CASE STUDIES IN SCHOOL IPM - Download all as PDF
ELIZABETH CITY-PASQUOTANK PUBLIC SCHOOLS
IPM coordinator: Currently Anthony Keeling
Number of schools: 13
Important pests: Ants, Fire ants, Cockroaches
IPM Program:
ECPPS has an in-house pest control program employing a staff of 3 certified pest control technicians. Previously, they contracted a pest control company that sprayed the base boards in classrooms and food service areas monthly. They switched from a contractor to an in-house program in 2003 when they realized that the cost of pest control was increasing yet calendar spray program was not working. Mr. Jack Ward (maintenance director), learned about IPM and proposed to the school board that they could get safer and more effective and affordable pest control with IPM than conventional pest control. He got permission to implement an IPM program.
He first appointed and trained a member of his staff (Mr. Bailey) in pest control and IPM. This person would coordinate the IPM effort and control pests. He selected a person who was concerned about pesticides in schools willing to learn, demonstrate, and effectively communicate about IPM to the school community. According to one of the cafeteria managers, they used to have severe cockroach infestations everywhere in the kitchen. “It was so terrible, you’d open a door and close it right back up again because you’d see them crawling all over the door frame and scare you half to death. They even came up on to the serving lines a few times and crawled right up into the kids’ lunch trays”. Now that’s in the past. The cockroach problem was eliminated using targeted applications of gel baits to the identified hot-spots, and deep cleaning as recommended by Bailey.
The kitchens used to have stacking deep fryers that were difficult to clean because there
wasn’t enough space in between them. Bailey recommended that the kitchen replace
them with new fryers that stand off the ground on 6” legs, next to each other but with
plenty of space between, behind and underneath to clean. He also helped the cafeteria
manager to work out a more effective kitchen cleaning system. Mops are now kept off he
floor, appliances are regularly moved to clean around and underneath, cleaning staff are
held more directly accountable for doing their jobs, and the result is a squeaky clean
kitchen with no pests in sight.
Through IPM the once terrible fire ant infestations are gone from the school yards. They use a monitoring and control method for fire ants which they call the “yellow flag system”. A yellow flag placed near a fire ant mound alerts the students, teachers, and staff and grounds keepers to steer clear; careful monitoring of the area around the flag tells Bailey the size of the infestation and movement of the ant population; and strategic application of pesticide granules close to the mound, where ants pick them up and bring them back to their buddies to share, eliminates the mound for good.
Involving students in the process of fire ant control is crucial. Turner has spent time demonstrating fire ant behavior to students. “I’d tap on the fire ant mound and show the kids how fast they come up, from all directions. Then they understand why they stay away from those yellow flags, and even better, they know what the mounds look like. Now when there is a new mound in the yard, a student will come running in to tell me about it”. Turner has a stash of yellow flags to mark new mounds as he and the students see them. (Original draft by Billie Karel of ARC/PestEd).
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