty of room for cockroaches within those nooks and crannies.
Consider the amount of items delivered to schools in corrugated cardboard. As Rodent and Structural Pest Management Coordinator Matt Frye points out, there is more than enough space for German cockroaches to hide within those ridged openings. If those boxes smell like food, they are even more attractive. And, alas, there is nothing you can do to prevent cockroach occupied boxes from being delivered.
In addition to corrugated cardboard serving as a cockroach delivery system, inside your building it can also serve as nesting material for rodents. To prevent providing resources to these pests, the IPM solution is to:
Don’t feed the pests! Place food in pest proof containers and get the cardboard out of the kitchen.
- Remove items from cardboard boxes
- Move food into pest proof containers
- Break those boxes down and place them in pest proof recycling bins as soon as possible
We recognize that purchasing pest proof containers and recycling bins is an investment, but it is one that will pay for itself in less food loss and contamination and fewer pest complaints in the future.
For more information about cockroaches, visit our What’s Bugging You? Cockroaches page. You can find more information about IPM in your schools at the Cornell IPM Schools and Daycare Centers webpage, Indoor Best Practices for Food Service and Best Management Practices for Classrooms, Offices, Staff Lounges, and Hallways.
