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News you can use
- Last Chance Virtual School IPM Coordinator training
- Statewide pest management trainings for school coordinators start in March
- From pests to pollutants, keeping schools healthy and clean is no simple task
- SPN: Warm-Season Turfgrass Fall/Winter Preparation
- Uninvited vultures draw community ire: AgriLife provides solutions to human-vulture conflict
Category Archives: Newsletter
School Pest News, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2012
Who Can Work Under My License? By Dr. Don Renchie There seems to be a lot of confusion buzzing around schools these days about who can apply pesticides. First, only licensed applicators can make ANY type of pesticide application – even “organic” on school properties. The Texas Department of Agriculture’s “Structural Pest Control Act” has required all applicators be licensed as commercial, noncommercial, or technicians before they make applications in or around schools, childcare centers, or educational institutions since the mid-1980s. What has many school IPM coordinators confused… Read More →
Gee, I love my job by Mike Merchant
As I write, I’m sitting in a mostly dark room listening to my Texas AgriLife colleagues Don Renchie and Janet Hurley walk a group of almost 40 school IPM Coordinators through a long list of rules and regulations about how pesticides must be used in Texas public schools. In between jokes, back-and-forth banter, and scribbling pens, learning is taking place and it’s a beautiful thing. Given a choice, I suspect most of us would probably not choose to spend our day watching a PowerPoint slide show and listening… Read More →
Structural Pest Control Service Winter Update
The Structural Pest Control Advisory Committee met today after a (literally) stormy day in Austin–and I don’t mean politics. Yesterday brought some wet relief to parched central and north Texas, as well as rare winter tornadoes in several communities. Today’s committee meeting was mostly uneventful in terms of actions; however some interesting topics were introduced that should lead to follow-up discussions in later meetings. The meeting started off with a moment of silence for Bill Stepan, our committee member who passed away in November. David Kostroun then led… Read More →
Texas Pesticide Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (TPDES)
Many of you have heard about a new Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requirement/regulation relating to pesticide applications to, over, or near water. The regulation is the result of federal court decisions which place pesticide applications and use under not only the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), but under the Clean Water Act (CWA). TCEQ and other state environmental protection agencies nationwide (including Puerto Rico, Guam, and Samoa) had until October 31, 2011 to develop or adopt a Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (PDES) permit. TCEQ… Read More →
School Pest News Volume 10, Issue 8
Contents Section 1 Crazy ants making tracks through South Central Texas. 1 Section 2 IPM and IAQ inspections can find open floor and wall penetrations. 2 Additional Information – University of Florida – Tight Spaces. 3 Section 1 Crazy ants making tracks through South Central Texas Travis County is one of the most recent areas of Texas to be invaded by crazies – in this case, Caribbean or Rasberry crazy ants, said entomologists with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Crazy ants get their name from their erratic movements… Read More →
Praise for another successful Statewide School IPM Coordinators Conference
I would first like to thank all the individuals who gave their time to speak at the conference, I know for some of you, this took you away from your home and family, and we appreciate it. Second I would like to thank TASBO for their support of this conference, we really could not have done it without you. To the TIPMAPS Board – you all deserve a “round of applause” thank you for helping with obtaining door prize items; speaking, helping with set up and making sure… Read More →
School Pest News VOLUME 10, ISSUE 7
SECTION 1 THREE TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR IPM EFFORTS By Steve Byrns Students aren’t the only ones in class this fall; unwanted insect and animal pests of all shapes and sizes also “attend school” at times, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service Program Specialist II. Janet Hurley, AgriLife Extension school integrated pest management specialist in Dallas, said school districts across the state face a constant invasion of pests to the degree that since 1995 every independent school district in the state is required… Read More →
October is Children’s Health Month
October is Children’s Health Month as you can see from a statement sent out by Lisa Jackson, Administrator U.S. EPA. EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP) posted this article (see link below) this month of October for Children’s Health Month. From the University of PA, an article on the “Importance of a Safe and Healthy School Environment: Pests, Pesticides and Children” will be posted on the EPA website. The article focuses on: What is IPM?, The steps of IPM, Head Lice at school and home, and bed bugs. The… Read More →
Got ants in your pantry? Tiny ants can be big bother to many South Central Texas homeowners
Pharaohs and rovers sighted in homes throughout South Central Texas! No, it’s not a tabloid headline. The pharaohs aren’t related to King Tut or Ramses, and the rovers aren’t really too wild. However, these two diminutive ant species – found in pantries, on kitchen counters, and in and around sinks — can be a big bother for many South Central Texas residents, said Texas AgriLife Extension Service experts. “These ants typically become more active in the summer,” said Wizzie Brown, integrated pest management specialist for AgriLife Extension in… Read More →
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