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AUBURN CITY
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Press Release (PDF format, requires Acrobat Reader) In the Auburn City Schools (ACS), “IPM” stands for “Integrated People Management”, not just “Integrated Pest Management.“ A host of professionals, from both inside and outside of the school system, are involved in making sure pest problems are kept to a minimum, with pesticide use as a last resort. ACS is a “Monroe Model” school, enlisted in 2001 as a pilot to test an IPM training and education model developed initially at Monroe County Community Schools Corporation (MCCSC) in Indiana.
The model has proven successful in reducing pest problems and pesticide use by 85% or more in schools where it has been implemented, with no increase in pest control costs. “Initially, custodians ran from us,” said Graham. “They simply had their hands full and did not want anything more to do. But within a very short time, they were fully on board, including using the information they’ve learned to solve pest problems in their own homes. They’ve become valuable assets in monitoring the schools and pointing out problems. One custodian even took on a school staffer who was heading out to treat a practice field with a 20 lb. bag of diazinon for fire ants. He explained that ACS’s new policy didn’t allow that anymore, and the right thing to do was to contact the administration to have the problem resolved by a professional.” Diazinon is a toxic nerve poison which has had many uses discontinued, and for which effective, less toxic alternatives are readily available. The pest management professional who now serves the school district under contract, became a ready convert to the program. As Richard Lumpkin, of Lumpkin Pest Management, explains, “The schools are cleaner and they’re safer. We also try to save our customers money whenever we can. We found a honey bee hive in a tree and were able to find a beekeeper to take it, saving an $85 charge for hive removal.” Lumpkin’s training and approach has won him new customers, including servicing homes of some of the school staff, and an opportunity to talk about what he’s learned at a meeting of Alabama pest management service professionals. At ACS, Lumpkin manages rodents without rodenticides, which are pesticides designed to kill rats and mice.
This unique approach is due in part to his sensitivity to the toxicity of these potent chemicals, after having a couple of his dogs accidentally ingest near-fatal amounts left out by a neighbor.
“By keeping the grass cut around school buildings in the summer months, we don’t have anywhere near the problems we used to have each fall,” Lumpkin says.
“We’d come in and find large numbers of mice, and have to spend lots of time tracking down dead mice that were killed by the rodenticide and tucked away in hard-to-reach places.
Keeping them out in the first place, and trapping when we need to, saves a lot of time and trouble.” For additional information: Thomas Green, President, IPM Institute of North America,
4510 Regent St., Madison WI 53705, 608 232-1410, Fax 608 232-1440,
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