School Integrated Pest Management
Pest Reporting
A formal procedure for reporting pests should be established in the school or district. All pest reports should be directed to the IPM Coordinator who will quickly address the situation. While most pest reports are verbal, incorporating a pest sighting form in the process can improve IPM plan efficacy over time. Pest sighting logs can be located in frequented areas such as teacher's lounges, kitchens, and front offices. The issue with paper pest reporting systems is that there can be a delay in reporting and pest management action. Efforts should be made to review the pest sighting logs as often as possible and report pest issues to the IPM Coordinator so corrective actions can be taken quickly.
A typical pest reporting system would be for students to report pests to teachers and for teachers to report those sightings to the principal or head custodian/site coordinator. Within a school, it is adventitious for all pest reports to go to a designated person who will have direct contact with the IPM Coordinator. Typically, this is the principal or head custodian/site coordinator. It is important to understand that even minor pest issues should be reported to the IPM Coordinator and pesticides should never be applied by any faculty or staff unless the action and product is approved by the IPM Coordinator and it is in line with the IPM Policy and Plan. If pest control is contracted, then the IPM Coordinator will contact the pest control company if needed as part of an IPM-based plan for dealing with a particular pest.
Your pest reporting procedures can be simple, or high-tech. For instance, the Salt Lake City School District has developed an online application--iPest Manager--that allows all faculty and staff to report pests using their user name and password. Pest sightings are instantaneously recorded and sent to the IPM Coordinators who can immediately respond. Most school districts or schools will use paper and verbal based procedures until a pest reporting program becomes widely available for use.
Example of pest reporting procedures
Our school or district will standardize pest reporting procedures. A direct line of contact will be made with one representative from each school with the IPM Coordinator. The representative will report all pest sightings to the IPM Coordinator so corrective action can be taken. All members of faculty and staff will be educated about the pest reporting procedures to minimize confusion.
Pest reporting logs will be placed in faculty lounges, kitchens, and front offices and will be reviewed daily to determine if new pest sightings have occurred. All pest sightings will be promptly reported to the IPM Coordinator. If pesticides are to be applied, the IPM Coordinator must first approve all pesticide applications. Non-chemical pest management techniques, as outlined in the pest control section can be used at the discretion of the head custodian/site coordinator.