Pest-Free Schooling

Which would you prefer. A school free of the many insect and rodent pests that can spread disease or one in which fears of pesticides exceed having a safe learning environment?

Every year, parents hear or read stories involving the application of pesticides and there's a reason for this. There are organisations that are devoted to raising fears regarding their use anywhere.

When it comes to schools in the UK, most parents are unaware of the measures that have been in place now for many years to insure both a pest-free environment and one that ensures there will be no contact with the pesticides used to achieve that goal.

For example, the various areas of a school are treated only when there are no students or teachers present, and pesticides are not applied if there is no evidence of insect or rodent pests.

Under the established guidelines, before the new school year begins, an Integrated Pest Management coordinator for each school sends notices to parents regarding which low-impact pesticides will be used. In the event of an infestation requiring that a higher-impact pesticide must be applied, parents will be given 72 hours advance notice and signs will be posted on school doors.

In addition, reports are maintained that keep school administrators fully informed regarding the intensive inspections that are part of the process of protecting schools from infestations.

Structural changes are a large part of the protection process. If you can seal the many cracks that provide access to a school building, you've gone a long way toward keeping out common insect and rodent pests. Sometimes special efforts must be undertaken to keep certain bird species from roosting and causing structural damage.

Those who raise fears about pesticides rarely call attention to the health problems associated with common pests. Cockroaches, for example, can spread dysentery, gastroenteritis, salmonella, and even typhoid fever. Their discarded exoskeletons can trigger asthma attacks.

Rats and mice, if they get into a school's cafeteria or classrooms, leave behind a trail of dried urine and faeces that can spread diseases such as leptospirosis and at least one form of meningitis. They contaminate any food with which they come in contact.

No parent wants his child attending a school that is filled with cockroaches, ants, wasps, spiders and other common pest insects. The only way to ensure a pest-free environment is to have professional pest management on the job and that, sometimes, also includes the use of appropriate pesticides, registered and applied in a manner determined by the Environmental Agency.

Article provided by SDA Pest Control