Keeping Track of Those Pests

Where there are kids there are bound to be pests. No, the kids are not the pests. The pests are the little critters that like to munch on the easy pickins so often left by children. Daycares can be absolutely a bug or rats delight. Where else could you find an abundant supply of goodies that are so often tossed around a room? Even the best sweeper is hard pressed to get every crumb.

So as a routine, most child care facilities must deal with pest control. The most likely offenders are roaches, flies, mice, and their cousins the rats. The difficulty is they dont want to be controlled. And we have limited means of controlling them because we have small children who put everything in their mouths.

For the furry creatures and the little crawling critters, the exterminator uses glue traps. He puts them only in places the children dont have access to. Sometimes the exterminator will stuff the holes with steel pads to block their access. For the flying ones there are fly strips. And the exterminator has his spray, often regulated by a licensing agency in the type and amount he can use at a child care center.

Whatever the pest control action taken, it is important to log that action in a specified book. This will allow the review of an entire history of problems with pests, their locations, the time of year they appear and what was done.

What was done is very important. Heres why its so important to keep an updated Exterminators Log.

We are aware of chemicals around children. Pesticides can be dangerous and can have long-term affects on their health. We dont want that…we only want to get rid of disease carrying pests. By keeping a record of the chemicals used we are able to track any ill-effects. This information might be life-saving for a child.

By keeping a pest control log we can also see where the recurring problems are. Perhaps the pest problem is enhanced because sanitary measures are not followed by staff members. Perhaps there is an unseen means of entrance for the pests. This is an area that may need to be addressed before the pest problem goes away. There are building problems that prove to be friendly to pests.

Administrators should be aware that maintaining a pest control log is a way of documenting that pest control rules and regulations have been followed under her watch. In todays litigious society a request for such documentation may be required from a school board or court. In these cases it is always best to have the documentation that includes: date of service; area serviced; type and strength of chemical used; exterminators name. Documentation should not be in a “loose binder” but rather in a bound book with stamped and pre-numbered pages. This will show no entries have been added or subtracted.

Whatever the reason for pests, it is important that qualified and licensed exterminators record their activity and the chemicals they are using. It is important that administrators view this record keeping as an important document.

As an administrator it is important to remember you will not always be the administrator of your current program. Someone else will need to have access to this history. As a parent, its important to know that supervisors are aware of and practice the safe use of chemicals in the child care setting.

Comments

[kathleen]

I found a product called the PEST OFFENSE at www.pestoffense.com that has been amazing for ridding my house of unwanted pests. I found it when researching chemical free alternatives because there are so many proven links of indoor pesticides to Children's Leukemia, ADHD, cognitive development, and Parkinson's Disease. 1 unit has lasted me well over a year and I have not had to spray indoors this entire time.