<>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
School Facility Managers Realize Sustainable Pest Control Benefits
School facility managers across the United States have found that Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is
a sustainable, proactive and effective way to deal with pests. IPM saves them time, effort, and money-all
while creating healthier learning environments for students.
IPM HELPS SALT LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REDUCE PESTICIDE
USE BY 99 PERCENT. Before it implemented IPM, the Salt Lake City
school district approached pest management by applying pesticides
monthly in its 36 school facilities. With Mervin Brewer, assistant
custodial supervisor, leading the IPM effort, the district has handled
several pest issues. After 2009, with in-house pest monitoring and improved pest and
pesticide reporting, there have been fewer than 50 targeted pesticide applications in
the entire district, which is a 99 percent reduction in pesticide use. Once the district
adopted IPM and conducted in-house pest monitoring and pest-related maintenance
activities, expenditures dropped tremendously. Since July 2008, the school district
has saved over $160,000 with its IPM program.
Salt Lake City reduced rodent
problems by sealing entry points such
as pipes and cracks/holes in walls.
Photo: Mervin Brewer, SLCSD, UT
MANATEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT REDUCED
PESTICIDE COSTS BY 50 PERCENT. Florida's Manatee
County uses IPM for its 60 school facilities, grounds and
athletic fields, providing 49,000 students with healthy
learning environments. By implementing IPM, the district
reduced pesticide use by 80 percent and reduced pesticide
expenditures by 50 percent. The facilities team inspects and
monitors for pests and pest-conducive conditions. Teachers have learned
to store their food in plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. This has
reduced the amount of food in the classroom, resulting in fewer ants and
cockroaches. The facilities team treats fire ant mounds during the summer
when students are not in school. Before the fire ant control initiative,
some 400-500 students in the district would need medical treatment for
fire ant stings annually. This approach has resulted in fewer stings and
reduced student exposure to the pesticides used for fire ant control.
Red imported fire ant mounds: MCSD proactively
treats fire ant mounds during the summer when
students are not in school. This approach has
resulted in fewer fire ant stings.
Photo: Imported Fire Ant Station, USDA APHIS PPQ,
Bugwood.org
UGA1148038
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
PENNSYLVANIA'S UPPER MERION AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
EMBRACES IPM AS SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO PEST
CONTROL. With over 15 percent of the school district's 4,000
students diagnosed as asthmatic, reducing asthma triggers is of
paramount importance to the Upper Merion School District.
Fred Remelius, facility manager, regularly reminds staff that
both mice and cockroaches are significant asthma triggers that can be reduced
with IPM. Even with an effective IPM program in place, mice in older facilities
are one of the more challenging pest issues. Ultimately, the district's maintenance
staff followed mouse trails to find entry points, seal the holes, and close all other
gaps in the building, significantly reducing mouse problems.
Boxelder bugs clinging to the outside of a
classroom window were vacuumed off
without the application of pesticides.
Photo: Fred Remelius, UMSD, PA
MAINE'S GEORGE STEVENS ACADEMY SAVES $10,000
ANNUALLY BY REDUCING UNNECESSARY PESTICIDE AND
FERTILIZER USE. Prior to adopting IPM, the school contracted for
its field maintenance, fertilizer and pesticide applications. Buzz
Moore, grounds manager, questioned why the contracted
company was repeatedly adding lime to the athletic fields. He
George Stevens Academy saves thousands
of dollars on ineffective pesticide and
fertilizer applications.
Photo: Buzz Moore, GSA, ME
soon learned the company had never tested the soil to assess nutrient and pH
levels. Soil samples that Mr. Moore ordered showed the school fields did not
need the lime applications. The school had also been paying $2,500 per
pesticide application to control Japanese beetle grubs. After the grounds staff
received IPM training and obtained their state pesticide applicator licenses, the academy was immediately able to
reduce the number of pesticide and fertilizer applications. The grounds team now regularly tests the soil and
monitors for insect pests. The proactive IPM strategy saved the school $11,000 in the first year and over $10,000
each subsequent year.
COLORADO'S JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS SEE
IMMEDIATE REDUCTIONS IN PESTS AND PESTICIDE USE WITH IPM.
This district of 155 schools has achieved tremendous pest
management success since implementing IPM. Under the leadership
of facility manager Thomas Riggle, the district saw a 90 percent
reduction in pesticide applications and eliminated indoor pesticide spraying one year
into its IPM program. Installing door sweeps has drastically reduced pests entering
buildings. Witii IPM, the district has spent 50 percent less on pesticides and pest control
Photo: Thomas Riggle, JCPS, CO
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<>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
MAINE'S CAPE ELIZABETH SCHOOL DISTRICT REDUCED PEST
MANAGEMENT COSTS WITH IPM. According to Greg Maries,
director of facilities and transportation, the biggest challenge in
implementing IPM was the initial cost. The district attributes
its successful implementation to School Dude, the IPM
tracking system. The system tracks pest inspection and monitoring data,
including locations and dates of pest evidence, as well as pesticide
application data. This information has reduced all pest management costs.
With IPM, the entire district of 1,800 students is on a maintenance plan that
keeps it ahead of pest issues.
Cape Elizabeth SD sealed all spaces between
building foundation and steps to block entry
into school buildings.
Photo: Greg Maries, CESD, ME
FLORIDA'S MANATEE COUNTY SCHOOLS SOLVE
CHALLENGING BIRD PROBLEMS WITH IPM. Under the
guidance of Dan Lisenko, IPM coordinator and grounds
manager, the district's 60 facilities have implemented IPM in
their buildings and on their playing fields. Tire county faced
many bird-related issues, including sanitation and safety. To
tackle the problem, the district invested $300,000 over two
years to initiate a bird management program. The cost was
spread over 60 schools. After the initial investment, program costs were
dramatically reduced to less than $60,000 in the next two years. Mr. Lisenko
has shared his bird control tips with other school districts, helping them
address pressing issues quickly while putting into place a long-term, IPM-
based plan.
Manatee County solved the problem of
birds nesting atop field lights by building
osprey nesting platforms a safe distance
away from the lights and adding nesting
deterrents above the lights.
Photo: Dan Lisenko, MCSD, FL
KILLEEN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT USES IPM TO GIVE
STUDENTS HEALTHIER LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. Located in
Texas, the district serves 43,000 students with 6,200 employees.
The facilities manager led the transition to IPM by starting a
new cleaning process and adopting the School Dude
recordkeeping platform. When the district found that the
Breakfast in the Classroom program was increasing pest
problems, it replaced classroom carpet with tile, which is easier to clean. The
change led to fewer pests and less pesticide use. Outdoors, roosting swallows
created tilth, especially under the sports bleachers and stadium. Cleaning and
retrofitting of netting under these locations was required to deter thousands of birds.
Ever resourceful, the district enlisted the support of local social services to resolve a
student's unique bed bug challenge.
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Cleaning and installing netting under
the Killeen ISD stadium to deter
thousands of roosting swallows.
Photo: Paul Duerre, KISD, TX
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<>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
MAINE'S OXFORD HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT BOASTS 16
YEARS UNDER THE IPM UMBRELLA. Since 2003, the district
has had an IPM program for its 11 schools and 3,400 students.
Nelson Baillargeon, facilities director and IPM coordinator,
and his team focus on preventative maintenance such as
sealing holes where pests find their way into buildings. They
recognized the importance of installing and maintaining door
sweeps to exclude rodents and cockroaches. When challenged by recurring
pests, like ants, hornets and yellow jackets, everyone, including teachers, helps
look for these pests" food sources and points of entry. The IPM team follows
up to resolve any immediate threats and eliminate the pest-conducive
conditions to provide a sustainable solution.
Facilities staff placed caution tape and a
sign around the area: "Caution Ahead:
Bees at Work."
Photo: Nelson Baillargeon, OHSD, ME
CAUTIOfl AHEAD
Bees Al Work
PATERSON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT BENEFITS
FROM COMPLIANCE WITH NEW JERSEY IPM LAW.
The New Jersey district started implementing IPM in
1989 to address pest-related challenges in its 54
schools. According to Steven Morlino, executive
director of facilities management, the district
increased communication about pest issues and eliminated baseboard pesticide
treatments. They focused on improving sanitation, maintenance, pest exclusion
and pest monitoring. IPM staff inspect and monitor every building every other
week, report findings and take IPM-based actions. To comply with the state's
IPM law, teachers are not allowed to bring in over-the-counter pesticides. IPM
training helped staff solve a challenging and persistent raccoon problem by
discovering and securing the propped doors that were providing entry.
A Paterson school door propped open with
a garbage can entice pests, like raccoons,
to enter the school and make themselves
at home. This practice is rectified through
IPM education.
Photos: Steven Morlino, PPSD, NJ; Racoon
- Mark Hardin, HCPSS, MP
ROSS VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT USES IPM TO TARGET PEST
PROBLEMS. Located in Marin County, California, the K-8
district comprises five schools with 2,200 children. In
keeping with California's Healthy Schools Act, the district
has adopted IPM as its way of dealing with pests. For rats
and mice, staff follow their trails and apply targeted
management tactics. Gophers, whose holes in playing fields can injure
students, are their most significant outdoor pest. A private wildlife control
team monitors for gophers and traps them as needed. Educating teachers
and staff to reduce clutter is a preventative m easure used to decrease
incidence of black widow spiders, which seek out cluttered spaces.
Gopher holes in playing fields can directly result in
sports injuries. The district hired a private wildlife
control team to conduct every-other-week
monitoring and trapping. Photo: Gopher, like many
that inhabit the California hills surrounding Ross Valley
School District; WA State F & W.
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
MONROE COUNTY COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION REALIZES LONG-
TERM SUCCESS WITH IPM. This Indiana school district
quickly realized a 90 percent reduction in pesticide use,
pest complaints and pest control costs after it began its
IPM program. Dean Waldendzak, environmental/energy
specialist, said they began by sealing school buildings to
exclude pests, which also reduced energy consumption.
MCCSC also developed regular pest inspection and
monitoring protocols for high-pest areas such as kitchens. A major bed bug
problem led them to develop the MCCSC IPM Plan for Bed Buss to deal with
bed bugs hitchhiking into their schools. It includes procedures and advice on
targeted interventions for even rare and extreme bed bug cases.
effective kitchen IPM inspection
requires getting down on hands and
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