School IPM Outreach and Research Activities, NYS IPM Program

Integrated pest management in schools is needed to reduce risks to children and others from both pests and the overuse of pesticides. The NYS IPM Program was involved in several extension and applied research activities at schools in 2005. In the lower Hudson River Valley, we continued with a “learning community” approach. Three school districts are working with extension and school peers to assist each other in the development of model IPM programs. NYS IPM Program staff assisted a Long Island school district in bringing a significant cockroach problem under control. Completion of on-site interviews of schools on their pest management policies and practices brought the total number of interviews to 38. We organized a meeting of the Statewide School IPM Committee and interacted with numerous school districts and others about school IPM via presentations and site visits