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Questions About School IPM Now Answered Online - September, 2002
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- Can a teacher use a can of "Raid" to eliminate ants in his/her classroom? What is considered a pesticide? Does your school have to have an IPM plan? The answer to these questions and more concerning the new integrated pest management (IPM) in schools legislation are now answered through a new section of the Pennsylvania IPM Program's Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/schools/faq.html
IPM plans rely heavily on prevention, sanitation, maintenance, and monitoring to reduce the reliance on pesticides, says Ed Rajotte, professor of entomology at Penn State University and Pennsylvania IPM Program Coordinator. "Control strategies in an IPM plan include structural and procedural modifications that reduce the food, water, harborage, and access used by pests. Pesticides are used on an as-needed basis as determined by monitoring. When a pesticide is needed, it is applied in an enclosed trap or on a spot treatment basis whenever possible and targeted to the specific pest. Due to the new law, every school district has to have an IPM plan."
In addition, the least toxic, shortest duration effective material is used. Pesticides are not applied when students, teachers or staff are present in the affected area to assure the safety of the school-learning environment.
"Frequently Asked Questions Concerning IPM Plans and Pesticide Notification" is a question and answer area on the Web site that addresses the recently passed Acts 2002-35 (Integrated Pest Management Plan Act) and 2002-36 (Pesticide Notification Act). The new legislation requires schools to provide notification to parents, students and teachers in advance of pesticide applications and requires schools to adopt an IPM plan.
The Web site includes an interactive form people can use to submit their own questions. A PA IPM Program staff member will contact that person with an answer and the question may be posted to the Web page.
For more information on School IPM, see the School IPM section on the program's Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu. Under the "Schools" link find out more about the School IPM effort in Pennsylvania and links to educational material from across the country. You can also download several publications, including the PA IPM Program's IPM for Pennsylvania Schools, A How-To Manual. In addition, there is an interactive database on the Web site to assist teachers with IPM background information, lesson plans and support materials throughout the U.S.
The PA IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.