Introduction
The Act to Protect Children and Families From Harmful Pesticides require that every school in Massachusetts adopt and develop an IPM plan. For those who are not sure where and how to begin, this document provides you with the basics to go ahead and prepare an IPM plan for your school. In addition, a companion guidance document has been developed to help you too.

The development of an IPM plan for your school is not meant to be an overwhelming or a futile exercise. Remember, your IPM goal is better pest control and reduced risk from the use of pesticides.

Essentially, the IPM plan is little more than an overview of how your school will implement IPM. The key to writing your IPM plan will involve looking and thinking about your school in a different way focusing more on building conditions and the occupants compared to the pest itself. In other words, your IPM plan should be a blueprint of how your school will prevent and minimize food, water, and environmental conditions required for pest survival.

On paper, your school IPM plan states what your school is trying to accomplish regarding pests and the use of pesticides. Your IPM plan reflects your school's site-specific needs. Your plan will vary from other schools. Finally, your plan will be a working document and should be updated every three months or annually at a minimum to reflect changes in actual IPM practices.

Follow the outline below and you are on your way to submitting an IPM plan that is specific to your school. Note: The outline should be used to write separate indoor and outdoor plans and submitted electronically to SIPM-Plans@MassMail.State.ma.us

Note: The Department's mailing address is Department of Agricultural Resources - Pesticide Bureau, 5th floor, 251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114-2151 for schools unable to submit IPM Plans electronically.

1). General School Information

School Name:

Address:

City/Town/Zip Code:

Telephone Number:

E-Mail Address:

Plan Prepared By:

Submittal Date:

2). School IPM Coordinator, Leader, or Supervisor

Name:

Title:

Telephone Number:

E-Mail Address:

3). School IPM Committee or Team

Name:

Title:

Name:

Title:

Name:

Title:

4). School IPM Policy

Statement of Purpose

5). School Pest Problem(s) Description

History of pests observed

Identity of Pests

Designate areas where pests are present

Describe what is being done

Describe whether control worked

6). School IPM Information Flow and Training

Communication Strategy

Training Format (Content and Schedule)

7). School Chemical Pesticide Applied

Outdoor uses only: List Product(s) Name and EPA Number

Anticipated emergency problems (e.g. stinging pests): List product(s) name and EPA Number

Pesticide Applicator: Name and Certification/License Number (if known)

8). School Non-Chemical Actions

Pest Proofing

Sanitation/Housekeeping

Trapping

Light Management

Other

9). School IPM Program Evaluation

How often?

Performance or progress reports

Recommendations for corrective actions

10). School IPM Plan Location*

Maintained on-site Record keeping

For More Information

For more information on IPM go to the very useful 7 step EPA publication on adopting IPM http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ipm/brochure/

* For outdoor plans, diagrams or maps of managed areas is strongly recommended