What is Integrated Pest Management?
- Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is a strategy to prevent and treat pest problems using a combination of prevention, monitoring, record keeping and control methods such as eliminating food sources and sealing cracks and crevices in buildings where pests can enter.
- In IPM, chemical pest controls that pose the least possible hazard to human health and the environment are used only after careful monitoring and when non-chemical methods have failed.
Who is the IPM Toolkit for?
- early care and education staff and directors
- family child care providers
- building maintenance personnel
- early care and education health and safety educators
- child care health consultants
- child care health advocates
- child care licensing analysts
- pest management professionals
- parents
- others interested in the health and safety of children
Learning Objectives:
After using the IPM Toolkit, you will be able to:
- identify the requirements for child care centers as specified in California’s Healthy Schools Act.
- define a pest, a pesticide and integrated pest management.
- explain why children are vulnerable to the health risks of pesticides.
- describe the health effects for children and staff exposed to pesticides and common pests.
- develop and implement IPM policies and practices in your program.
- identify simple and inexpensive IPM methods to prevent or manage common pests.
- inspect your child care facility for the presence of pests or conditions that attract pests using the IPM Checklist.
- share IPM information and resources with staff and parents.
IPM Toolkit Curriculum & Checklist
The IPM Full Curriculum Booklet contains general information about IPM and the Healthy schools act, plus what you need to know about pests and pesticides, and how to implement IPM. The curriculum includes a checklist to help guide Early Care and Education programs in implementing IPM. It comes with appendices with sample policies, forms and letters.
Complimentary materials such as factsheets, posters, and presentations are also available.
All IPM Resources
This poster highlights how to select safer pesticide options as part of an integrated pest management plan.
This factsheet provides guidelines for selecting pest management professionals that prioritize safety and effective pest control methods such as integrated pest management (IPM).
This poster provides step-by-step guidance on understanding pesticide labels to ensure safe and effective use.
This serves as a comprehensive toolkit for early care and education programs, detailing strategies to prevent and manage pest problems through a combination of prevention, monitoring, record-keeping, and control methods, while minimizing the use of hazardous chemicals.
This factsheet provides tips on effectively managing ant infestations using safe, integrated pest management practices.
This document provides strategies for early care and education programs to manage ant infestations safely, emphasizing prevention, sanitation, and non-chemical methods to minimize children’s exposure to harmful pesticides.
This factsheet provides strategies for identifying and managing mold issues in indoor environments as part of an integrated pest management approach.
This document details safe and effective mosquito control methods that align with integrated pest management principles.
This factsheet provides strategies for managing yellowjacket infestations safely and effectively using integrated pest management principles.
This document serves as an introduction to environmental health concepts, focusing on understanding and mitigating health risks with preventative strategies such as integrated pest management (IPM).
Emphasizing integrate pest management (IPM), this document compiles key resources for understanding and addressing environmental health risks associated with pest control in various contexts including early childcare education facilities.
This factsheet provides essential information on pest management, emphasizing safe and effective practices.
This poster emphasizes strategies for keeping outdoor spaces pest-free using integrated pest management techniques.
This document outlines the requirements and recommendations under the Healthy Schools Act to ensure a safer environment for children.
This document introduces the concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and explains its importance for sustainable pest control.