THE NATIONAL HEALTHY SCHOOL DAY Organization shares this: Most schools and childcares are closed. They can work NOW towards healthier facilities for all children when they re-open. National #HealthySchoolsDay is April 7 and the theme is COVID19 and the impact on children. . National #HealthySchoolsDay is Tuesday, April 7. “This annual day of focus on…Continue Reading National Healthy Schools Day 2020
Timely School IPM Tip #3: Sanitation
This is the third and final post dedicated to tactics of school IPM most appropriate to the current situation of shuttered schools. (If your building is open to provide meals for at-home students, we applaud your efforts!) Post #1 Scouting, Post #2 Exclusion. Sanitation is a third step in structural pest management, as it reduces…Continue Reading Timely School IPM Tip #3: Sanitation
Timely School IPM #2: Excluding Pests
Last week we promoted SCOUTING for pests. Today, we want to emphasize ways to EXCLUDE pests. Exclusion is a fundamental way to reduce pests in buildings. Unfortunately, it’s not always a quick and easy job. Some gaps are easy to see. Improperly fitting door sweeps or gaps along utility lines, for instance. Others, like gaps…Continue Reading Timely School IPM #2: Excluding Pests
Timely School IPM #1: Scouting for Building Pests
While pests like bedbugs are inactive waiting out school re-openings, the old standards like cockroaches and rodents can use quiet buildings to their advantage if habitat needs are met. Food, water and shelter are available in areas such as storage rooms, kitchens, boiler rooms and crawlspaces. If your building is currently unoccupied, pest activity can…Continue Reading Timely School IPM #1: Scouting for Building Pests
Pests Take Advantage of Quiet School Buildings
THIS IS A REPOST OF a JUNE 2015 SCHOOL IPM Blog post by Joellen Lampman. The timing is significant. Closed school buildings are the perfect time to tackled sanitation and exclusion efforts that are hard to manage with students in the building. If your school cafeteria is providing meals (thank you!), we’ll also be posting…Continue Reading Pests Take Advantage of Quiet School Buildings
Protect yourself from spring ticks
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” – Margaret Atwood The spring of 2020 might have everyone’s yards incredibly tidy, as gardening and yard work are on the short list for things we can all do while social distancing. But COVID-19 isn’t the only disease we need to…Continue Reading Protect yourself from spring ticks
Announcing Updates to the Northeastern IPM Best Management Practices for Schools Website
northeastipm.org/schools// northeastipm.org/schools// Back in 2013, the Northeast School IPM Working Group (NESIWG) received a Partnership Grant from the Northeastern IPM Center to develop a Best Management Practices (BMP) website. Reducing pest and pesticide exposure is important for children, just as it is for district staff and visitors. But schools are especially challenging to manage because…Continue Reading Announcing Updates to the Northeastern IPM Best Management Practices for Schools Website
Revisiting wild parsnip
Wild parsnip sap can cause painful, localized burning and blistering of the skin. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation A few weeks ago we discussed the invasive wild parsnip as a hidden danger for weekend weedwackers. Now it is much more obvious with its bright yellow flowers, but if you are looking to control…Continue Reading Revisiting wild parsnip
Don’t Make Your Own Tick Tubes
“Frugality, I’ve learned, has its own cost, one that sometimes lasts forever.” – Nicholas Sparks Commercially available “tick tubes” are tubes filled with permethrin-infused cotton. Mice take the cotton to line their nests and are treated for ticks every time they return home. It’s estimated that a typical ¼ acre yard needs six tubes twice…Continue Reading Don’t Make Your Own Tick Tubes
A hidden danger for weekend weedwackers
“As everyone knows, when fighting a zombie, you grab a shovel and aim for its head. The same with wild parsnip, except you aim for its feet.” – Paul Hetzler There is no lack of invasive species in New York – but some do raise more of a concern than others. One such is the…Continue Reading A hidden danger for weekend weedwackers