subject: Advantages Of Integrated Pest Management In Schools [print this page] Fifteen states across the country have concluded that safer pest control should be a high priority for schools. Children spend most of their day at school, and research has shown that the overabundant use of chemical-heavy commercial pest management techniques in school settings can have a negative impact on children's health and development.
A solution many states have turned to is the use of Integrated Pest Management and similar protocols. Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, not only supports a healthier environment and reduces the exposure of children to chemical-ridden pesticides, but it is also an effective commercial pest management technique that lowers the number of pest complaints at schools.
What is Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated Pest Management is based on using current information on the life cycles of pests and how they interact with their environments. From this, individual commercial pest prevention plans are created for each school. Commercial pest control services using IPM take the time to determine which methods of pest control are needed and which will be the least risky for children's health, based upon factors such as the pests that need to be controlled and environmental considerations.
Commercial pest management firms using IPM principles apply a range of less invasive pest management procedures, reducing the need for potentially harmful chemical applications. These can include actions such as removing food or water sources, filling cracks, replacing weather stripping and cutting back shrubbery and trees away from the school buildings.
Benefits of Integrated Pest Management
In a school setting, IPM offers a number of benefits, including:
Better health for kids. The tactics used in Integrated Pest Management require fewer chemical applications. In fact, the use of pesticides is reduced by more than 80 percent. If chemicals are needed, the least toxic ones are used, resulting in a safer and healthier environment for children.
Affordability. Commercial pest control services where IPM is not applied are much more costly than Integrated Pest Management. Tens of thousands of dollars can be spent on the former, which takes money away from other educational areas. Integrated Pest Management methods are therefore not only more environmentally aware, but much more affordable.
Long-term savings. The use of Integrated Pest Management programs in school districts has proven to be cost-effective and successful. One school district in Maryland saved around $6,000 in a span of three years.
More learning. With a healthier environment due to a decrease in harmful chemical and pesticide exposure, attendance rates can rise because fewer students and teachers suffer from the negative impacts of pesticides, such as headaches and asthma.
Cleaner schools. As Integrated Pest Management requires more consistent and constant cleaning of trouble areas, overall sanitation and maintenance of the school environment is increased.
Integrated Pest Management makes commercial pest management more kid-friendly and contributes to making the school community healthier and happier. An increasing number of schools across the United States are starting to pick up on this IPM trend, and before long it could become the main form of pest control used in school settings.
