.......IPM

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Benefits

Schools face many difficult issues in this modern age and educators have a very tough job teaching our children the skills they will need in the 21st century. Teachers are concerned about class size, teacher pay, having enough books and computers, providing nourishing meals to students who come from impoverished backgrounds and the growing problem of violence. Head lice, fire ants, and even excessive weeds in the playgrounds are also problems. A thoughtful and balanced approach to pest management can be a very effective tool to providing a solution to these pest problems.

Pest problems vary greatly among the 50 states, and it is unrealistic to think an IPM program that works in Florida would also work in Maine. To make an IPM program its most beneficial, it should be tailored to the needs of a specific school - there is no "one size fits all" approach available.

There are three steps in integrated pest management:

1. Identify and monitor the pests.
   IPM begins by identifying pests in and around school property and monitoring the level of infestation. Accurate pest identification is critical. Each pest has a life cycle and certain environmental needs. Proper identification and monitoring makes it easy to select the most appropriate, cost effective control available. It's important to know when pests invade a school and where they are located. Often, sticky traps are used for monitoring pest populations. The traps show what type and how many pests are present.
2. Determine an action threshold.
   A school or school district should determine an "action threshold." This is the level of pest infestation and activity that can be tolerated. The action threshold for each pest is determined by the potential severity of the damage caused by the pest, site characteristics, health concerns related to the pest and site user needs. Each school or district may have different action thresholds.
3. Take preventative or curative actions.
   Accurate pest identification and awareness of the action threshold gives a school's pest management team the information needed to take action. IPM encourages the use of several pest control methods, allowing each school or district to create the best, safest pest control program. Among the IPM pest control tools available are: sanitation; structural repair and maintenance; watering and mowing practices; pest resistant plant varieties; and judicious use of pesticides.
   

Once an IPM program is in place, it's important to choose the right treatment options to control pests. Here are a few to consider:

Education
Information that will help change student and staff behaviors - particularly how they dispose of wastes and store foods - play an invaluable role in managing pests like cockroaches, ants, flies, yellowjackets and rodents. Education is a cost-effective pest management strategy.

Spot treatments
Pesticide treatments should be applied when and where needed. It isn't always necessary to treat an entire building or landscape area to solve a pest problem. By monitoring to pinpoint where pest numbers are beginning to reach an action level and confining treatments to those areas, costs and exposure can be kept to a minimum. Examples of spot treatments include baits that are applied to pest harborages or contained in childproof bait stations, dusts that are applied to space behind walls or in attics or crack and crevice injections that target the pests where they live.

Habitat modification
Pests need food, water and shelter to survive. If the pest manager can eliminate or reduce even one of these requirements, the environment will support fewer pests.

Design or redesign of structure
Design changes can incorporate pest-resistant structural materials, fixtures and furnishings. These changes sometimes can entirely eliminate pest habitat. For example, buildings designed without exterior horizontal ledges will reduce pigeon problems. Inside, industrial stainless steel wire shelving mounted on rolling casters, rather than built-in shelves, helps reduce roach habitat and facilitates cleanup of spilled food.

Sanitation
Improved sanitation practices, such as removing trash on a regular basis, can reduce or eliminate food for pests.

Eliminating Pest Habitat
How this can be done, varies depending upon the pest. Some examples include caulking cracks and crevices to eliminate cockroach and flea harborage, removing clutter that provides roach habitat and removing dense vegetation near buildings to eliminate rodent harborage.

Modification of Horticultural Activities
Planting techniques, irrigation, fertilization, pruning and mowing can all affect how well plants grow. Many problems encountered in school landscapes are attributable to using the wrong plants and/or failing to give them proper care. Healthy plants are often likely to have fewer insects, mites or diseases. It's very important the person responsible for school landscaping has the knowledge needed to do the job with pest management in mind.

For more information about pests and IPM, consider these resources:

Pest Facts Information Center ( www.pestfacts.org ) - visit this web site sponsored by RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) for information about children's health in schools, IPM and the risks posed by pests.

School IPM website ( www.ifas.ufl.edu/~schoolipm/ ) - The University of Florida, Gainesville, has created an IPM website that provides tools for schools to begin an IPM program. The site responds to parental concerns regarding pesticide use and contains links to additional state IPM programs.

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