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School IPM 2015
Reducing Pest Problems and Pesticide Use in Our Nation’s Schools
Pest management practices in our nations schools are in need of improvement. More than 50 published studies since 1994 have documented deficiencies including unmanaged pest infestations, unsafe pesticide use practices and unnecessary pesticide exposures in schools. Through Integrated Pest Management (IPM), improvement can be feasible and affordable.
EPA recommends that schools use IPM to reduce pesticide risk and exposure to children. Put simply, IPM is a safer, and frequently less costly option for effective pest management in a school community. A school IPM program uses common sense strategies to reduce sources of food, water and shelter for pests in your school buildings and grounds.
A Strategic Plan for Integrated Pest Management in Schools in the United States
The plan, School
IPM 2015: A Strategic Plan for Integrated Pest Management in Schools in the
United States 
, calls for a 70 percent
reduction in pest complaints and pesticide use in schools, goals that that
have proven easy to achieve in pilot programs throughout the US. It also
presents actions and a timeline for a coordinated effort to engage
parents, teachers, custodians, food
service staff, school administrators, pest management professionals, extension
staff, regulators and architects, and others in the school community.
The strategic plan is designed to:
-
Increase awareness among legislators, regulators, grant makers, researchers, Cooperative Extension, non-governmental organizations, administrators, other school staff, pest managers, parents, and others of the need for accelerated improvements in pest management in schools;
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Persuade these key influencers and implementers that IPM is possible, practical, affordable, and effective and worthy of their active commitment;
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Identify research, education, regulatory and management priorities most in need of attention;
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Incorporate education of students and others about the desirability and applicability of IPM approaches to homes, workplaces and outdoor environments; and
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Provide a road map for making high-level IPM a reality in all of our nation’s school systems by 2015, primarily by using existing, proven tools and pursuing the necessary financial, human, and material resources to replicate successful models nationwide.
Development and implementation of School IPM 2015 is supported by the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Centers, the University of Arizona and the IPM Institute of North America. The plan was drafted with participation from more than 40 professionals, with editors from the IPM Institute of North America and the University of Arizona.