Editor’s note: “Somebody’s gotta do it” is an ongoing series that runs on Thursdays. The series highlights ISU occupations that may not be the most glamorous – and may even be uncomfortable to some – but are important for the university.

When bats are flying around in buildings, mice are crawling through halls, and bugs are swarming everywhere, campus services puts Curtis Johnson on the case. Johnson, who is the only pest control operator on campus, is the one who puts animals in their place when things become a problem.

Johnson has been on staff at Iowa State for more than 20 years, and said about 50 percent of his job consists of pest control – dealing with insects, raccoons, mice, bats and other animals.

The other half of Johnson’s job, he said, involves grounds work, which includes a lot of lawn care and horticulture.

When a building on campus has a problem with animals, it sends in a request and Johnson takes care of it.

“The most common request seems to be American cockroaches, and they are usually far and few between, but I think the main source would be the drain systems through our storm sewers,” Johnson said. “Usually I’ll apply an insecticide in the areas that are having problems.”

The number of pest problems depends on the time of the year, Johnson said. He finds the winter has fewer problems with insects and other animals than spring, fall or summer.

The worst time for bugs is in the middle of the summer, said Kenneth Holscher, associate professor of entomology.

“I am asked all the time by people what the most dangerous bug – what the worst bug – is, not just on campus but basically everywhere,” he said.

That question, Holscher said, has no right or wrong answer.

“Cockroaches come to mind if you have an area where you have a lot of people living in apartment-type buildings,” Holscher said. “With people coming and going, there’s always that fear that cockroaches might come in spread from one unit to the next.”

Over the years, Johnson has dealt with some strange incidents, but he said the craziest thing he’s seen was when beavers got into Lake LaVerne and started chewing down trees.

Another strange on-campus incident for Johnson was caused by some weird raccoons.

“There have been a few raccoons that have been taken off campus in few unusual spots where they will just sit in broad daylight and it makes you wonder what is going on,” Johnson said.

For the most part, Johnson said he isn’t too bothered by his work with insects and animals, but there is one animal that slightly worries him.

“The one thing that concerns me a little bit is the bats,” Johnson said. “I’ve never had a problem with them. There’s a few times a year where the bats will end up inside of a building and a lot of the time it’s just ‘Grab them by the nape of the neck and release them.’ I’ve never been bitten by one.”

Johnson said the bats are normally easy to deal with, and he doesn’t normally worry about being attacked. If the bats start flying around, however, he said he has to be more cautious.

“Sometimes when they’re flying around agitated, they’re a little bit harder to deal with, he said. “They are one of the things that make me a little bit nervous, but I’ve never had a problem.”

Barbara Steiner, Johnson’s co-worker, occasionally helps him with pest control.

She said the most common pest-control request she has received is for bats. Domestic animals are also a common source of requests, she said.

“Sometimes we’ll have dogs that stray from their owners, so you just have to catch them and wait for the owner to catch up or we call Animal Control,” Steiner said. “None of us have tags, so it’s usually getting them linked up with the right person.”

Although he said the job can be crazy at times, Johnson said he’s happy to be working around the ISU campus.

“The best part of my job is working outside,” Johnson said. “I do enjoy working with some of the animal pests more than the insects. I enjoy being able to move around and not be in one position or one location all day. I enjoy horticulture, so I enjoy working on campus. It’s a very beautiful campus to work on.”