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Parents and child care providers work hard to provide a loving, stimulating environment that is safe for even the smallest children. One element of a healthy child care environment that is often overlooked is pest control. Pests may be harmful to children’s health, and pesticides used to control them may also be very harmful. Pest control in child care should be 100% kid-safe: it should effectively manage pests without exposing children or staff members to potentially harmful pesticides.

Parents – Be an Advocate for Kid-Safe Pest Management!
Here are five questions parents should be asking their child care provider:

Your child care provider may not know the answer to these questions – and that’s a sign that it’s time for them (and you) to get more informed about kid-safe pest management options!

Providers: Get Safe, Cost-Effective Pest Management!
You need pest management that’s affordable, effective, and most importantly, safe for you and for the children in your care. How can you tell if your contractor is providing you with the safest, most cost-effective pest control service?

Does your contractor do the following?
- Use baits and traps instead of high-risk pesticide sprays,
- Use chemical treatments ONLY when pests are present,
- Do thorough inspections to monitor pest activity, and
- Provide you with suggestions to prevent future pest problems?

* If you did not answer yes to each of these questions, then you might not be getting the safest, most effective pest control service possible for your child care facility.

* Click here for sample pest control contracts and other resources for child care providers.

Survey Shows High-Risk Pest Control in NC Child Care
In Summer of 2008, Toxic Free NC surveyed 89 child care providers from all across North Carolina about pest control in their facilities. 53% of child care providers who took the survey – that’s more than half – said that broadcast pesticide sprays are used in their facilities.

These broadcast pesticide application methods, including baseboard spraying and fogging or “bug bombs,” are not the safest option for child care. They carry a significant risk that children or staff will be exposed to pesticides. Ongoing exposure to pesticide residues in children has been connected with many health risks, including asthma attacks, learning difficulties, and some forms of cancer.

What’s more, widespread pesticide use is unnecessary. Public schools in North Carolina are switching to kid-safe pest management that dramatically reduces the risks to children, and it’s cost-effective too.

Kid-Safe Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Child Care

Integrated Pest Management or IPM is cost-effective, common sense pest management that relies on smart pest prevention, and uses pesticides sparingly if at all. It is recommended by Toxic Free NC and the US Environmental Protection Agency for child care facilities, schools and other spaces occupied by children, because it reduces or eliminates the risk of harm to children from pesticides. IPM uses pro-active monitoring, sanitation, and maintenance to prevent pest problems before they start, and uses least-toxic pesticides sparingly if at all, and only with very targeted application methods.

24% of child care providers who took the survey said that only least-toxic pest control methods are used in their facility. That group of centers was also less likely to report having a problem with cockroaches, rodents or mold – serious pest problems with health and sanitation implications.

Public schools in North Carolina are already making the transition to kid-safe pest management that dramatically reduces the risks to children posed by pesticides. Our child care facilities deserve kid-safe pest management, too!

Get the Report
There are two ways to get a free copy of the complete report on findings from Toxic Free NC’s 2008 NC Child Care Pest Control Survey - Avoiding Big Risks for Small Kids.