The Virginia Pest Management Association

P.O. Box 7161, Fredericksburg, VA 22404
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There's more than 1 way to manage schools' pests

Roanoke's school system is focusing on maintenance and cleaning rather than poisons. By David Harrison Fairview Elementary School's recent rat infestation has nudged the Roanoke school system toward more modern methods of dealing with pests. The school system is putting together what's known in pest-control circles as an integrated pest management plan. It relies more on building maintenance, regular cleaning and record keeping than on the liberal use of pesticides. Instead of hiring an exterminator to apply pesticides regularly, the school system wants its employees to take on more responsibility for keeping rats, roaches and other pests out of school buildings. "The goal is to keep rodents out of the facility and keep it very inhospitable for them which they [school staff] are completely in charge of," said Dini Miller, an entomologist and urban pest specialist at Virginia Tech who is working with the Roanoke school system. "That is not something your pest control company can do for you." Although there's always going to be some evidence of pests in school buildings, the goal is to keep it to a minimum and to deal with the unwanted visitors promptly, she said. That means keeping classrooms uncluttered to deny rodents a place to burrow. It means plugging up the gaps in the walls through which they come in. And it means getting rid of low-hanging vegetation around buildings that attracts rodents. More than anything, however, it means keeping a record of all droppings and evidence of rodents and turning that over to the school system's pest management company. The company then uses that information to apply pesticides and rodenticides more selectively. "You basically are keeping careful logs of what is being observed so there is great specificity about pest activity or rodent activity," said Curt Baker, the school system's deputy superintendent for operations. "It's a much safer and much more precise program." School officials turned their attention to pests after a rat infestation at Fairview that had gone unaddressed for years forced the school to close six days before the start of the academic year. The school remains closed and exterminators are working to clean the building. It's unclear when it will reopen. As part of the integrated pest management program, the school system is reminding its employees that only people with special licenses can apply pest-killing chemicals in a public building. In the past, it wasn't uncommon for maintenance workers to spray or set traps for pests, according to Baker and to school maintenance reports. That has led the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to investigate whether pesticides were applied improperly at Fairview Elementary. That investigation is still under way, said Marion Horsley, a spokeswoman for the department. Nationwide, 14 states including North Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland require that schools adopt an IPM plan, according to Beyond Pesticides, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group. Virginia is one of six states that doesn't require IPM plans but recommends school districts adopt one. So far, 15 have done so, including Montgomery and Franklin counties, according to Miller's Web site. "The pesticide laws in the state of Virginia are kind of behind the times and they're trying to catch up now," she said. "There seems to be more comfort with the use of pesticides here." But integrated pest management doesn't forbid the use of pesticides or rodenticides. It simply calls for using them sparingly, and in targeted spots. Besides being inefficient, overspraying can be harmful to hypersensitive people, Miller said. It can also boost the resistance of the surviving pests, making even stronger pesticides necessary, Baker said. In Lynchburg schools, which have an IPM program, it took some time for people to get used to the idea that aggressive spraying may not be the best way to deal with pests, said Don Floyd, assistant director for facilities and transportation in Lynchburg schools. "It's a hard break to get away from that regimented spraying routine and a lot of people are not used to that," he said. "We get a lot of calls, mainly for ants, a few roaches and mice, and of course everybody hollers they want the exterminator to come and spray." Floyd, who has only been on the job a few months, said he's been surprised at how few pest problems he's encountered in that city's schools. Still, mandating a statewide IPM program may not be the best solution, Miller said. With only 11 pest inspectors on staff, the Virginia Department of Agriculture would be hard-pressed to inspect the state's 1,823 schools on top of their other duties. Instead, Miller said she'd rather see school districts voluntarily adopt IPM programs. That's what's happening in Roanoke. The school system plans to include provisions of its IPM program in future contracts with pest management companies and has already held several work sessions with school staff and Miller. "We've promised all along that not only are we going to remediate the problems at a given facility but on a divisionwide basis we're going to move to best practices," said Baker. "I don't know that you're going to see instantaneous change," he added. "There's a learning curve."