The Case of the Wild House Mouse. Urban Pest Management. Teaching Environmental Living Skills to Elementary Students.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a decision-making approach to pest control, is designed to help individuals decide if pest suppression treatments are necessary, when they should be initiated, where they should be applied, and what strategy and mix of tactics to use. IPM combines a variety of approaches with which to manage pests. These include human behavior changes, habitat modification, physical controls, biological control agents, and least-toxic chemical controls. Using these techniques, an IPM program maintains the size of a pest population at or below an acceptable level. In addition, the amount of toxic material put into the environment is kept as small as possible. This packet of materials graphically teaches K-6 students the basics of an IPM mouse control program. The packet consists of a bulletin board (which students help assemble), an informative (and entertaining) take-home booklet, and several reinforcing activities. Designed to fit easily into any teacher's schedule, the materials can be presented as a separate program or as a supplement to studies in language arts, science, or health. (JN)