Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is my school or licensed day care center required by law to have an integrated pest management program?

2. Is my school or day care required to notify me before they apply pesticides?

3. How often does my school or day care center need to inform parents on whether they have adopted an integrated pest management plan?

4. When is an employee required to attend training on integrated pest management?

5. What dictates whether an integrated pest management program is economically feasible?

6. How do I report to the Illinois Department of Public Health on whether my school is implementing an integrated pest management plan?

7. What do I do if the status of my integrated pest management program changes?

8. Does the Illinois Department of Public Health regulate outside applications of pesticides such as herbicides to control weeds and mosquito control?

Answers

1. Is my school or licensed day care center required by law to have an integrated pest management program? The Illinois Structural Pest Control Act [225 ILCS 235/10.2] states “When economically feasible, each school and day care center is required to develop and implement an integrated pest management program that incorporates the guidelines developed by the Department. Each school and day care center must notify the Department, within one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and every 5 years thereafter, on forms provided by the Department that the school or day care center has developed and is implementing an integrated pest management program. In implementing an integrated pest management program, a school or day care center must assign a designated person to assume responsibility for the oversight of pest management practices in that school or day care center and for recordkeeping requirements. If adopting an integrated pest management program is not economically feasible because such adoption would result in an increase in the pest control costs of the school or day care center, the school or day care center must provide, within one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and every 5 years thereafter, written notification to the Department, on forms provided by the Department, that the development and implementation of an integrated pest management program is not economically feasible. The notification must include projected pest control costs for the term of the pest control program and projected costs for implementing an integrated pest management program for that same time period.”

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2. Is my school or day care required to notify me before they apply pesticides? The Illinois Structural Pest Control Act [225 ILCS 235/10.3] states, “School districts and day care centers must maintain a registry of parents and guardians of students and employees who have registered to receive written notification prior to application of pesticides to school property or day care centers or provide written notification to all parents and guardians of students before such pesticide application. Written notification may be included in newsletters, bulletins, calendars, or other correspondence currently published by the school district or day care center. The written notification must be given at least 2 business days before application of the pesticide application and should identify the intended date of the application of the pesticide and the name and telephone contact number for the school or day care center personnel responsible for the pesticide application program. Prior written notice shall not be required if there is an imminent threat to health or property. If such a situation arises, the appropriate school or day care center personnel must sign a statement describing the circumstances that gave rise to the health threat and ensure that written notice is provided as soon as practicable. For purposes of this Section, pesticides subject to notification requirements shall not include (i) an antimicrobial agent, such as disinfectant, sanitizer, or deodorizer, or (ii) insecticide baits and rodenticide baits.”

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3. How often does my school or day care center need to inform parents on whether they have adopted an integrated pest management plan? The public school or day care center must notify parents, guardians and employees at least once each school year that the reporting requirements in the Illinois Structural Pest Control Act [225 ILCS 235] have been met.

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4. When is an employee required to attend training on integrated pest management? Each school or day care center that provides written notification to the Illinois Department of Public Health that the adoption of an integrated pest management program is not economically feasible must have a designated person attend a training course on integrated pest management within one year after the effective date of the amendatory Illinois Structural Pest Control Act of the 95th General Assembly, and every five years thereafter until an integrated pest management program is developed and implemented in the school or day care center. The training course must be approved by the Department in accordance with the minimum standards established by the Department under Illinois Structural Pest Control Act.

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5. What dictates whether an integrated pest management program is economically feasible? If the estimated cost of developing and implementing an integrated pest management program for a specific time period exceeds the cost of your current pest management program for the same time period you can declare, on the forms provided by the department, that it is not economically feasible to adopt and implement an integrated pest management program. Keep in mind that an employee will have to attend an approved course every five years, which will be an additional cost to the public school or license day care center.

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6. How do I report to the Illinois Department of Public Health on whether my school is implementing an integrated pest management plan? The Illinois Department of Public Health has developed two forms, one for public schools and one for licensed day care centers, to complete and submit to the Department.

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7. What do I do if the status of my integrated pest management program changes? Resubmit the appropriate IPM form with the changes to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

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8. Does the Illinois Department of Public Health regulate outside applications of pesticides such as herbicides to control weeds and mosquito control? No, the Illinois Department of Agriculture regulates the use of pesticides to control outdoor pests such as weeds and mosquitoes. However, the Illinois Department of Public Health does license individuals to control outdoor pests associated with structural pest control such as termites and ants. 225 ILCS 235/3.09. states, "Structural pest control means and includes the on site identification of an infestation in, on or under a structure or the use of any method or device or the application of any substance to prevent, repel, mitigate, curb, control or eradicate any pest in, on or under a structure or within a part of, or materials used in building, a structure; the use of any pesticide, including insecticides, fungicides and other wood treatment products, attractants, repellents, rodenticides, fumigants or mechanical devices for preventing, controlling, eradicating, identifying, mitigating, diminishing or curbing insects, vermin, rats, mice or other pests in, on or under a structure or within a part of, or materials used in building, a structure; vault fumigation and fumigation of box cars, trucks, ships, airplanes, docks, warehouses and common carriers or soliciting to perform any of the foregoing functions.”

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