Study: Fewer Pesticides Used in Schools

A North Carolina State University researcher surveyed pest control companies and found educational workshops about using fewer chemicals to eradicate bugs in schools are beginning to have an effect. Almost all of the companies surveyed said they considered the health of students when deciding whether to use a specific product, and most companies notify schools before spraying.

Also, about a third of the companies surveyed said they no longer use pesticides alone to control bugs.

"If you take out food, you take out water and you seal up so there are no entry points and you clean up so there are no hiding places, then by default you take care of pests," said Godfrey Nalyanya, director of the School Integrated Pest Management Project in N.C. State's Crop Science Department. "So, you don't need to apply pesticides that much."

Nalyanya said the same combination of fewer chemicals and more common sense can work in homes as well.