What’s your job? is a series focused on the work of FP&M employees. As the largest and most diverse nonacademic unit on campus, it can be challenging to learn everything our division is responsible for. These stories shine a light on FP&Mers and what they do to keep campus safe, sustainable and successful.
Amidst the activity of UW–Madison’s vibrant campus, Richard Ness operates behind the scenes as the university’s sole dedicated Pest Control Specialist. Richard’s meticulous efforts ensure that pest-related challenges are met with swift and effective resolution. We had the privilege of shadowing Richard for the day to experience his daily practices in his role in the Services unit of FP&M’s Physical Plant department.
On April 8, much of the U.S. was anticipating and planning for the “great solar eclipse” of 2024, figuring out how and where they would view it safely on an otherwise bustling Monday.
But like many of FP&M’s behind-the-scenes workers, Richard was carrying on business as usual, planning his week. He started his day in his uniquely decorated office, covered floor to ceiling in posters, books and models of animals and insects. He has stacks of equipment with many notes about their usage and whereabouts.
First, Richard sat down at his desk to check his work orders for the day and plan out his schedule.
“Just regular work orders, I have 306, so I have to prioritize,” Richard said. “It’s tricky to balance all of my tasks … but if there’s bats flying around somebody’s classroom, I have to get to them first, so I’m constantly prioritizing.”
Richard then walked through his rodent trap system, which protects students and employees from rodent-borne diseases, noting it has been one of his most significant undertakings at the university. This system has more than 600 traps and spans the whole campus, occupying much of Richard’s time in his day-to-day work. The smart traps are all linked together through a frequency that alerts Richard whenever a trap makes a catch, and he checks daily to make sure all traps are still connected to the network.
Richard is working to improve the system’s location tracking. Currently, he knows what building and room he placed the trap in due to his notes, but if it is moved by students, faculty or staff, he is unable to locate the trap. To fix this, he has been experimenting with Tile devices to track the traps and get an exact location.
“The trap tells me when I catch a [pest], but it doesn’t tell me where the trap is,” Richard said. “I set it down, and I have to take careful notes and enter in the trap information … but then I go there, and it’s not there. There’s no way to track it down, but now I have these Tile airtags. Those will fit in the trap, and I only use that when I put the trap in a public place.”
After checking his work orders, Richard got in his van to take care of his first call of the day. His van is filled with a variety of equipment, so he is prepared for any type of pest he might run into.
After a short drive, Richard responded to one of his first work orders of the day, 10 floors up on the roof of the Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research. There has been an ongoing issue with birds, and he was called in to help limit any damage they may cause to electrical systems on the roof of the building. He then responded to a call in the Integrated Liberal Studies building.
“I generally take what’s called an integrated pest management approach where I go and assess what the issue is first,” Richard said. “Is it day; is it night? Is it the first time it’s ever happened? What’s the history?”
He was called about rodent sightings in an office, and after assessing the environment, decided to add a trap. Richard then secured a network connection from his phone and placed it behind a desk. He will wait to see if he gets an alert on his system from in a few days.
After taking care of the situation, Richard traveled across campus to the Humanities Building. He descended to the basement and was met with the university’s sewer and pipe system as well as any pests drawn to the dark, damp environment. He evaluated the presence of commonly found bugs, which has been one of Richard’s biggest projects due to the steam pipe heating system on campus.
“Because all of the buildings are heated by steam that the power plants produce … In the winter it can be super cold, 40 below out there, but down in the steam tunnels it’s nice and the (pests) can find whatever ideal temperature they want,” Richard said.
Richard is the one-person-machine that helps protect the whole campus. He is the hero that goes unseen but not unnoticed. Spending the day with Richard showed his passion for what he does and dedication to keeping the campus safe and clean.
“I like my job because there’s always something new around the corner to keep it exciting,” Richard said. “There’s new technology and new buildings that bring new challenges to solve.”
Want to learn more about Pest Control at FP&M? More information is available on the Physical Plant webpage. You can get in touch with Richard at richard.s.ness@wisc.edu.
By Colby Bellaman and Hannah Rifkin
Colby was a strategic communications student intern with FP&M Marketing & Communications. She graduated with a degree in Strategic Communications in spring 2024, after working at FP&M since fall 2023.
Hannah Rifkin was a strategic communications student intern with FP&M Marketing & Communications. She graduated with a degree in Journalism in spring 2024, after working at FP&M since fall 2023.