Category Archives: Building IPM

Specifically related to reducing pests inside buildings

Back to School – Keeping the Rodents Outside

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“We should have little trouble with vermin if builders would hear and understand the ‘language’ of vermin and do a better job in eliminating their entrances and hiding place.” – Hugo Hartnak, 1939

photo of Bobby Corrigan wearing a hard hat, holding a clipboard in one hand and a flashlight in the other pointing out a rusted wall grid plate with a hole large enough for a rat to fit through.

For Bobby Corrigan, pest management is a passion. Called upon for his expertise across the country, we are honored to include him in our conference.

Pests enter school buildings in one of two ways: they are transported in by students, staff, or delivery truck or they make their way in from the outside. The School IPM 2020: Where We’ve Been and What’s Next virtual conference will focus on the first mode, but we will also include information on the second with tips, and a tool, to help with exclusion – or keeping pests out of buildings. Dr. Bobby Corrigan, co-founder of the first Scientific Coalition on Pest Exclusion, will join us to discuss rodent vulnerable areas.

All conference participants that complete the pre- and post-tests and evaluation will be mailed a Frye Inspection Tool (FIT tool). This simple probe can be used to demonstrate if a rodent can squeeze under a gap or through a round opening. By design, if the probe ‘FITs,’ so too can the specified rodent. This tool can be used to educate decision makers about rodent entry points and help justify pest exclusion.

picture of a F.I.T. tool, a probe with two different sized ends and demarcations to measure gnaw mark and dropping size.

A F.I.T. tool allows you to assess potential rodent entryways and identify whether gnaw marks and droppings were caused by rats or mice.

The measurement specs for the FIT are based on the size of adult rodent skulls. If a rodent can fit its head under a gap or through an opening, they are able to wiggle their body through (watch video Mouse Entry Points to see a mouse in action). The FIT can also be used to help differentiate rodent evidence (both gnaw marks and droppings) between rats and mice.

Signing up as a school district? We will mail enough FIT tools to cover all the participants from your district, so be sure to provide information for them all.A picture of a school with a banner that says "School is Open Humans Only" with a bedbug, cockroach, tick looking at the sign. The tick is holding a mouse pull toy and the cockroach is holding a coronavirus shaped balloon.

For the full agenda, registration, and pesticide recertification credit information, please visit https://nysipm.cornell.edu/resources/nys-ipm-conferences/school-ipm-2020-where-weve-been-and-whats-next/.

 

Back to School – Humans Only!

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A picture of a school with a banner that says "School is Open Humans Only" with a bedbug, cockroach, tick looking at the sign. The tick is holding a mouse pull toy and the cockroach is holding a coronavirus shaped balloon.Schools across the world are having conversations about safely sending teachers, students, and the rest of the school staff back for face-to-face education during a global pandemic. These are vitally important discussions and plans need to adapt to new information. And this focus on school health and safety also provides an ideal, if unanticipated, backdrop for our rescheduled annual conference – School IPM 2020: Where We’ve Been and What’s Next.

Covid-19 is an excellent example of a community issue that cannot be handled by school personnel alone. We have all been called to support the health of the community through social distancing, wearing masks, and handwashing. Our conference will focus on community-wide pest issues such as German cockroaches and bedbugs. There is simply no way for schools to prevent these insects from being reintroduced by students, school staff, and delivery trucks. How then, as a community, can we address these issues before they breach the school walls? And avoid the subsequent calls by some to close the building for pesticide applications?

photo of flat, wide, reddish bug on a finger tip

The penultimate hitchhiker, bed bugs need to be dealt with at a community level.

Please join us on the mornings of August 11 and 18 as we hear from community and agency leaders – and you! – about efforts to provide healthy learning and work environments. We welcome your experiences and ideas as we use this momentum to address school pest issues now and into the future.

For the full agenda, registration, and pesticide recertification credit information, please visit https://nysipm.cornell.edu/resources/nys-ipm-conferences/school-ipm-2020-where-weve-been-and-whats-next/.

 

SIGN UP FOR OUR CONFERENCE: School IPM 2020: Where We’ve Been and What’s Next

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A Virtual Two Half-Day Conference

When: Mornings of August 11 & 18, 2020

Where: We will be connecting via Zoom.

How: Click Here to Register

Cost: $15 per person or $25 per school district

PESTICIDE APPLICATOR CREDITS AVAILABLE:

NYSIPM Conference 2020 pesticide recertification credits

NYS Pesticide Applicator recertification credits have been awarded for the following categories: Core, 3A, 3B, 7A, 7F, and 8. Individuals seeking credits will need to submit their applicator ID numbers when pre-registering. Further instructions will be sent upon pre-registering.

Despite decades of promoting school integrated pest management (IPM), bed bugs, cockroaches, lice, and mice continue to be a problem in schools. Part of the issue is lack of implementation of proven IPM techniques such as exclusion. Part of the issue is that some pests, like bed bugs, German cockroaches and lice arrive in backpacks, delivered supplies, and directly on students and staff. While schools often have plans in place to address these pests when they are discovered, it will take a wider community effort to prevent their introductions.

The Sixth Annual NYS IPM conference brings together a wide range of speakers to address and discuss the status of school IPM adoption and where we need to go in the future. If you or your family is impacted by pests or pest management on and off school property, this virtual conference is for you.

Alejandro A. Calixto, our new NYS IPM Program director, will be introducing the conference with remarks on “Perceptions of IPM and Today’s Social Climate.”

Our keynote speaker, Lorraine Maxwell, will discuss “Healthy Environments for Learning”. Her research has found that school building conditions, which include conducive conditions for pests as well as the presence of pests, impact the school’s social climate, which directly impacts student performance.

cartoon of a bed bug, tick, and cockroach who are disappointed to see they are not allowed to go to school. The tick has a mouse pull-toy, and the cockroach has a corona-virus balloon. The bed bug holds a lunch bag.

Conference Agendas

Day 1, August 11, 2020
8:00 Registration: Please Note: if you answered yes during pre-registration to needing pesticide credits, it is important to log into the conference at this time to show your applicator card with picture ID via webcam
8:30 Welcome and Introductory Remarks: Alejandro Calixto, Director, NYS IPM Program at Cornell University, “Perceptions of Integrated Pest Management and Today’s Social Climate”
8:45 Keynote Presentation: Lorraine Maxwell, Associate Professor Emerti, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, “Healthy Environments for Learning”
9:30 The Status of IPM Implementation within NYS Schools

  • Lynn Braband, Retired, NYSIPM Program
  • Daryl Andreades, Senior Architect, NYS Department of Education
  • Claire Barnett, Founder and Executive Director, Healthy Schools Network
  • Fred Koelbel, NYS School Facilities Association and Port Jefferson School District
10:50 Break
11:15 Panel Discussion
12:15 Concluding Remarks and Adjourn
Day 2, August 18, 2020
8:00 Registration: Please Note: if you answered yes during pre-registration to needing pesticide credits, it is important to log into the conference at this time to show your applicator card with picture ID via webcam
8:30 Welcome & Recap of August 11 Session
9:00 Virtual “tabling” event: Five-minute presentations by partnering organizations describing the services they provide schools.
9:45 What We’re Doing – Community Interventions. Models of community-level pest management. What may we learn from these examples as applied to school pests with strong community connections?

  • 9:45    Dina Fonseca, Rutgers Center for Vector Biology: Community-Level Mosquito Control
  • 10:15   Paul D. Curtis, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University: Community-based Deer Management in New York State
  • 10:45    Robert Corrigan, Corrigan Consulting, Briarcliff Manor, NY: Identifying and Understanding the Rodent Vulnerable Areas (RVAs) of Schools: Essential for Sustainable IPM
11:15 Break
11:30 Break Out Groups: Identifying Strategies for Interventions for School Pests with Strong Community Connections. Moderated by NYS IPM Program staff, participants will identify common pathways by which targeted pests are introduced to schools and will develop interventions that will prevent or reduce those problems. Participants will also interact about the roles of collaboration, communication, and education in implementing the interventions. Essentially the goal of the break out group will to begin the development of an IPM program for the targeted pest at the community level. One group each will address bed bugs (moderated by Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann) and cockroaches (moderated by Matthew Frye and Amara Dunn). A third break out group (moderated by Joellen Lampman) will begin the process of establishing school IPM priorities, both in school buildings and on school grounds, for NYS, using the School IPM Priorities of the Northeastern U. S. as a starting point.
12:15 Report and Wrap-Up: The break out groups will each give a brief oral report on the results of their interactions; followed by a general discussion and concluding remarks.
1:00 Adjourn

Sponsors:

Pesticide Use Guidance During COVID-19

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Our friends over at Cornell’s Pesticide Management Education Program (psep.cce.cornell.edu) has asked us to help spread information on disinfectants and sanitizers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in adverse health effects from the misuse of these products. There have also been several fraudulent products produced during this time that potential applicators should be made aware of. Please read and share the following:

Beware of fraudulent pesticide claims related to SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 coronavirus):

It has come to our attention that unregistered disinfectants claiming to protect against the virus are being marketed in the US. The efficacy and safety of these products is unsubstantiated and their use is illegal.

Regulators are taking steps to prevent such products from reaching the market, but it is your responsibility to use only those products designated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for use against SARS-CoV-2, listed at https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/covid19.pdf. Please check this list frequently, as content is subject to change.

Be safe disinfecting your home:

Disinfectants are pesticides and you can only use them as directed by the label. Therefore:

  • Never mix different disinfectant products together because doing so is dangerous. For example, mixing bleach with acids (such as vinegar) or ammonia releases life-threatening toxic fumes.
  • Never use disinfectants or disinfectant wipes on your skin. Instead, wash with soap and water; you can also use hand sanitizer on your hands.
  • Never wash fruits and vegetables with soap, sanitizers, or disinfectants as this could also result in poisoning. Wash produce only in clean water.

For more information on disinfecting your home and how to handle food during this crisis, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/disinfecting-your-home.pdf and  https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19/food-safety-recommendation-consumer/.

Three Timely Steps for Managing School Pests during Shutdown. #1 Monitor

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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 go unnoticed by staff, especially if there is a disruption in pest control operator visits.

OUR NUMBER ONE SUGGESTION NOW IS…SCOUTING. Building maintenance remains (at this time) essential work. Just like in the summer months, buildings without students allow much great opportunity for extensive scouting and cleaning.

LOOK FOR PESTS, PEST ACTIVITY and PEST ENTRY POINTS. The partial inspection list below notes areas that may not be addressed daily during the school year.  Now is the time to move large pieces of kitchen equipment in buildings no longer providing meals.

image shows three samples of pest droppings for comparison, rat, cockrock, mouse

Rat, cockroach, and mouse droppings. Can you identify? (cockroach on the right)

Our Best Management Practices for School IPM website is available to help.  For example: Resources for custodial and building maintenance staff.  We have at least forty links to online or printable resources for IPM Policies and Protocols, General IPM Resources, Indoor IPM Resources and Outdoor IPM Resources

a partial chart of things to do monthly, quarterly or annually to reduce pest problems in buildings.

Here are some videos to help you out:

Signs of rodent infestations in buildings: NYSIPM’s Dr. Matt Frye

Setting snap traps : NYSIPM’s Dr. Matt Frye

Insect monitoring: West Virginia’s IPM Minute: Sticky traps for insects

How to conduct a Pest Assessment in Schools: EPA Webinar

Inspecting a Child Care Facility – Detailed video applicable to all school buildings

photo shows water lines inside a building's utility room. Grease marks are dark and greasy trails showing where rodents travel. This also shows how water condensation provides water for pests.

Dark areas known as grease marks show consistent routes of rodents. Their greasy fur leaves a trail. Why are they here? Pests rely on water sources such as condensation.