Receiving a forwarded copy? Know of others who should receive this newsletter?
 |
|
Join the Schoolbugs listserv to ask questions, learn from others and share successes and challenges.
|
|
What's New This Month
California
Dept. of Pesticide Regulations: The Green Cleaning, Sanitizing, and
Disinfecting Toolkit for Early Care and Education developed by
California Dept. of Pesticide Regulations (DPR), the University of
California San Francisco School of Nursing, the University of California
Berkeley's Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, and
Informed Green Solutions is now online.
The toolkit includes the following downloads:
- Green Cleaning Fact Sheets for ECE Providers - 10 PDF fact sheets
- Green Cleaning Fact Sheets for Families
- Green Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting Toolkit for Early Care and Education
The
Toolkit curriculum provides a general overview of green cleaning,
sanitizing, and disinfecting in early care and education (ECE) settings.
Child care providers and staff can learn about the use of less-toxic
products to clean, sanitize, and disinfect and why children are
vulnerable to the health risks of cleaning products. Using the
curriculum, individuals working with and for child care centers can
develop and implement cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting policies
and practices in a safe and effective program.
|
|
|
| Highlights |
|
Evaluation webinars announcement! Gain a better understanding of the evaluation section of your grant proposal. The webinars are designed to answer evaluation questions regarding your specific project.
|
|
| Upcoming Events |
November 9th, 2013
Austin Insect Rodeo
Austin, TX
November 10-13, 2013
Entomological Society of America (ESA) National Meeting
Austin, TX
November 13, 2013
TIPMAPS Annual Conference
Austin, TX
December 20, 2013
IPM Coordinator Training
Lubbock, TX
More Information |
|
|
|
|
|
| *View this newsletter as a PDF. |
|
Greetings from School IPM 2015!
Every day, 49 million children attend school in the United States,
served by nearly seven million teachers and staff. But they're not
alone. Schools are also frequented by a number of pests including
cockroaches, mice, dust mites and more. Asthma is epidemic among
children, impacting nearly 6% of school children nationally with rates
as high as 25% in urban centers. Cockroaches are potent asthma
triggers.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a
prevention-based, highly effective approach proven to reduce pest
complaints and pesticide use by up to 90% in schools and other public
buildings. IPM practices such as sanitation and exclusion also improve
food safety, fire safety and energy conservation. Our newsletter
highlights real-life examples of IPM in practice and can help you start
an IPM program in your school district. For more information, visit www.schoolipm2015.com. |
 |
Terrific Resources for Managing Wildlife Challenges
|
|
"Wildlife control
is the wild west of pest management," according to Stephen M. Vantassel,
Project Coordinator of Distance Education for the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln National Wildlife Control Training Program. "A major
obstacle to consistent industry performance standards is the lack of
high-quality resources. The Internet has nearly infinite information for
wildlife control but the information provided does not always represent
the best practices."
Vantassel and
colleagues set out to create an authoritative resource and the result is
a comprehensive training program including seventeen modules. Topics
include legalities and ethics, physical safety, health and diseases,
structural damage, communicating risks, and best practices for animal
handling and euthanization. Five modules focus key skills needed for
bats, raccoons, skunks, tree squirrels and unprotected birds.
A supplemental
species manual was recently released to support seminar-style training
for pest control agencies. This volume also includes suggested questions
to ask before hiring a pest service provider.
The training is available via a hard copy manual, on-line, or a two-day seminar. Click here to access the on-line resource.
NWCTP also houses a digital collection of thirty years of pest
management research, practices and proceedings. The database, available
at (http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm/),
includes more than
5400 free, searchable documents that have been prescreened for accuracy
and usefulness for both pest management professionals and the public.
Vantassel reports
that vertebrate pest management is largely unregulated in most states,
particularly in western and southern states, often contributing to
confusion and inefficiency for those seeking and providing wildlife pest
solutions. NWCTP's training materials are available to regulatory
agencies to use and modify as a tool for regulation and certification.
For example, Delaware has adopted the program as a certification
requirement for State Wildlife Control Operators.
Vantassel's
articles have appeared in Wildlife Control Technology and Professional
Wildlife Control Magazine. Presently he is National Wildlife Control
Operations Association's representative for the state of Nebraska and is the editor of National Wildlife Control Operators Association News. The program and websites are collaborative efforts of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and Cornell.
|
| Foodborne Pathogens Lurking in Unexpected Places |
|
Foodborne pathogens cost
an estimated $152 billion annually in the US. Microorganisms
responsible include E. coli, salmonella, avian flu and Listeria monocytogenes,
a deadly pathogen and major food industry concern. Listeria affects
2,500 people in the US annually, resulting in an estimated 500 deaths.
Salmonella causes close to two million illnesses a year and roughly the
same number of deaths as Listeria.
Listeria is of
particular concern both for its high mortality rate and its ability to
thrive under harsh conditions. The bacterium can multiply rapidly and
form a protective "biofilm" which makes it more difficult to kill using
sanitizers or disinfectants. Listeria bacteria flourish on cutting
boards, floor drains, floor mats and other frequently wet areas.
Hard-to-reach and thus infrequently cleaned surfaces on floors and
walls, under and behind equipment and other fixtures are also frequent
harborages for Listeria and other pathogens. Listeria can survive
temperatures as low as 41° F and is undetectable by look, smell or
taste.
Floor drains are
particularly important to clean regularly to prevent pathogen growth.
Floor drains rarely get the same attention as food contact surfaces such
as display cases, refrigerators, countertops and sinks. However
Listeria and other pathogens can easily spread from floor drains to
other areas on shoes, food or other objects dropped on the floor, or
with the help of pests such as fruit flies, drain flies, ants or
cockroaches.
  Above:
A clean drain compared to a dirty drain. Kitchen staff should clean
from the floor up and be aware of the need to clean floor drains.
Drain cleaning practices
can sometimes spread pathogens through airborne droplets formed when
contaminated drains are scrubbed with brushes or pads. It is important
to train food service staff to minimize spread. For example, all food
should be put away prior to cleaning drains, and drains should be
cleaned first, before food preparation surfaces.
|
|
IPM STAR Assessments will Verify IPM Performance in Schools
|
 At Washington State University's Urban IPM Program, experience has shown that nationally recognized IPM STAR certification is an incentive for Washington school districts to practice high-level, verifiable IPM.
The IPM STAR program,
developed by Dr. Thomas Green at the IPM Institute of North America and
collaborators, is designed to evaluate and recognize IPM performance in
school districts. The peer-reviewed STAR program incorporates the basic
tenets of IPM as its foundation, including pest knowledge, monitoring
and inspections, record keeping and using long-term, effective
strategies with a focus on pest prevention.
Certification includes
two parts; first, the evaluator must verify that the school meets
minimum requirements for legal compliance and effective sanitation and
exclusion practices. Second, the evaluator scores each district for
implementation of 37 specific practices including IPM policies, plans,
and posting and notification of pesticide applications.
The evaluation takes
about seven hours on average, beginning with an interview of the
facilities director and/or IPM coordinator, grounds crew lead and any
contracted pest management professionals. Together with the evaluator,
they review IPM program records and the school's history of IPM
practices.
The evaluator then
inspects and photographs buildings and grounds at three schools (high,
middle and elementary) for pest activity and IPM practices, paying
special attention to pest-conducive areas such as the kitchen and staff
lounge. The evaluator also looks for evidence of pesticide use,
especially in commonly overlooked areas such as the school's gardens and
grounds.
During the evaluation,
the evaluator interviews school staff about pesticide use, pest problems
and IPM practices at the school. All of this information is reflected
in the district's score. All required practices and a minimum score of
70% receive IPM STAR certification, with the benefit of a plaque and a
press release recognizing their accomplishments. To learn more about IPM
STAR certification program, visit www.ipminstitute.org/ipmstar.htm
Currently, Washington
has one of the highest rates of IPM STAR certification in the country,
with nine school districts achieving certification and several pending.
Certified school districts spread the word about the IPM STAR program,
which further increases participation among Washington school districts.
As IPM STAR continues to gain popularity in Washington, Washington's
Urban IPM Program looks forward to the day when all Washington school
districts have verifiable IPM programs.
|
|
|
|
|
