LEWISTON – Lewiston schools are the best in the state – and among the best in the nation – for dealing with mice, ants and other pests without dangerous pesticides, a national group says.
The IPM Institute of North America, a nonprofit group that honors high standards in pest management, has given the Lewiston School Department its Star Certificate. Only 13 other school systems have received the honor since the group was founded in 1998. No others are in Maine.
The school systems started its integrated pest management program a few years ago. At the time, teachers were using harsh chemicals to clean their classrooms and toxic sprays to kill insects. And the school system itself spent thousands of dollars a year to spray for ants, kill mice and get rid of other bugs.
A former maintenance director started a “think first, spray last” philosophy and encouraged school staff to use pesticides only as a last resort. In 2003, the school system piloted a full pest-management program for the state. It quickly became a model for other schools.
Today, Lewiston tries to prevent pests rather than deal with their invasion later on. Workers add weatherstripping to school doors to keep out mice and bugs. They clean up food and keep schools dry so the environment doesn’t attract pests.
At Lewiston Middle School alone, workers solved an ongoing bug problem not with sprays but common sense. They screened windows and moved trash bins.
“The dumpsters were like 10 feet from the building,” said Andy Baillargeon, who coordinates the pest management program for Lewiston. “Now they’re 50, 60 feet away.”
When spraying is needed to get rid of wasps or other stinging insects, the school system calls in a professional. It doesn’t allow spraying around children.
Baillargeon believes Lewiston has saved thousands of dollars by cutting its use of pesticides. But better than that, he said, he doesn’t have to worry about students getting sick from toxins in the air.
“Kids, their lungs are still growing. We want to protect them,” he said.
The IPM Institute of North America learned about Lewiston from Indiana University graduate students who studied the school system last December and were impressed by what they found.
Institute officials toured the school system, evaluated its pest management program and investigated how well Lewiston adhered state guidelines and its own policies.
Lewiston will receive its certificate during a school committee meeting tonight.
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