|
|
IPM
Star Home | IPM Institute Home
| Join | |
|
Fort |
||
|
November 5, 2007 “No ma’am, we can’t
spray.” That was Tommie
Campbell’s response a few years ago to a request by a teacher who wanted
a classroom treated with pesticide. Fort Bragg’s Child and Youth
Services program has earned IPM STAR
certification after passing a rigorous, 48-point inspection of the seven
facilities used for both childcare and after-school services. “The only time we do a
pesticide treatment is when there is a problem we can’t solve any other
way,” explains IPM is a common sense approach
to pest control that seeks to understand and fix the underlying causes of
pest problems, not just apply a pesticide “band aid” over the issue.
“IPM has been shown in scientific studies to reduce pest
complaints, pesticide use and pesticide residues in schools and other
facilities,” reports Dr. Thomas Green, who presented the certification
to For example, kitchens and food
storerooms are monitored with sticky cardboard traps that will detect any
insect activity. Technicians
from Economy Pest Control, a local service provider, check the traps as
part of their regular visits. If
there are no captures on the traps, there is no need to treat. If the
traps have picked up an insect, the capture is identified and the problem
solving begins. An occasional spider, cricket
or ground beetle is not a major problem.
These critters will wander into buildings once and a while, usually
when a door is open temporarily, but they won’t breed in facilities that
are clean with a minimum of clutter. Cockroaches, ants or mice on
the other hand deserve immediate action to find and resolve the underlying
cause. Ants and mice may mean
that a door is not closing tightly and needs repair of a “door sweep”
that seals the space between the bottom of the door and the door sill.
Mice can squeeze through a gap the size of a pencil diameter – so
any gaps must be repaired. Cockroaches like to hide in
places where they have contact with a surface on the backs and undersides.
Sealing the edges of electrical panels, bulletin boards, cabinets
and other fixtures in food storage, preparation or serving areas can
eliminate hiding and breeding places.
Removing incoming food products from cardboard shipping containers,
and immediately moving the cardboard outside to a recycling bin can
prevent new infestations from getting started.
When necessary, a bait station can be used that includes a small
amount of pesticide in a tamper-resistant container along with a food
attractant, to lure cockroaches to their demise without exposing staff or
children to pesticides. IPM The IPM STAR initiative is being implemented throughout the Army with the support of the US Army Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management and the US Army Environmental Center. -
Prepared as part of the IPM |
|||
|