|
|
|
Home ▪ Essentials for Practitioners ▪ Listserves |
Integrated Pest Management in Multi-Family Housing NCHH and EPA are partnering with the Northeastern IPM Center, the Pennsylvania IPM Program, and the National Pest Management Association to revise the training materials so they are even more effective. The revisions should be complete in August 2008. For details, contact Tom Neltner at tneltner@nchh.org.
Course Materials:
This course is designed help a property manager, such as a public housing authority, implement a comprehensive integrated pest management (IPM) program by bringing the stakeholders, especially resident leaders, together to develop the skills and practices needed to effectively eliminate pests such as cockroaches and rodents from multi-family housing.
The course is based on a model developed for Boston Housing Authority by Don Rivard of Rivard's IPM Resources, Jim McCarthy of Boston Housing Authority and Pat Hynes of Boston University. Those three laid the foundation for the course, piloted it and worked with NCHH to finalize the materials. The course uses the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Guidance on Integrated Pest Management as the framework for an effective IPM program. The course was developed under a contract with Battelle and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Pesticide Programs.
The target audience for the course is resident leaders with a common property manager who want to more effective pest control through integrated pest management (IPM). The course requires the active participation of the pest control operator / pest management professional as well as property maintenance and resident support services.
Expectations for Property Manager A common property manager who seeks to implement an effective IPM program should consider this course as part of the overall IPM effort. NCHH expects that the host property manager will make the following preparations for the training course to succeed:
1. Adopt IPM-based policies and procedures consistent with HUD’s voluntary Guidance on Integrated Pest Management issued on February 3, 2006 and revised on May 27, 2007. See www.healthyhomestraining.org/ipm/hud_ipm_5-24-07_pih2007-12.pdf for the May 27, 2007 version of the policy. The HUD guidance identifies ten elements of an effective IPM program. The host property manager’s policies need to address in some manner each of the ten elements. There does not have to be a complete match, but there should be a rationale for the differences.
2. Arrange for representatives from the following areas to participate in the training: a. Maintenance; b. Pest Control Operator / Pest Management Professional; and c. Resident Support Services.
The representative of each area needs to: a. Have knowledge of the pest control policies and procedures relevant to their area; b. Respond to questions in a constructive manner; c. Give a brief summary of their role in pest control shortly after lunch; and d. Be willing to listen to resident concerns in a productive manner.
3. Provide facilities for course including: a. Training room for 20 to 30 people to sit at tables; and b. Vacant housing units close to each other and close to the training room. The units need to have evidence of cockroach infestation. If the class size is smaller than 15 people, only one vacant unit is needed. In some circumstances, the course could be taught in the vacant unit if students have seats and a writing surface. As an alternative, a common area such as a trash room or laundry room could serve as one of the vacant units.
4. Arrange for participation of resident leaders interested in IPM. A mix of residents that include representatives of the tenants as well as residents interested in more effective pest control.
5. If possible, adopted a pest control contract consistent with the model RFP at www.healthyhomestraining.org/ipm/.
6. Provide trainer with the following documents: a. Pest control contract (if any); b. Reports from pest control operator including a representative report of an inspection of a unit; c. Summary of pest infestation complaints; d. Representative lease for residents; and e. Pest control policies and procedures.
7. Arrange for lunch for students. Providing lunch will make it easier to stay on schedule and build communications. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
10320 Little Patuxent Parkway,
Suite 500 • Columbia, MD 21044
|