Rodent Prevention:
Mice are most active in the fall, seeking a warm, friendly space to
live in during the winter months. If you let them enter your buildings through
any ¼” crack and then feed them, you shold probably begin to name them and
keep them as pets because you will have created the perfect environment for
them to enter and thrive! When mice are supplied food,
warmth and cover, by you, they can multiply quickly.
In just a few months a school classroom can go from having a few mice
to having several dozen mice running around.
The school’s role in an IPM program is to regularly repair
doors, door gaskets and sweeps and then keep doors closed, repair
walls, eliminate clutter and debris, remove/trim overgrown weeks and
vegetation, repair all leaks and moisture problems, keep floors clear and
clean and properly store all food and garbage. Don’t forget to eliminate
fallen fruit from the trees outside and to close all dumpsters at night. Some
of the more “mouse vulnerable areas” of a school include the following:
Cluttered classrooms with unprotected foods stored in
cabinets.
Kitchen cabinets and accessible kitchen wall voids where
openings into the walls remain unrepaired.
Kitchen storerooms, especially those using old wood shelving
with gondola-style bases (creating enclosed floor voids) and/or cluttered
storerooms with unprotected food and boxes on the floor or shoved up against
the wall.
Student lockers: Often lockers accumulate papers, food scraps
and other items attractive to mice for feeding and nesting.
Any closets where unprotected snacks, e.g., candies, popcorn,
are stored like band booster rooms, snack bars, promo rooms and closets.
Cluttered receiving areas around large bay doors.
Custodial closets where clutter and garbage is not quickly
discarded.
Suspending ceilings above all mouse-vulnerable areas.
For schools in rural areas surrounded by crop fields,
it can be expected that mice will try to move into the school when crops are
harvested in the fall. Good
rodent-proofing of the school will go a long way in minimizing the numbers
that get in. If they do, don’t
forget how to make walk-the-plank™
traps.
Dog Rules:
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The dog is not allowed in the house.
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Okay, the dog is allowed in the house, but only in certain
rooms.
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The dog is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the
furniture.
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The dog can get on the old furniture only.
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Fine, the dog is allowed on all the furniture, but is not
allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed.
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Okay, the dog is allowed on the bed, but only by invitation.
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The dog can sleep on the bed whenever he wants, but not under
the covers.
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The dog can sleep under the covers by invitation only.
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The dog can sleep under the covers every night.
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Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the
dog.
A Few Poorly Chosen Words from the Past
Today is full of blind spots. So was yesterday, the year before, the century before that,
the millennium before that. The future is perpetually around the corner,
invisible to mere mortals, no matter how wise.
To wit, these pratfalls (culled from the Internet) various
media and Herb London, publisher of American Outlook magazine):
“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and
find oil? You’re crazy.”
– Workers to railroad conductor Edwin Drake before he
drilled the first successful U. S. oil, 1859.
“Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the
voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no
practical value.”
– Boston Post, 1865
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
– Charles Duell, director of the U. S. Patent Office, 1899
“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”
– Lord Kelvin of the British Royal Society, one of the 19th
century’s top experts on thermodynamics, 1890s.
“The world is coming to an end in 1950.”
– Historian Henry Adams, 1903
“There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the
atom.”
– Nobel Prize-winning physicist Robert Milliken, 1923
“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?”
– H. M. Warner, Warner Bros., 1927
“A rocket will never be able to leave the earth’s
atmosphere.”
– The New York Times, 1936
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
– IBM’s Thomas Watson, 1943
“Television won’t last because people will soon get tired
of staring at a plywood box every night.”
– Producer Darryl Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, 1946
“If excessive smoking actually plays a role in the
production of lung cancer, it seems to be a minor one.”
– W. C. Heuper, National Cancer Institute, 1954
“You ain’t going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to
driving a truck.”
– The Grand Ole Opry’s Jim Denny to Elvis Presley, 1954
“By 2000, politics will simply fade away. We will not see
any political parties.”
– Visionary and inventory R. Buckminister Fuller, 1966
“There is no need for any individual to have a computer in
their home.”
– Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
“640K ought to be enough for anybody.”
– Microsoft’s Bill Gates, 1981, whose computers now offer
more than 500 times that much memory.
A State Police Officer sees a car puttering along at 22 MPH.
He thinks tohimself, “This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!” So
he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over. Approaching the car, he
notices that there are 5 old ladies–2 in the front seat and 3 in the back–wide
eyed and white as ghosts.
The driver, obviously confused, says to him, “Officer, I don’t
understand, I was doing eactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?”
“Ma’am,” the officer replies, “you should know that
driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers.”
“Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed
limit exactly...22 miles an hour!” the old woman says a bit proudly.
The State Police Officer, trying to contain a chuckle,
explains to her that “22” was the route number, not the speed limit.
A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer
for pointing out her error.
“But before I let you go, Ma’am, I have to ask...Is
everyone in this car o.k.? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven’t
muttered a single peep this whole time,” the officer asks.
“Oh, they’ll be all right in a minute officer. We just got
off Route 119.”
We have always said our purpose was to safely eradicate head
lice! The current
figures are showing a constantly lowering of head lice infestations.
I believe this is directly in proportion to the number of Not Nice to
Lice® Shampoos that are being sold.
“I bought a dog the other day. I named him Stay. It was fun
to call him...‘Come here, Stay.’ He went insane.” –Stephen Wright
Stinging insects in the ground? Remember,
most insects only sting if you approach their nest. Cordon or rope off the area to prevent children from being
stung. You can flood the area
with a hose-end sprayer filled with dish soap with a few drops of peppermint
oil or a little floor stripper. You could also carefully cover the area with
black plastic or visquine. Weigh down the edges and let the sun work for a few
weeks. – Don’t let anyone “peek” under the plastic!
The Buzz: The
summer band class was just getting underway when a large insect flew into the
room. The 6th graders, eager to
play their shiny new instryments, tried to ignore the buzzing intruder, but
eventually one student, Tommy, could stand it no more.
He rolled up his music book and swatted the insect and then
stomped on it to ensure its fate. “Is it a bee?” another student asked.
“Nope,” Tommy replied. “Bee flat.”
School
YearTentative Schedule
MICHIGAN
1st Mon:
Waverly
1st Tues:
West Ottawa
1st Wed:
Greenville/Coopersville
1st Thurs:
Paw Paw/Bangor
2nd Mon:
Grand Haven/Fruitport
2nd Tues:
Shelby/Fremont
2nd Wed:
Sylvan
2nd Thurs:
Godwin Heights
3rd Mon:
Kalamazoo
3rd Tues:
Harbor Springs/East Jordan
3rd Wed:
Muskegon Area Inter./
Reeths-Puffer
OHIO
4th Mon:
Perrysburg/Yellow Springs
4th Tues:
Beavercreek/Mad River/
Northmont
4th Wed:
Brookville/Twin Valley
This poem was written by Mother Teresa and is engraved on the
wall of her home for children in Calcutta.
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People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
forgive them anyway.
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If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior
motives; be kind anyway.
-
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and
some true enemies; succeed anyway.
-
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest
and frank anyway.
-
What you spend years building, someone could destroy
overnight; build anyway.
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If you find serentity and happiness, they may be jealous; be
happy anyway.
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The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do
good anyway.
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Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
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You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it
was never between you and them anyway.
This newsletter sort of works like manure: It works best if
you spread it around! –S.L.T.
Final Note: Several schools are already reporting mice
invasions before cold weather. Our inspections have noted all of the doors
were propped open and food and garbage improperly stored. No amount of the
trapping will control rodent infestations when you create these conditons so
conducive to infestation. Please correct them now.
Steve ended August and started September by flying to
California to speak at several locations.
Hopefully by now “everyone” has made and installed some
wasp traps, at least near the dumpsters.
Have a great Fall! Steve
Get Set, Inc.
2530
Hayes Street
Marne,
MI 49435-975102
1-616-677-2850
