Because children are more sensitive than adults, pesticides need to be used carefully and judiciously, especially when used in sensitive areas where children are present.

The EPA recommends that schools use integrated pest management (IPM) to reduce pesticide risk and exposure to children. Put simply, IPM is a safer, and usually less costly option for effective pest management in a school community.

A school IPM program uses common sense strategies to reduce sources of food, water and shelter for pests in your school buildings and grounds. An IPM program takes advantage of all pest management strategies, including the judicious and careful use of pesticides when necessary.

Since children spend so much of their day at school, integrated pest management provides an opportunity to create a safer learning environment - - to reduce children’s exposure to pesticides as well as eliminate pests. EPA is encouraging school officials to adopt IPM practices to reduce children’s exposure to pesticides.

IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment.

This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

The IPM approach can be applied to both agricultural and non-agricultural settings, such as the home, garden, and workplace. IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides. In contrast, organic food production applies many of the same concepts as IPM but limits the use of pesticides to those that are produced from natural sources, as opposed to synthetic chemicals.

How do IPM programs work?

IPM is not a single pest control method but, rather, a series of pest management evaluations, decisions and controls. In practicing IPM, building managers who are aware of the potential for pest infestation follow a four-tiered approach. The four steps include:

Set Action Thresholds

Before taking any pest control action, IPM first sets an action threshold, a point at which pest populations or environmental conditions indicate that pest control action must be taken. Sighting a single pest does not always mean control is needed. The level at which pests will either become an economic threat is critical to guide future pest control decisions.

Monitor and Identify Pests

Not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms require control. Many organisms are innocuous, and some are even beneficial. IPM programs work to monitor for pests and identify them accurately, so that appropriate control decisions can be made in conjunction with action thresholds. This monitoring and identification removes the possibility that pesticides will be used when they are not really needed or that the wrong kind of pesticide will be used.

Prevention

As a first line of pest control, IPM programs work to manage the lawn, or indoor space to prevent pests from becoming a threat. Make sure that:

• The problem or pest is identified before taking action;

• Vegetation, shrubs and wood mulch should be kept at least one foot away from structures;

• Cracks and crevices in walls, floors and pavement are either sealed or eliminated;

• Lockers and desks are emptied and thoroughly cleaned at least twice yearly;

• Food-contaminated dishes, utensils, surfaces are cleaned by the end of each day;

• Garbage cans and dumpsters are cleaned regularly;

• Litter is collected and disposed of properly at least once a week;

• Fertilizers should be applied several times (e.g.,spring, summer, fall) during the year, rather than one heavy application; and

• If pesticides are necessary, use spot treatments rather than area-wide applications.

Control

Once monitoring, identification, and action thresholds indicate that pest control is required, and preventive methods are no longer effective or available, IPM programs then evaluate the proper control method both for effectiveness and risk. Effective, less risky pest controls are chosen first, including highly targeted chemicals, such as pheromones to disrupt pest mating, or mechanical control, such as trapping or weeding.

If further monitoring, identifications and action thresholds indicate that less risky controls are not working, then additional pest control methods would be employed, such as targeted spraying of pesticides. ❑