For years now, Cam High has had both educational and hygienic problems regarding the ant population throughout the school.

Mrs. Brandae Rossini has reported a disruption in her educational efficiency during prep period because of ants in her classroom. “Instead of grading papers, or preparing lessons, or finding projects, I have to spend much of that time cleaning up the ants. I don’t have much prep time…,” and in her personal experience she has, “never not had a problem with ants.”

On the flip side, Mr. Glenn Lipman has commented, saying that, “ants are a part of the world.”  The pest is being controlled, not by pesticides, but by, “natural products,” that must be approved by the district office because the use of chemicals could poison students.

These, “natural products,” as found in Rossini’s room and many rooms like hers, trap the ants with a sticky material, much like fly tape and are distributed by the custodian throughout the school.

The ant population, since it primarily feeds off of the trash that students throw away, is able to live almost anywhere because student trash is almost everywhere. Ants are even crawling under the door of the custodian’s room, but Lipman has stated that these trash cans are power washed periodically to eliminate them as a food source and help reduce the ant population.

In Rossini’s opinion, district administration’s solutions are not working, but to Lipman’s point, “ants are everywhere,” and Cam High must use legally approved strategies to eradicate them.