Healthy Schools/Healthy Children and Staff: Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Fortunately, schools can significantly decrease and ultimately eliminate their use hazardous pesticides while successfully and cost-effectively managing pest problems in school buildings and on school grounds. Such safer pest management strategies, such as an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, use alternatives to the prevailing chemical-intensive practices. School IPM is not a new approach to pest management. It is a concept that has been implemented in various communities, schools and government facilities for decades.
IPM is a program of prevention, monitoring and control that offers the opportunity to eliminate or drastically reduce hazardous pesticide use in schools. IPM is intended to establish a program that utilizes cultural, mechanical, biological, and other non-toxic practices, and only introducing least hazardous chemicals as a last resort, if at all.
SPRC is currently developing a list to help IPM practitioners identify non-toxic and least-toxic solutions to pest problems. The list is organized by pest. To learn more, contact Beyond Pesticides.
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