July 3, 2002
State Program Helps
Schools Tackle Pesticide Issues
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - Public schools across Pennsylvania have until the
end of the year to comply with new legislation requiring them to give
notification before applying pesticides and to adopt integrated pest
management (IPM) plans. IPM relies heavily on prevention,
sanitation, maintenance, and monitoring to reduce the reliance on pesticides.
"Pesticides are used on an as-needed basis as determined by
monitoring. When a pesticide is needed, it is applied in an enclosed
trap or on a spot treatment basis whenever possible and targeted to the specific pest,"
says Ed Rajotte, Penn State IPM Program Coordinator. To help schools
meet the deadline, the Pennsylvania IPM Program (PA IPM) has prepared
information packets and sent them out to every school district in the
state. The packets contain information on the recently signed
pesticide notification act (Act 36), which requires to schools to give
seventy-two hour notification period prior to pesticide use in schools or
school grounds, and other requirements. The packet includes a copy
of the act and explains how each of the requirements should be met.
It also includes examples of pest control information sheets, notice of
pesticide application and notification letters for parents or
guardians. In addition, the packet contains information on the IPM
plan act (Act 35) that requires schools to adopt an IPM plan by January 1,
2003. Included is a copy of the act and information on what an IPM plan
should include. An example format is also included as well as a
sample IPM plan. The PA IPM Program has been working towards
increase the understanding of IPM principles by members of the school
community and establishing better collaboration between state agencies for
years. To that end, the program has developed a School IPM section
on its Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.
Under the "Schools" link find out more about the School IPM effort in Pennsylvania and links
to educational material from across the country. You can also
download several publications, including the PA IPM Program's IPM for Pennsylvania Schools, A How-To Manual. In addition, there is an
interactive database on the Web site to assist teachers with IPM
background information, lesson plans and support materials throughout the U.S. The PA IPM Program is a collaboration between
the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at
promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and
nonagricultural situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839.
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Editors Contact:
Kristie Auman-Bauer
Public Relations & Outreach
(814) 865-2839
kma@psu.edu
An IPM checklist for administrators is
available at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/schools/schoolAdmin.html.
