MISSION

The mission of the school IPM program is to assist public schools in North Carolina to adopt IPM programs by educating and training Pest Management Professionals contracted by schools, maintenance personnel, teachers, students, school administrators, and other interested parties.

Introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
for North Carolina Schools:

Background:

The goal of the North Carolina Schools IPM program is to promote the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs in North Carolina schools. With IPM pests are controlled safely and effectively, and there is a reduction in exposure of school children and school occupants to pesticides.

A school IPM advisory committee was formed in 1998 to work out the modalities for achieving this goal. Members of this committee are from the following government agencies and non-profit organization:

To obtain baseline information on the pest control practices of NC schools, we conducted a survey of School Superintendents. Data from the survey of school superintendents revealed that 75% of schools contracted Pest Control companies to control pests. This led to a second survey targeted to PMPs. Results from both surveys provided insight into the pest control practices of schools in North Carolina (Survey reports provided). Thereafter demonstration sites were set up in several schools to get a better understanding of pest control in a school environment. Information from the surveys and the experience from demonstration sites were used to develop a manual that is being used to implement IPM programs in schools.

IPM Manual:

The manual “IPM for North Carolina Schools” has information for all the players in any IPM program: School administrators, IPM contact person, PMPs, Maintenance personnel/technician, students and teachers, etc. This manual has several parts:

Part I: Understanding Integrated Pest Management (IPM);
Part II: Steps toward adopting IPM including a sample IPM policy, a description of the roles and responsibilities of people involved in IPM, pest management objectives and deciding when to take action;
Part III: How to implement an IPM program with details on monitoring, record-keeping and Pest ID, choosing action strategies and evaluating the IPM program;
Part IV: Sample forms for record-keeping, inspection report, inspection checklists;
Part V: How to develop bids and a sample IPM contract that can be adapted by schools.

IPM implementation Approach:

We are following three avenues to promote IPM in North Carolina schools:

A. Developing partnerships with parties interested in implementing IPM in schools;
B. Training PMPs and school maintenance personnel in IPM techniques;
C. Providing information and recommendations on how to implement IPM to Pest Control Companies, School Administrators and other occupants, etc.

For additional information, questions or comments contact:

Godfrey Nalyanya, Ph.D, Extension Specialist,

Urban Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Department of Entomology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh NC 27695-7613
Phone: 919-515-5650
Fax: 919-515-7746
Email: godfrey_nalyanya@ncsu.edu

 

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