Home » University Articles » Penn State Reducing Pesticide Use on Campus
Penn State Reducing Pesticide Use on Campus
Penn State is taking strides to ensure practices used to manage pests in buildings and around campus minimize hazards to people, property and the environment.
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA, May 06, 2010 /University PR News/ -- Penn State is taking strides to ensure practices used to manage pests in buildings and around campus minimize hazards to people, property and the environment.
The university is using a safer approach to pest control called integrated pest management (IPM) to control pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe and environmentally compatible. The IPM strategy is part of Penn State's Environmental Stewardship Initiative, whose goal is to ensure the health and welfare of students, faculty and staff while moving the University toward sustainable practices.
According to David Manos, assistant director of housing, when the University's contract with the previous pest control company ended in 2008, the environmental stewardship committee began to investigate how pests could be managed in campus buildings, dining halls and student housing more safely and effectively. "With the assistance of the Pennsylvania IPM Program we wrote IPM into the new contract and developed an IPM policy for campus buildings," says Manos.
The group referenced PA IPM's "Pennsylvania School IPM Manual", using the manual's model policy to develop one of its own. The manual also assisted the group with a listing of commonly encountered pests in and around schools as well as information on the biology, identification and management of various types of pests such as ants, cockroaches, flies, fleas, head lice, silverfish, termites, and yellowjackets.
According to Lysa Holland, environmental compliance engineer at Penn State's Office of Environmental Health and Safety, development of an IPM policy on campus was only the beginning. "The next step involved providing training to our physical plant staff. Ron Nagle, custodial program manager, took the lead role in these efforts," Holland explains. "We also began to look at some our buildings and changes that could be implemented to keep pests out, such as fixing windows that won't close and replacing door sweeps. New buildings on campus will be constructed with these and other exclusion tactics incorporated into the design."
Holland is pleased with how IPM adoption is progressing, but says it will take several years before IPM is fully implemented across the entire campus. "You can't do it part way, you have to make the physical changes but also change behaviors of students, faculty and staff. Education is key," she says.
One example of these ongoing educational efforts is the environmental stewardship committee's collaboration with the Centre Region Bed Bug Coalition to educate the campus community about the preventing the spread of bed bugs, which is a growing problem across the nation. "In just over two years there have been about two dozen documented bed bug cases in our student resident halls, so we are taking a proactive approach on campus," Manos explains. "We're educating students to be on the lookout for signs of bed bugs in their rooms by learning how to identify, prevent, and control them safely and effectively."
According to Holland, in addition to campus buildings they will be focusing more on utilizing IPM to manage landscapes around campus, as well as the athletic fields and golf courses. "IPM tactics such utilizing pest histories and planning ahead, scouting, sampling and identifying pests, using multiple tactics to suppress pest population and keeping records have been in place for several years. We'd like to establish a more formal IPM program in landscaping, and eventually like to expand both buildings and grounds programs to all branch campuses of Penn State," says Holland.
For more information on IPM in schools and campus settings, view PA IPM's "Pennsylvania School IPM Manual" online at http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/agrs82.pdf. Hard copies of the manual are also available for purchase through the Publications Distribution Center, Penn State University, 112 Agricultural Administration Bldg., University Park, PA. Call 1-877-345-0691 (toll free) to order by phone. For more information on bed bugs, go the Pennsylvania IPM Program's Pest Problem Solver at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/442.htm, or go to http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/bed_bugs.htm.
The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and urban settings. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or Web site http://www.paipm.org.
---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com |
|
|
Press Release Contact Information:
Kristie Auman-Bauer
Pennsylvania IPM Program
Public Relations Coordinator
501 ASI
University Park, PA
United States 16802
Voice: 814 8652839
Fax: 814 8652839
Website: Visit Our Website |
|
|
|
|
| UNIVERSITY ARCHIVE SEARCH |
|
|
| |
|
|
Advertise With Us |
About Us |
Contact Us