Tag Archives: EPA

Partner with the EPA to assess Economics of School IPM

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Health Resources in Action has partnered with the EPA to assess the economics of Implementing an IPM program in schools. To do so, they are looking for partners like you, and will provide funding as well.

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The EPA’s “Keeping the Pests Out” needs schools that now use an IPM program after switching from a more traditional pest extermination strategy.

Why apply?

  1. Economic assessment is free to the selected schools
  2. $6000 to the selected schools
  3. Includes a detailed cost analysis of their IPM program
  4. This will help increase adoption of IPM in schools

The Deadline is May 6th, so we’re here to give you a push… Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Have your superintendent write a letter of commitment. Example: your district  is interested, feels it would be an asset to the research, and agrees to work with (HRIA) Health Resources in Action from Jun 2016-March 2018
  2. Provide the name of your IPM Coordinator
  3. Be contracted with a licensed IPM Provider (Pest Control company that follows IPM procedures)
  4. Show that you’ve implemented IPM
  5. Share 24 months of pest management records from when you used traditional pest treatments and 24 months of records after transitioning to IPM  **see note below
  6. Provide records that may help track incidences of asthma problems with students and staff in your district
  7. Fill out the application online  and hit send! See the link below which shows the application you’d need to fill out.

**IPM means recordkeeping after all, so here’s what they hope you can provide:

 -Records for at least 24 consecutive months of a traditional exterminator model, and at least 24 consecutive months of IPM model.

-Those records should include: pest management contractor invoices, work orders, IPM logs (pest sightings), IPM work plan, IPM contract reports, IPM materials (if purchased by the district), custodian annual cost per square foot, training cost for staff training on IPM, custodian overtime (for addressing pests if they are doing additional IPM work),energy cost, Average Daily Attendance
/Average Daily Membership and annual Occupational Safety and Health Act reports.

–They may also collect stories from school personnel regarding changes in pest problems in the schools. Since some of these records may be held by the pest contractor, we assume that each school with request the specific data elements directly

Here is the link! http://asthmaregionalcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/RFQ-for-School-Districts-for-IPM-Economic-Evaluation.pdf

We’d love to see you be part of this important work.

 

IPM for Turf on School Grounds

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The EPA has another great webinar coming up on Tuesday, March 15th.

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You must have Adobe Connect to watch and listen to this free online webinar. A “Quick Start” link is included on the EPA website.

Whether school turf management has been part of your job for years or you’re just starting out, this webinar will describe how you can implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices into your turf management program. This webinar will provide insight for improving the quality and playability of your athletic and recreational fields. You will leave with an increased understanding of the importance of IPM in turf maintenance, cultural and physical control options, record keeping and key turf issues that can be addressed and applied to your program.

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Join in to learn how you can incorporate IPM into your school district’s turf management program.

Featured presenters will be:

  • Kim Pope Brown, Pesticide Safety Education Coordinator, Louisiana State University
  • Alec Kowalewski, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Turf Specialist, Oregon State University

Register now and you’ll receive an email confirmation with information on how to join in the webinar. Tuesday March 15 — 2  to 3:30pm

Pest Prevention by Design?

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Another great EPA webinar is coming up next week. Pest Prevention by Design helps school administrators, engineers, and ‘green’ builders understand how to design pests out of buildings rather than be in a battle to control them after they’ve entered. 2000px-Environmental_Protection_Agency_logo.svg

On Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at 2:00pm, you can be part of a live webinar (online workshop) simply by registering. From your desk, laptop or tablet, you can watch, listen and interact as desired while two pest exclusion experts share their knowledge. If you’ve never used Adobe Connect, get a quick overview at: http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.htm

For example, where a school may traditionally address a rat infestation with rat poison, the guidelines would recommend sealing the gap in the door frame that let the animals enter in the first place, putting a better lid on the dumpster out back, or removing the English ivy from the landscaping (a preferred rodent habitat). By following these recommendations, we can keep pests out, thereby improving indoor air quality and saving money over the life of the building.DSC01130-B

Join us to learn how you can better incorporate pest prevention in your school district’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.

Featured presenters will be:

Chris Geiger, Ph.D., IPM Program Manager, City of San Francisco

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Robert Corrigan, Ph.D., Rodent IPM Specialist, RMC Pest Management Consulting

Robert M. Corrigan in downtown Manhattan. (Photo: Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times)

Robert M. Corrigan in downtown Manhattan. (Photo: Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times)

Space is limited to the first 1,000 to attend, and that number is not unexpected. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar.

REGISTER NOW!

Take Advantage of Training Webinars

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WEBINARS have become a new, and favored, way of attending workshops and seminars–from your desk chair. For those of us who (unfortunately) spend a good part of our work day at a desk, it has been an easy transition.

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The EPA, many universities, and large funded research groups like the Northeast IPM Center offer excellent online free webinars ( workshops, presentations, seminars–call them what you’d like).  We watched an excellent presentation on bedbugs last fall that was ‘attended’ online by hundreds of people around the country.  Often, these presentations are archived as a research for new viewers.

While some employees in a school district or BOCES have the option to watch online, others do not. We’d like to see this valuable resource become a normal part of training for custodians and groundskeepers; many other presentations are suitable for all staff.  The investment of a half hour online training is invaluable. Imagine if that same employee had to take the day away to drive to a seminar and sit to learn the same information. Okay- so you’d all miss the coffee and donuts, but not the early morning drive. Especially at this time of year!

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They may never replace the experience of direct interaction, but they can’t be beat for convenience.

We, at the NYSIPM program and especially those of us working on school and childcare seek to make you aware of online, free workshops. Follow us at https://twitter.com/NY_School_IPM @NY_School_IPM    IPM for Schools and Childcare, or subscribe to emailed notices. (look up in the top right corner. Yes. Right there.)

Webinars Coming up from the EPA:

  • Feb 23, 2016 — Pest Prevention by Design in Schools
  • March 15, 2016 — IPM for Turf on School Grounds
  • April 19, 2016 — Vertebrate Turf Pests
  • May 17, 2016 — Ants – The #1 Pest in Schools
  • June 7, 2016 — Termite Mitigation in Schools – A Holistic Approach

Also available: Pesticide Recertification credits (prices for credit hour set by DEC)  online at The Distance Learning Center, Cornell’s Pesticide Management Education Program  http://coursem.cce.cornell.edu/

This site is the home to on-line pesticide applicator courses produced by Cornell Cooperative Extension. These are accepted in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia and most of New England. A partnership between PMEP and the NYS IPM program is an essential element in creating the courses. The creation of this site was made possible through grants from the US-EPA Pesticide Stewardship program and the USDA Smith Lever funds.

Summertime (AND SCHOOL CLOSURE) is Cleaning Time

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(repost from June 2015)

We’re sharing this blog post again for its timeliness. With so many schools shut down, it’s a great time to target cleaning those hard to get to places (sanitation) and looking for entry points for pests (exclusion). If your school is still actively using its cafeteria, we want to confirm how valuable those efforts are to keep students fed during these trying times. We’ll be sharing more about reducing pest problems throughout the building as well.

 

“Cleanliness is not next to godliness. It isn’t even in the same neighborhood. No one has ever gotten a religious experience out of removing burned-on cheese from the grill of the toaster oven.” – ― Erma Bombeck

Move equipment to make it easier to clean it as well as the floor and walls around it.

Move equipment to make it easier to clean the floor and walls around it as well as the equipment itself.

While cleanliness might not help you spiritually, we can promise that it will help you prevent pest problems in the school. There are certain tasks that should be done every day, some that can be done weekly, or even monthly, and some that should be done at least once a year. Schools vacated for the summer provide an excellent time to tackle the big jobs.

The primary idea is to remove pest habitat (food, water, shelter, and space) from buildings. This includes sealing off food, repairing water leaks, and removing shelter. Reach into the corners. Get under the sinks. Tackle molding, walls, and flooring behind and under appliances and cooking equipment. This is the time to pull out equipment and vending machines. Clean the wheels and wheel wells on carts and garbage cans. If resources allow, take the opportunity to put shelving on casters. This will make deep cleaning easier, and thus allow it to be conducted more often once school starts up again.

We can't always blame the teachers and students. This cluttered custodial closet provides pest harborage and makes inspection and cleaning difficult.

We can’t always blame the teachers and students. This cluttered custodial closet provides pest harborage and makes inspection and cleaning difficult.

What other pest projects are good for the summer? Ideally your regular inspections have helped you to produce a list of tasks to tackle. Many of these projects likely include projects that will help exclude pests from your building. They include:

  • Sealing gaps where utility lines (water pipes, electricity) enter the building and between rooms
  • Sealing all cracks and gaps in foundations, windows, door jambs and vents
  • Repairing holes or tears in window screens
  • Transplanting (or removing) plant material away from the building foundation
  • Replacing mulch next to buildings with gravel
  • Eliminating water sources such as leaking pipes, clogged drains, and missing tile grout
  • Insulating pipes that accumulate condensation (sweat)
  • Reducing clutter, cardboard, and paper that provides covers for pests

    Seal pipe chases entering buildings, between rooms, and under sinks with foam and copper mesh.

    Seal pipe chases entering buildings, between rooms, and under sinks with foam and copper mesh.

For more information, visit the School IPM Best Management Practices website. Inspection forms, pest fact sheets, IPM protocols, and links to the best and latest from IPM experts will support the novice and the seasoned IPM practitioner alike.

The EPA Clean Bill of Health: How Effective Cleaning and Maintenance Can Improve Health Outcomes in Your School webinar covers how to develop and implement a preventative maintenance plan to reduce costs and improve health by using effective cleaning practices in your school.

And don’t forget to look for burned-on cheese in the faculty lounge toaster oven.