The School IPM Rant

We often hear people brag about their child's school having an IPM, or "Integrated Pest Management" policy for school fields. Do they not realize that IPM is an industry-developed and sponsored program? The underlying concept of IPM sounds great - using least toxic methods first, then graduating to heavy chemicals only if the natural methods don't work. But the reality is that these programs are usually administered by people with years of training in pesticides and zero training in natural methods. In all the years since IPM was introduced, the use of pesticides has gone up, not down. IPM may have some limited applications for indoor pest control, but to control weeds? We don't think so.

Bottom line: Many lawn pesticides are either carcinogens or neurotoxins or both. If they were spilled on a school field by accident, men in hazmat suits would be dispatched to clean them up. These products should never even get close to a school, and with today's advances in soil science and organic products, we don't need them at all!