Welcome to California California Home
pictures of grapes, San Francisco cable car, electronic organizer, city skyline, the Hollywood sign and cypress tree
School IPM Home Page
Site Map
Overview - How IPM Can Help Schools
Laws & Regulations
Managing Pests
Health & Environment
Model Programs
Tools & Templates
School IPM Advisory Group
Training
Other Resources
Contacts
Especially For…
Child Care
School Administrators, IPM Coordinators
Maintenance & Operations Staff
Pest Control Businesses
Parents & Teachers
Department of Pesticide Regulation
Health and Environment

    My CA
Contents

wedge   What is School IPM HELPR? (School Health and Environmental impact LookuP Resource)
wedge   Use School IPM HELPR: Look up hazard information for UCIPM recommended tactics
wedge  How to read a pesticide label
wedge  How pesticides are regulated
wedge  About health and toxicology
wedge  About the environmental impacts of pesticides
wedge  Scientific and technical information on pesticides

How risky is pesticide use on school grounds? It is important to remember that the amount of health risk is a combination of two factors: hazard (toxicity) and exposure (how much of the pesticide actually reaches a child). With enough exposure, any material can pose a significant risk to children. On the other hand, some highly toxic chemicals at extremely low exposure levels may pose negligible risks.

The links on this page will help you to compare the environmental and health impacts of pesticides used in California schools. In the future, we will continue to expand the resources offered here.
What is School IPM HELPR?
(School Health and Environmental impact LookuP Resource)		 page top

We have integrated authoritative pest management recommendations from UCIPM with DPR's product-label database resources to put all the important information in one place. Starting with a specific pest, you can first read the appropriate management recommendations from UCIPM's Pest Notes series. A click of the mouse then takes you to a page summarizing toxicological and exposure data for all of the management tactics mentioned in the Pest Note. This page includes:

  • Information on toxicity (fact sheets from National Pesticide Information Center, Extension Toxicology Network, and others).
  • Information on exposure (availability of lower-exposure formulations such as baits, traps, or gels/pastes).
  • Consequences of not treating (health, economic, and environmental implications).
  • Lists of products available, with U.S. EPA signal words and restricted status.
  • Status of pesticide active ingredients on various official government lists.
Use School IPM HELPR:
Look up hazard information for UCIPM recommended tactics 		page top

Choose a pest from the list below. We recommend reading the UCIPM Pest Note first; a link will then take you to the health & environmental impact pages. Or, you may go directly to that page. (Note that the information on the School IPM HELPR pages alone is not sufficient for making management decisions.)

Pest UCIPM
Pest Note		 School IPM
HELPR
 Ants Ants UCIPM Pest Note Ants Health Impacts Page
      Other ants Ants UCIPM Pest Note  
      Red imported fire ants Ants UCIPM Pest Note  
 Cockroaches Cockroaches UCIPM Pest Note Cockroaches Health Impacts Page
 Fleas Fleas UCIPM Pest Note  
 Flies Flies UCIPM Pest Note  
      House flies Flies UCIPM Pest Note Flies Health Impacts Page
      Little house flies Flies UCIPM Pest Note Flies Health Impacts Page
 Head lice Head lice UCIPM Pest Note Head lice Health Impacts Page
 Spiders Spiders UCIPM Pest Note Spiders Health Impacts Page
 Termites Termites UCIPM Pest Note  
      Dampwood termites Termites UCIPM Pest Note Termites Health Impacts Page
      Drywood termites Termites UCIPM Pest Note Termites Health Impacts Page
      Subterranean termites Termites UCIPM Pest Note Termites Health Impacts Page
 Turf insect pests Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Armyworms, cutworms Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Billbugs Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Black turfgrass ataenius Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Fiery skipper Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Masked chafers/white grubs Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Sod webworms Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Southern chinch bug Turf insect pests UCIPM Pest Note  
 Vertebrate pests Vertebrate pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      California ground squirrel Vertebrate pests UCIPM Pest Note  
      Cliff swallows Vertebrate pests UCIPM Pest Note Vertebrate pests Health Impacts Page
      Gophers Vertebrate pests UCIPM Pest Note Vertebrate pests Health Impacts Page
      Mice Vertebrate pests UCIPM Pest Note Vertebrate pests Health Impacts Page
      Rats Vertebrate pests UCIPM Pest Note Vertebrate pests Health Impacts Page
 Weeds (general) Weeds (general) UCIPM Pest Note  
 Yellowjackets and wasps Yellowjackets and wasps UCIPM Pest Note  
How to Read a Pesticide Label page top

Pesticide labels are legal documents, and using a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with label directions is against the law. Labels also contain a wealth of useful information on health and environmental impacts. To make interpreting labels easier, we have provided a link to the US EPA "Read the Label First" program.
  Read the label first [external web site]. An interactive pesticide label from the U.S. EPA.
  What are Signal Words [pdf] [external web site]. From the National Pesticide Telecommunications Network.
  "Read the Label First!" [pdf] - DPR Pesticide Info series pamphlet.
How Pesticides Are Regulated page top
  "Regulating Pesticides: Who, Why and How?" [pdf] - DPR Pesticide Info series pamphlet.  
  "Pesticide Complaints? You Have the Right to... " [pdf] - DPR Pesticide Info series pamphlet.
  "County Plays Key Role in Regulating Pesticides" - DPR Pesticide Info series pamphlet.
  Regulating Pesticides: The California Story, a Guide to Pesticide Regulation in California - DPR publication.
  How the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates pesticides on a national level [external web site]
About Health and Toxicology page top
  Pesticide Toxicology: Evaluating Safety and Risk [external web site] [pdf]: - Purdue University publication.
  Pesticides and Ecological Risk Assessment [external web site] - Purdue University publication.
  Pesticides and Epidemiology: Unravelling Disease Patterns[pdf][external web site] - Purdue University publication.
  Toxicology Information Briefs [external web site]- EXTOXNET: The Extension Toxicology Network.
  Toxicology [external web site]- Toxicology Information from the National Library of Medicine.
  Pesticide Exposure [external web site]- Enviro-Health Links from the National Library of Medicine.
  Environment and Disease: Medicine for the Layman [external web site]- National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. 
  Pesticides and Cancer [external web site]- Evaluating Pesticides for Carcinogenic Potential, U.S. EPA
  Pesticides and Personal Safety [external web site]- Purdue University.
  Kids 'n' the Environment Health Sciences: Finding Ways to Help a Vulnerable population [external web site]: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences fact sheet.
About the Environmental Impacts of Pesticides page top
  Environment and Pesticides [external web site] - National Pesticide Telecommunications Network.
  Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program [external web site]- U.S. EPA. 
  Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) Chemicals Program [external web site] - U.S. EPA.
  Endangered Species Project - DPR.
  Environmental Hazards Assessment Program - DPR.
Technical Information on Pesticides page top
  Look up active ingredients associated with product name. DPR product/label databases.
  Pesticide Health Effects on Humans [external web site] - Brief summaries from Cornell University.
  Toxicology Data Network [external web site] - A cluster of somewhat technical databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, and related areas, from the National Library of Medicine.
  Glossary of Pesticide Chemicals [pdf][external web site] Lists alternative chemical names for pesticides and metabolites, and Chemical Abstract Service Registry numbers. U.S. FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
  DPR Toxicology Data Review Summaries
  Pesticide Active Ingredient Information [external web site]- Compilation of databases from Cornell University.

Back to Top of Page

Suggestions      Quick Survey
© 2003 State of California. Conditions of Use Privacy Policy