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Greater Harmony Between Agriculture and the Environment
School IPM
Issue
The Kyrene School District in the metropolitan Phoenix area routinely
sprayed its facilities to control an assortment of fire ants, cockroaches,
mosquitoes and bark scorpions. Each month the pesticide treatments were
repeated, but pest populations remained at what district officials considered
to be unacceptable levels. More significantly, while the poisons were
being applied and reapplied, children were being pulled out of school
for a day or two each month by their parents to avoid pesticide exposure.
In April 2000, the school district tried another approach and brought
in a team of specialists that included entomologists from the University
of Arizona.
What has been done?
Three schools in the Kyrene district were chosen for a pilot Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) project, to control pests while avoiding reliance
on chemical pesticides. The schools concentrated their efforts (and
capital resources) on identifying what the pests were, finding where
they came from and preventing their entry into buildings. The custodial
and kitchen staffs also were mobilized to learn how to spot trouble.
All of the openings around pipes and conduits were sealed, crawl spaces
were closed off, and drains and building slabs were repaired to inhibit
cockroaches. Trees were trimmed back and birds were encouraged to roost
where their droppings wouldn't contaminate walkways and other high traffic
areas.
The new program initially came from Indiana University (IU). IU entomologist
Marc Lame had done a pilot study in the Midwest and wanted to try a
similar program in the desert Southwest.
Impact
The IPM midterm evaluation showed that the schools reduced their pesticide
applications by 90 percent and kept pest populations below 85 percent
of their original levels. The program has been expanded to 27 sites
in the Kyrene School District, and will start on The Navajo Nation in
2002.
UA faculty also are currently working with the Arizona Structural Pest
Control Commission and Arizona Game and Fish Department on ways to provide
pest control companies with certification that will recognize those
who practice IPM techniques.
Funding
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
Environmental Protection Agency
Contact
Dawn Gouge, assistant specialist, entomology
Department of Entomology
The University of Arizona
37860 W. Smith-Enke Road
Maricopa, AZ 85239-3010
Tel: (520) 568-2273 ext, 223 FAX (520) 568-2556
Email: dhgouge@ag.arizona.edu
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