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Scottsdale Unified School District Phoenix, AZ
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May 13, 2008 “Aren't you going to spray?” the teacher asked Lee Styer, who manages the pest management program for Scottsdale Unified School District . “No,” Styer replied, “but I'll be back in a day or two to make sure the ants haven't returned.” Styer had just wiped up a number of ants, used soap and water to clean up the pheromone ‘recruitment trail” ants create to tell other ants about food sources, and explained how the ants were coming in because of candy on the teacher's desk. The teacher promised to stop keeping candy at her desk, but still had expected Styer to spray. “We don't do that anymore,” says Styer. He has more than 9000 hours experience in pest management and holds “Qualifying Party” status, overseeing all pest control operations in the district. His toolbox for responding to pest problems includes things like caulk to seal holes ants might use to enter school buildings, and glue boards that capture insects and give an early warning of potential problems. His primary strategy is to find the cause of any pest problems, and get that fixed permanently. Styer's experience shows. “We have several species of ants that can cause problems in schools,” says Styer. “Crazy ants have legs and antennae that are twice as long as most other ants, and they don't travel along ‘trails' like most ants. Odorous house ants smell like coconut when you crush them. It's important to know which is which because they like to nest in different kinds of places and eat different kinds of foods. When you know what ant you're dealing with, you can make the right decision to get the best results.” Scottsdale Unified School District has become the eighteenth school system in the US to earn the IPM STAR Certification Award. The award follows a rigorous evaluation of policies and practices in the district's schools, conducted by a pest management professional. Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is a common sense approach to solving pest problems. Typical pests faced by school systems include ants, mice, cockroaches and stinging insects. Prevention is worth a pound of cure - by fixing conditions that encourage pests, problems can be often be avoided without resorting to potentially hazardous pesticides. The evaluation of Scottsdale Unified was conducted by Dr. Thomas Green, president of the IPM Institute of North America, and observed by Dr. Dawn Gouge, urban entomologist with the University of Arizona , Sherry Glick, national school IPM coordinator for US EPA and others. “We were tremendously impressed by the record keeping system in place in Scottsdale ,” Glick reports. “Every pest complaint and resolution is tracked in great detail.” “Scottsdale is part of the Arizona Children's Environmental Health Coalition,” according to Gouge. “This coalition is made up of school districts and other public agencies from around the state, all working to reduce pest problems with a minimum of pesticide use. We're fortunate to have people like Lee as active participants, sharing what they know with others around the state.” The district serves 27,000 students in 20 elementary schools, eight middle schools and seven high schools, including one vocational/technical facility. The IPM STAR program is operated by the IPM Institute in partnership with the US EPA Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program. Prepared as part of the IPM STAR Certification Process by the IPM Institute of North America for posting on its website with permission from Scottsdale Unified School District once certification is finalized.
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