The three-day seminar was hosted by AgriLife Extension, a division of the Texas A&M System, and underwritten by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture. The seminar attendees included not only engineers, builders and architects, but entomologists and pest management experts. Several solutions were discussed, including such simple ideas as screening gaps, sealing conduits for electrical and sewer hook-ups, and creating smaller window ledges that won’t accommodate perching birds. The focus was to come up with ideas that would eliminate the need for chemical pesticides and poisons, that could easily be incorporated into an environmentally friendly building and qualify for certification under the Leadership in Energy Environmental Design (LEED) system. Seminar attendees took a break from the discussions to tour Hector Garcia Middle School, a near-by green building designed by Perkins and Will. Keeping the typically tight school budget in mind, the designers opted to use the natural environment to advantage. The building features walls of windows and open spaces, classrooms and labs situated in order to utilize the natural northern light. Exposure to the east and west sun is minimized, lowering the need for indoor cooling. In spite of the care taken with design and location of specific features at the school, though, mice are an acknowledged problem, apparently entering the building at a gap below some doors, and provided a clear example that the problem of pest management should indeed be addressed during a green building’s design.