Indiana University Professor Encourages Schools to Work Together

In a recent Pest Control Technology article, Indiana University Professor Marc Lame encourages schools to work together to attain sensible legislation on pest management that addresses environmental health regulations. To read the full article, click here.

Federal School Pesticide Bill Introduced

On December 1st, Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) and 14 cosponsors introduced a new and improved version of the School Environment Protection Act (SEPA) --HR 4159. This bill will take hazardous pesticides out of the schools nationwide, requiring the adoption of defined pest management methods in schools that prohibit chemicals with listed adverse health and environmental effects and missing data. It creates a national School IPM (integrated pest management) Advisory Board with independent authority to establish the allowable "least-toxic" materials in schools with a technical advisory panel (modeled on the National Organic Standards Board).

Entomological Society of America Announces School IPM Network

Entomological Society of America announces their School IPM Network. For more information, please click here.

Southern Region School IPM Center Congratulates Award Winners

For a description of the 2009-2010 Child Care and School IPM Award winners in the southern region, please visit the Southern IPM Center website.

Award Winners Announced for the 2009-2010 Childcare and School IPM Recognition Awards

The award winners for the 2009-2010 Childcare and School IPM Awards have been announced. For a complete listing of honorees, please visit our website.

Bed Bug Workshop in Chicago - December 2nd

Bed bugs have made a huge comeback in hotels, apartments, dorm rooms, and homes. Getting rid of bed bugs is expensive and time consuming. Treating just one apartment costs on average of $400, and requires several months before the problem is eliminated. What can you do to control this miniature menace while meeting a person’s need for a good night’s sleep and a healthy living environment? Attend Illinois’ only comprehensive bed bug workshop presented by Safer Pest Control Project, Chicago’s leading expert in training and information on integrated pest management approaches to bed bug control.

When:
December 2, 2009
9:30 a.m.to 12:00 p.m.

Where:
Chicago Chapter of the Appraisal Institute
205 W. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60606

To register:
Visit http://www.spcpweb.org/training/details/?id=38

The 2009-2010 Childcare & School IPM Recognition Awards - Call for Nominations

The 2009-2010 Childcare & School IPM Recognition Awards
Call for Nominations

The School IPM 2015 Steering Committee and the North Central, Northeastern, Southern and Western School IPM Regional Working Groups are pleased to announce the 2009-2010 Call for Nominations for the Childcare & School IPM Recognition Awards. This award program provides public recognition for individuals who have helped implement IPM practices aimed at reducing pest problems and pesticide hazards in childcare facilities & schools.

The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 5:00 PM Central Standard Time.

To obtain the Nomination Document form, please visit: http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_ipm_2015/awards.htm

The award recipients will be chosen based on their contributions to 1) improving economic benefits related to school IPM adoption, 2) reducing potential child health risks and/or 3) minimizing adverse environmental effects. Nominations should be IPM users, promoters, service providers or others who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to childcare or school IPM implementation, promotion or service, especially those having a direct and positive impact. Some activities that meet these criteria could include, but are not limited to:

• demonstrating new childcare or school IPM practices or tools;

• allowing childcare or school IPM methods to be evaluated in their operations, businesses, or organizations;

• promoting childcare or school IPM and bolstering the adoption of childcare or school IPM practices;

• implementing an effective IPM program that reduces pesticide use and risk in one or many childcare facilities or schools.

Eight award winners will be chosen by November 13, 2009. Thereafter,

• The honoree(s) will receive media coverage for the pest management program. A press release and picture of the childcare or school district representative will be sent to their public information office for publishing in their district newsletters and the local newspaper.

• A press release will be posted to the School IPM 2015 homepage and news archive and the eight award winners will be announced in the following School IPM 2015 eNewsletter.

• An announcement will be made at the PESP Annual Conference, November 17-18, 2009, to honor award winners.

• A letter will be sent to their local state senator describing their efforts.

• An attractive plaque will be presented to the honoree(s)

Submit your nominations to Zach Bruns. If you have any questions or encounter any problems, please email Zach or call (608) 232-1410.

Iowa State University Highlights School IPM

Media correspondents from Iowa State University recently recognized Dr. Mark Shour for his outstanding work with IPM training in Iowa schools and child care facilities. To read the full article, click HERE.

North Thurston Public Schools Earns IPM STAR Certification

North Thurston Public Schools has earned IPM STAR certification, the highest award available recognizing excellence in reducing pest and pesticide risks to children and staff. North Thurston Public Schools' Integrated Pest Management program was initiated in 1991 to address the district's mission to ensure the safety of students and staff. Fore more information, click HERE.

Facility Masters Webcast: Integrated Pest Management Essentials for Schools – Oct. 27 @ 12pm EASTERN

All educational professionals want to provide a healthy learning environment that protects students and teachers from the hazards of pests and pest-related illnesses. But many recent surveys and studies have documented serious problems with school pest management programs, ranging from unmanaged infestations and use of illegal pesticides to unsafe and unnecessary exposure of children to pesticides.

Join an interactive, one-hour webcast to hear industry experts from the University of Arizona and EnviroSafe review the essentials of an effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. You’ll learn how IPM can provide significantly better pest management with less pesticide use and no increase in cost.

Integrated Pest Management Essentials for Schools
Tuesday, October 27th
12:00pm-1:15pm EASTERN

The webinar will cover IPM standards and best practices that will help you:
· Manage pest problems over the long-term
· Minimize impact on human health, the environment and non-target organisms
· Utilize effective alternatives to chemical pesticides
· Identify, monitor and manage pests tied to health concerns
· Educate school administrators, maintenance/custodial staff, teachers and students
· Reduce asthma triggers related to pests and pesticides

This is a webcast you can't afford to miss! Register now at:

https://cc.readytalk.com/r/fhyla3d628io

Presenters are:
• Dawn Gouge: Associate Professor & Associate Specialist - Community IPM, University of Arizona
• Bob Stoddard: President of EnviroSafe (pest and turf management services)
• Roger Young: Principal Member – Roger Young and Associates LLC, MA
• Dave Kornegay: Community Editor – SchoolDude.com

Bed Bugs Expert to Speak in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Bed bugs are becoming an emerging public health issue after years of relative invisibility. These nocturnal bloodsuckers do not discriminate and will infest any environment with beds and sleeping people. Bed bugs cannot fly, so either walk or hitchhike to a new location on used mattresses, furniture, clothing, backpacks or suitcases. Both people and the things they buy are traveling greater distances more frequently, and many city residents live in multiple-unit housing allowing hitchhiking bedbugs to spread quickly. To help address this growing problem, the Philadelphia School and Community IPM Partnership will be hosting an educational session on bed bugs on October 21, 2009 from 2 – 3 p.m. at the School District of Philadelphia at 440 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia with bed bug expert Changlu Wang, Rutgers University. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or Web site http://www.paipm.org.

New School IPM Resource

A new publication was recently released in conjunction with the School IPM 2015 regional leaders and the University of Arizona. Its purpose is "to create awareness of the need to establish Integrated Pest Management in all U.S. schools and provide a link to a Pest Management Strategic Plan that defines standards appropriate for a child’s learning environment". Click here to read the full document.

School IPM 2015 eNewsletter

September edition:
http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_ipm_2015/Sept09_eNewsletter.htm

The November edition will highlight the school IPM demonstration projects in Brookings and Flandreau, SD as well as the online IPM Cost Calculator tool.

October 15th EPA Webinar - Chemicals in Schools: Real Problems, Real Solutions

When it comes to students' health, our kids deserve the best protection possible. These days, elementary and secondary schools have many important safety issues to deal with, not the least of which is to ensure that students are protected from dangerous chemicals where they learn.

Join us for the Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign RCC Web Academy: Chemicals in Schools -- Real Problems, Real Solutions -- to hear from school, community, and industry experts who have all grappled with school chemical management issues and come away from the experience with valuable lessons learned and stories to share.

For more information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/rcc/web-academy/2009/oct09.htm

Is Tick Spit the Cure?

There are a lot of places you might think to look for a cure for cancer, but chances are tick spit isn't one of them. Yet that's where a hunch took Brazilian researchers recently. And what they found may just may be medicine's holy grail....[Full Story]

National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation Partnering with the EPA for School Pesticide Management

Jack Thrasher, Ph.D., Technical Director of the National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation (NTEF) today announced a partnership between the Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “School IPM (Integrated Pest Management) 2015” program....[Full Story].

CDC and NEHA teach IPM

For the past year, the CDC-in partnership with the National Environmental Health Association-has sponsored regional workshops to teach health inspectors and other public employees about the biology and control of insects and rodents. The most recent conference was held in Okoboji, Iowa and featured sessions on vector-borne diseases, IPM, bed bugs, structural pest management, rodents, ticks and health effects of pesticides. Attendees participated in a kitchen and grounds walk-through of a local resort, in which they were asked to identify pest-conducive conditions. For information regarding future workshops, visit the NEHA homepage: http://www.neha.org/index.shtml.

School IPM 2015 PMSP update

Since January 2009, more than 20 sets of comments and suggestions have been received on the School IPM 2015, the national strategic plan for IPM in schools. Many have been incorporated into the upcoming revision to be posted this fall. Additional comments can be sent directly to the editors, Dr. Dawn Gouge dhgouge@ag.arizona.edu or Dr. Thomas Green ipmworks@ipminstitute.org.

'Crazy Ants' Get Under Skin of Gulf Coast Residents

PEARLAND, Texas -- Swarms of foreign "crazy ants" are spreading through Texas and Florida, raising alarms that the tiny, frenetic bugs will rival the fire ants that have ravaged the South, costing billions of dollars in damages each year.

Although the new pests don't pack the powerful sting of fire ants, scientists say they can do as much damage, killing wildlife and shorting out electrical equipment. Crazy ants have an additional trait that is proving especially irksome: They like to hang out where people live and are difficult to dislodge once they get inside buildings [Full Article].

Massachusetts Urges Parents to Ask About School IPM

As the new school year approaches, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) is urging parents to ask whether their child's school or daycare facility it has a current School Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan for safe pesticide use.

"At home and in the classroom, parents are the first line of defense in protecting their children against pesticide exposure," said DAR Commissioner Scott Soares. "Maintaining a school or day care IPM plan is not only required by law, but it is also crucial to insure children's safety."

According to DAR’s Division of Crop and Pest Services, the vast majority of schools and daycare facilities have filed IPM plans with DAR, but roughly 200 schools and 400 day care facilities are not in compliance with the state IPM law [Full Article].

New Giant Rat Found...but not in Schools

A new species of giant rat has been discovered deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea, and it is one of the largest species ever found. The rat, which has no fear of humans, measures 82cm long, placing it among the largest species of rat known anywhere in the world. The creature, which has not yet been formally described, was discovered by an expedition team filming the BBC programme Lost Land of the Volcano [Full Article].

IPM Makes ABC News

Time out for pesticides at school: Kill bugs without hurting kids
Your kids may be working on their ABCs, but is their school working on its IPM? That’s Integrated Pest Management, an increasingly requested - or required - method of fighting pests without using potentially harmful pesticides. (Or using minimal pesticides.) For decades, schools liberally applied toxic pesticides on their grounds and in their classrooms to beat back bugs and rodents. Exterminators or the school janitor might have sprayed DDT, diazinon or chlordane. If things got bad enough, teachers would (and still could) take matters into their own hands with a can of Raid...[Full Article].

New Resource: Journal of Integrated Pest Management Available Soon

With funding from the North Central IPM Center, the Entomological Society of America (ESA) recently approved the creation of a new internet-based and publicly available journal entitled the Journal of Integrated Pest Management (JIPM). The new journal will provide an outlet for extension-created and peer reviewed publications featuring pest biology and ecology profiles, emerging IPM issues and consensus-based pest management recommendations. Click here to download the ESA's JIPM announcement.

7th Annual Conference on Children's Health and the Environment

The conference will be held at Johns Hopkins University Mount Washington Conference Center in Baltimore, Maryland, September 10-11, 2009. On the 10th, there will be a guided tour of the Patuxent Research Refuge, and plenary sessions and interactive workshops with keynote address on Children's Environmental Health and healthy homes are scheduled for September 11. For more information, please visit http://www.gwu.edu/~macche/baltimoreconference09 or contact Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment at pehsu@gwu.edu or 1-866-622-2431.

Bed Bug Awareness

Bed Bugs are increasingly becoming a problem within residences of all kinds, including homes, apartments, dormatories, and even schools. With bedbugs gaining national attention (see NY Times article), there are many educational resources available including Bed Bug Central and University extension sites (eXtension, University of Minnesota).

'CSI' pest team invades Salem school

Recent news from Oregon's Statesman Journal: A team of [school IPM] pest experts from across the country scoured Salem Heights Elementary on their hands and knees — some on their stomachs — looking for clues...Full Text.

Research links Pesticides to Leukemia But Supporting Studies Needed

A recently published study from Georgetown University Medical Center and Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC evaluated the associations of pesticide exposure in a residential environment with the risk for leukemia. The researchers found associations with Organophosphates and leukemia but realize the limitations of their study and beg for further research to be done to support their findings.
Citation:
Soldin, Offie, Hala Nsouly-Maktabi, Jeanine Genkinger, Christopher Loffredo, Juan Ortega-Garcia, Drew Colantino, Dana Barr, Luban Naomi, Aziza Shad, and David Nelson. "Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Exposure to Pesticides." Therapeutic Drug Monitoring 31.4 (2009): 495-501. (C) 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. 7 Aug. 2009.

School IPM in Florida

The July issue of Pest Control Technology has an article on the tracking of IPM implementation in a Florida school over a ten-year period. The article is by Kevyn Juneau, Clay Scherer, Rebecca Baldwin, and Phil Koehler.

http://pct.texterity.com/pct/200907/?pg=68&pm=2&u1=friend

School IPM Resources Page Available

The Resource page is a list of the best tools and curriculum for school IPM. The tools section consists of hands-on resources like audit sheets and inspection manuals, and the curriculum section focuses on fact sheets and training material.

Allergen Testing in Oregon and Louisiana Schools

In June, members of the Western working group traveled to the Salem-Keiser School District in Oregon to take mice allergen samples. An inspection team along with pest technicians will audit the facility and deliver another assessment report July 8th-10th.
Members from the Southern working group plan to test for cockroach allergens this week, July 9th-10th, at the Ascension Parish School District in Louisiana.

Planned PMSP Update

The pest management strategic plan will be revised at the end of July and will be available for viewing in August, 2009. Please visit http://www.ipmcenters.org/pmsp/pdf/USschoolsPMSP.pdf to read the latest version.

Oregon Approves School Pest Management Law

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongski made Oregon the 38th state to approve a school pest management specific law or regulation when he signed Senate Bill 637 into law Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Click here to read the new law, which requires school districts to implement integrated pest management plans by July 1, 2012.

Beating Back Bed Bugs Workshop - Chicago, IL

"Beating Back Bed Bugs: Everything you need to know to protect your property" workshop will take place July 29, 2009 from 9:30am to noon at Loyola University in Chicago IL. This workshop is for hotel owners & managers, landlords & property management companies & college or university facility managers. Tops covered will include: the reemergence of bed bugs in the US, bed bug biology, practices to prevent & limit bed bug problems, communicating with tenants, staff & guests about bed bugs and how to hire a qualified pest control professional.

IPM in School Greenhouses

Stanton Gill, of the University of Maryland, recently created a Greenhouse IPM program for schools. The program includes text material and PowerPoint files to accompany the text. For more information, please email Ed Crow.