Why should we care about school IPM?

Schools are places where children spend the major part of their day, enabling adults to pursue their jobs and other activities. Children’s behaviors and developing bodies make them especially vulnerable to pests and pesticides. Ineffective pest management practices often result in unnecessary exposure to pesticides, unnecessary expenses and underutilization of school spaces. Unhealthy learning environments with hazards from pests and pesticides have profound effects on human health. For example, mice and cockroaches produce asthma-triggering allergens. In addition, over-reliance on pesticides exposes children and staff to dangerous chemicals. School IPM is a powerful tool for addressing these challenges. IPM or integrated pest management is a sensible, effective and environment-friendly way to solve pest problems. In IPM, pests are managed by the most economical means with the least possible risk to people, property and the environment. Benefits of IPM include reduction in pest complaints, pesticide applications and costs, asthma incidence and absenteeism, and improvements in indoor air quality, student scholastic performance and staff work performance. IPM also prevents future infestations of pests. IPM uses simple and effective steps such as inspection and monitoring to detect pest problems and correct pest vulnerable conditions. Measures such as sanitation and exclusion are used to prevent infestations, and control methods are used only when pests reach critical levels. School staff engaged in pest management can easily include IPM in their daily activities, without creating additional work. Anyone with an interest in safe and healthy learning environments can help schools to practice IPM. What will you do?