Pest control for daycares, CPEs and schools

In a daycare, CPE or school, the question is not only how to get rid of a pest: it is how to do it with methods and products that are allowed where children spend their days. Quebec’s Pesticides Management Code is clear on this: inside and outside these establishments, only biopesticides and pesticides whose active ingredient is listed in Schedule II of the Code may be applied. A provider who does not know that rule is not the right provider.

What that changes in practice

The restriction rules out most of the products used elsewhere. In practice, pest management in these settings relies mainly on:

• exclusion: sealing entry points, screens, door sweeps;
• mechanical trapping, in locked boxes or rooms closed to children;
• sanitation: snacks, garbage cans and compost bins;
• permitted products, only when needed and never while children are present.

Quebec’s Environment ministry publishes the list of brand-name pesticides authorized in daycares and schools. Require that every product used appears on it.

The pests that matter

Mice. Snacks forgotten in lockers, kitchens, gyms and storage rooms: mice have no trouble finding food in a school. Exclusion and trapping are the lasting answer.

Wasps. A nest near a door, a play structure or a classroom window is urgent. See the page on wasps and hornets.

Cockroaches. In kitchens and food services, cockroaches call for a coordinated treatment using permitted products.

What to require from a provider

1. The list of products they plan to use, with active ingredients.
2. Treatments when children are absent, with a written delay before rooms reopen.
3. A map of traps and stations, all out of children’s reach.
4. The CD5 certificate of the technicians.
5. Dated reports for every visit.

The ideal calendar

• Late summer: full inspection and sealing before school starts, and before mice move in.
• May and June: spotting young wasp nests around yards and play structures.
• School breaks: indoor treatments, while rooms are empty.

Preventive program or one-time treatment

Because products are limited, prevention is worth even more here than elsewhere. A program built on inspection, exclusion and follow-up avoids most situations where a product would be needed. A one-time treatment remains useful for a wasp nest or unexpected mouse activity.

For establishments that serve meals, food hygiene requirements apply as well: see also the page on restaurants. Observed ranges are on the page about extermination costs.