IPM Committee Tasks: Developing IPM Plan Components: Maintenance

Maintaining and Updating the Plan

Communication/records/MSDS

Keep records for both pest sightings and pesticide use on school grounds. Knowing where, when, and what pests are seen on school grounds will help focus pest control efforts and will be helpful to professional pest control operators. Sample pest sighting and pesticide use logs are included in the pest management plan at the end of the manual (Green Tab). Maps of the school building and grounds will aid in describing where pests are sighted and pesticides are used.

Maintenance staff, teachers, and students should contribute to pest sighting logs. Pesticide use logs should be filled out by the person applying pesticides.

The school’s pest control coordinator should coordinate the recording of all pest sightings and present them to the PCO to aid in their routine inspection.

The school pest control coordinator should also maintain a record of all pesticides used by either the PCO or school staff as a means to track compliance with the school’s IPM policy.¹⁰

Education 

Education is a cost-effective pest management strategy. Information will help change people's behaviors -particularly how they dispose of wastes and store food-which plays an important part in the management of pest problems associated with schools. For an IPM program to be successful, all people from administration to teachers to maintenance staff must be made aware of the schools policies on pest control and their respective roles in the overall pest management plan.