What is Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is a strategy to prevent and treat pest problems using a combination of prevention, monitoring, record keeping and control methods such as eliminating food sources and sealing cracks and crevices in buildings where pests can enter. In IPM, chemical pest controls that pose the least possible hazard to human health and the environment are used only after careful monitoring and when non-chemical methods have failed.
Who is the IPM Toolkit for?
- early care and education staff and directors
- family child care providers
- building maintenance personnel
- early care and education health and safety educators
- child care health consultants
- child care health advocates
- child care licensing analysts
- pest management professionals
- parents
- others interested in the health and safety of children
Learning Objectives:
After using the IPM Toolkit, you will be able to:
- identify the requirements for child care centers as specified in California’s Healthy Schools Act.
- define a pest, a pesticide and integrated pest management.
- explain why children are vulnerable to the health risks of pesticides.
- describe the health effects for children and staff exposed to pesticides and common pests.
- develop and implement IPM policies and practices in your program.
- identify simple and inexpensive IPM methods to prevent or manage common pests.
- inspect your child care facility for the presence of pests or conditions that attract pests using the IPM Checklist.
- share IPM information and resources with staff and parents.
IPM Toolkit Curriculum & Checklist
The IPM Full Curriculum Booklet contains general information about IPM and the Healthy schools act, plus what you need to know about pests and pesticides, and how to implement IPM. The curriculum includes a checklist to help guide Early Care and Education programs in implementing IPM. It comes with appendices with sample policies, forms and letters.
Complimentary materials such as factsheets, posters, and presentations are also available.