IPM Toolkit for Child Care Providers

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There are over 13,000 licensed private child day care facilities (child care centers) in California, in addition to approximately 50,000 family day care homes. In 2007 the Healthy Schools Act (HSA) was amended to include posting, notification, and recordkeeping requirements for private child day care facilities, but excluded family day care homes. In 2010, a survey on pest problems and pesticide use in child care centers reported that ninety percent of child care centers experienced an indoor or outdoor pest problem, but that many providers were not aware of the term "integrated pest management."

In collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing, DPR developed the Integrated Pest Management: A Toolkit for Early Care and Education Program, which provides practical information about using integrated pest management (IPM) to prevent and manage pest problems. Using the resources available in the IPM Toolkit, child care providers can learn safe and effective solutions for preventing and managing pest problems, why IPM is important in the child care setting and how to follow the requirements of the Healthy Schools Act. The IPM toolkit includes:

• Integrated Pest Management: A Curriculum for Early Care and Education Programs (Curriculum booklet) (English, PDF, 3.4 mb) (En Español, PDF, 3.5 mb)

  This curriculum booklet provides a general overview of IPM and the Healthy Schools Act (HSA). Child care providers and staff can learn about pests and pesticides and why children are vulnerable to the health risks of pesticides. Using the curriculum, individuals working for and with child care centers can develop and implement IPM policies and practices in a safe and effective pest management program.

• Health and Safety Notes on Individual Pests (English, PDF, 4.6 mb) (En Español, PDF, 4.7 mb)

  The Health and Safety Notes are a series of documents that provide practical IPM strategies for the management of common pests such as ants, head lice, spiders, cockroaches, rodents, and more.

  The concentration of bleach has changed in many products. You may be using too much bleach if you follow the recommendations in The Recommended Bleach Solution section in the Sanitizing Safely and Effectively Health and Safety Note. Please follow the label directions on the product you are using, as always. For more information, go to the National Resource Center’s Caring For Our Children Standards.

• IPM Posters (English, PDF, 1 mb) (En Español, PDF, 1 mb)

  These IPM Posters are intended to be posted in facilities as reminders to child care providers and staff about the steps to keeping a pest free indoor and outdoor environment. They also provide guidance on how to read a pesticide label and how to choose a safer pesticide.

• IPM Checklist (English, PDF, 270 kb) (En Español, PDF, 279 kb)

  The IPM Checklist was developed for child care staff or the pest management professional to inspect child care facilities for the presence of pests and the conditions that provide pests with food, water, and shelter. Also provided are ways to identify evidence of pests and a list of tools needed to complete an inspection.