NON-TOXIC PEST
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS

Safe, alternative pest control that is already effective in over 350 schools

We can design a program to fit every school's budget!

We can control insects, e.g., ants (including fire ants), mites, lice, pantry pests, crickets, fleas, roaches, spiders, termites, wasps, insects and arachnids, etc., inside and outside your school without the use of any dangerous, volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons, e.g., organophosphates, pyrethroids and/or carbamates.   This will be done through educational in-service training on simple pest control techniques, cleaning tips and materials, placement of ionized plates, installation of IPM manual “The Best Control” and follow-up.

We can:

    a)     Replace all highly toxic pesticides with safe alternatives
    b)     Eliminate staff and student exposure to pesticides
    c)     Remove all head lice from the district without using poisons.
    d)     To clearly show better, safe pest control without using any volatile, synthetic pesticides poisons.

We will:
    1.     Use safe alternatives to Organophosphates and carbamates for pest control practices in a school setting;
    2.     Use safe alternatives to category I products used for pest control in a school setting;
    3.     Use safe alternatives to restricted use materials for pest control in a school setting.

We Promise:

• All pest control alternatives and techniques that will be utilized can be easily taken to the participants’ home and used successfully and safely;

• We will develop any and all necessary Alternative to new or secondary pest problems arising after implementation of reduced-risk approaches.

Also including, but not limited to, Imagination = your brain is 200,000 larger than an insect’s so use it!
And, only if absolutely necessary, a spot application of the least-toxic pesticide possible.

The more commonly used equipment includes:

Vacuums
Fans
Rinse and Vacs
2 liter buckets,
pails,
garbage cans
Negative ion pages
Hand held compressed air sprayers
Dusters
Bait Stations
Traps
monitoring devices etc.
Caulking controls pests by removing or eliminating harborages and access.
Cleaning controls pests by removing food sources.

Integration into system.

This program will “revolutionize” the current IPM methodology.  There are attempts at removing pesticides from schools but nowhere is there not only a step-by-step written manual for non-toxic pest management that is easily followed nor are there any companies or individuals who can even claim to be able to address every pest control issue without resorting to volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons in “emergencies”.

How we do it!

We will implement an IPM program utilizing the proven non-toxic IPM methods as described in “The Best Control”.  This program is designed to make the school district self sufficient in controlling pests by using its available staff during their normal work routines.

Our goal is to prove that all of the insects, e.g., ants, mites, lice, pantry pests, crickets, fleas, roaches, spiders, termites, wasps, etc., inside and outside your school schools can safely be controlled without the use of any dangerous, volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons, e.g., organophosphates, pyrethroids and/or carbamates.

Specific Tasks

We will spend 3 hours or more putting on an initial in-service program to train unionized maintenance, dietary and custodial staff on how they personally can use simple non-toxic controls (e.g., vacuums, enzymes, habitat reduction, baby powder, sanitation, caulk, etc.) to control any pest problems at school and at their homes.

After conducting an in-service program with maintenance, custodial, grounds and dietary, we properly install negative ion plates and/or install any number of various combinations of the safer, alternative IPM controls to replace the dangerous use of volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons in the schools to eliminate or significantly reduce the incidence of all insect infestations.  We will work throughout the project with custodians and staff on any remaining problem areas.

We install a master IPM planner (CD-ROM) called “The Best Control” in the principal’s office and/or head custodian's office, and school library and carefully instruct all the responsible person on its use.  In addition, we will be in constant phone contact with all of in-house people, personally directing them as they perform any non-toxic control programs, inspections, etc. via our toll free line.   This CD-ROM may be used by anyone in the Community to solve their own pest problems.

We can also conduct in-service programs for the principals, teachers and staff explaining how and why the school to protect the students and staff without using any dangerous, volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons.

We will visit the site to solve any "unsolvable" insect problems that the district may have with non-toxic or least-toxic controls.

Personal Time spent at each school will include:

Description of the site
    A.     Identifying potential problem areas and recommendations to correct these areas (i.e., exclusion, cleaning, baited traps, etc.)
    B.     Identify all sensitive areas associated with site as defined in any State regulation.  (i.e., kitchen, food storage.)
Inspection of site
    A.     Number of pests found or reported.
    B.     Identification of pest.
    C.     Conditions that are conducive to pest establishment.
Monitoring of site
    A.     All problem sites are to be closely monitored on a weekly basis by the District's maintenance staff.
    B.     Any additional or routine monitoring is to be done at least on a monthly basis by the District's custodial/grounds staff.

THRESHOLD LEVEL
Threshold level is defined by the District as the level at which a least-toxic, non-volatile pesticide application by the PCO under the guidelines of the project may be necessary to manage the pest. This level cannot be reached without the District first exhausting all of the alternative solutions to the pest problem found in “The Best Control Master IPM Planning Manual.

PEST MANAGEMENT METHODS
The underlying principle of this plan is first for the District to use all non-toxic controls listed in The Best Control, then as a last resort for the PCO, under the guidelines, to use the least-toxic alternative possible. All methods are to be evaluated by the District and Get Set, Inc. for safety before they are implemented. The following considerations to pest management are to be used:

1)     if anyone has a safer method of effectively controlling pest it will be immediately adopted;
2)     we will always choose the safest method of controlling pests possible.  If we have to err, we will always err on the side of safety; rather than on the side of control.