IPM makes sense
You can have fewer pests by using accepted sanitation practices. Integrated Pest Management offers a safe, proven, and usually less costly program for controlling pests in your facility. It uses common sense to remove sources of food, water, and shelter for pests, and it includes the careful use of pesticides when needed.

References
Dryden, Michael, Patricia Payne, and Ludek Zurek. 2003. Fleas infesting pets and home. Kansas State University Extension Service, www.oznet.ksu. edu/library/ENTML2/MF760.PDF.
Edlow, Jonathan A., M.D. 2004. Tick-borne diseases: Introduction. www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic584.htm.
Green, Thomas A., Ph.D., president, IPM Institute of North America. State School Pest Management Requirements as of March 9, 2004, in personal e-mail April 7, 2005.
IPM in childcare centers, Safer Pest Control Project (Illinois), www.spcpweb.org/childcare/.
Jackman, J.A., and J.K. Olson. 2002. Mosquito control around the home. College Station, Texas: Texas Cooperative Extension, http://insects. tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/l-1744.html.
Pest Control in Day Care Centers. 2005. Austin, Texas: Texas Structural Pest Control Board, www.spcbtx.org.
Protect against potentially deadly fire ant stings (news release). April 7, 2003. College Station, Texas: Texas Cooperative Extension, http://agnews.tamu.edu/fireants/stories/allergy.htm.
Using Integrated Pest Management to Control Pests in Day Care Centers. 2005. Austin, Texas: Texas Structural Pest Control Board, www.spcbtx.org.

Head lice
Four-year-old Jennifer seems to be having more trouble than usual listening while you read Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain. Every few seconds she reaches under her brown curls and scratches her head. When you finish the story, you call her to come and stand with you at the window. In the light, you examine her hair. It’s just as you suspect: head lice.
Having head lice does not pose a serious health risk, but an outbreak can be troublesome and time-consuming. If not treated promptly, head lice can spread rapidly through a child care facility or school.

What they are
Head lice are parasitic insects, typically 1/6 - to 1/8 - inch long. The females glue their whitish eggs (nits) to hair shafts, usually near the scalp. The eggs hatch in seven to 10 days.
Head lice spread from person to person by direct head-to-head contact. They also may be transmitted by sharing hats, scarves, combs, headphones, and similar items. Lice cannot hop or fly.
Head lice live only on humans, not on pets or other animals. Lice cannot live apart from a human for more than 24 to 48 hours. They cannot reproduce in carpets or upholstery.

How to control
The best control is prevention. Consider the following steps:
Train all staff to identify head lice. The sooner lice are detected, the easier they are to control.
Discourage children from sharing combs, brushes, hair accessories, scarves, or hats.
Wipe the headphones in the library center often with a damp rag.
Store each child’s cap and coat in a separate cubby.
Educate parents about head lice.
Many schools and child care centers have adopted policies for dealing with head lice. In Texas, for example, child care centers must follow state regulations that do not allow infested children in attendance. Parents may bring the child back after at least one treatment with a head lice shampoo. A second shampoo treatment is recommended within seven to 10 days to kill any lice that may have hatched in the meantime.
If an infestation occurs, take action immediately.
Designate a person to check all children. Be sensitive to children’s feelings. Head lice are not dangerous, but your discovery can create fear and shame in children and their families.
Alert parents to the outbreak. Encourage all parents to check their children’s hair carefully over the next few days.
Inform the parents of an infested child about your exclusion and readmission policy. Have parents shampoo the child’s hair with a head lice shampoo, and recommend the treatment to everyone in the child’s family. Encourage parents to wash combs and brushes in hot, soapy water and to launder bedding and clothes.
Launder cot sheets and dress-up clothes in hot water and dry them in the dryer. Wash stuffed animals or vacuum them thoroughly. Use a vacuum cleaner on unwashable items such as wool and straw hats.
For the next few days, continue checking all children. Parents of infested children must verify they have shampooed the child’s hair. Continue checking these children for 10 days after treatment.

Reference
A School’s Guide to the ‘Nitty-Gritty’ About Head Lice. 2004. Cooperative Extension Service, University of Georgia, http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/ caespubs/pubcd/c850.htm.

Resource
For a downloadable pamphlet for parents and other resources, see http://schoolipm.tamu.edu/resources.htm.

Sanitary food handling
While attending a Saturday training conference, you drop by the snack bar for a sandwich. Behind the counter stands a young woman wearing latex gloves. “May I help you?” she asks. You look at the selections in the case. Just as you are about to ask for the ham and cheese, you notice that the woman brings one hand up to her face and wipes her nostrils.
You stand speechless for a moment. Finally you say, “Thanks, but I’m really not hungry.”

•   •   •

Food service workers are often encouraged to wear gloves while handling food. But the use of gloves may provide workers a false sense of security. They may not understand that wiping one’s nose or touching one’s hair or face contaminates the gloves and cancels the value of wearing gloves in the first place.
Wearing rubber or latex gloves is no substitute for good personal hygiene. Whether workers wear gloves or rely on handwashing, the goal is to limit the amount of bacteria in food by being as clean as possible while preparing and serving it.

Guidelines for hand sanitation
Wash your hands or replace gloves:
before you begin preparing food;
after coughing, sneezing, or touching your hair or face;
after using the toilet;
after handling raw meats or other potentially hazardous foods; and
before you resume preparing food after changing tasks or an interruption, such as answering the phone, wiping a child’s runny nose, handling garbage, or cleaning up a spill off the floor.
Before donning gloves, wash hands thoroughly. If you drop a glove on the floor, discard it.

More guidelines for handling food
Cleanliness applies not only to the hands but everything that might contaminate food through contact. Follow these guidelines when preparing or handling food:
Wear a clean apron and clothing.
Don’t handle food if you have a sore throat or diarrhea.
Cover cuts and burns with plastic bandages.
Wash countertops, tables, chopping blocks, knives, pans, and other preparation equipment with soap and water after each use.
Sanitize preparation items as prescribed by your local health department. One method is to wipe or rinse them with a chlorine bleach solution and let them air dry. Make the solution by adding one tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water. Another method is to wash them in a dishwasher with water at 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Don’t handle raw food and cooked food in the same area or with the same utensils unless you clean and sanitize the area and utensils between uses.
Use one cutting board for raw meat and a different one for vegetables and fruits.
Use a spoon—not your finger—to taste food while cooking. Use a clean spoon for each taste.
Serve food soon after cooking. Don’t hold food at room temperature or in an oven below 125 degrees. Food that has been out for more than three or four hours may be unsafe.
Sanitize dishes, utensils, and serving dishes after every use. If you cannot sanitize these items, use disposable, single-use items instead.
Serve food on clean plates, napkins, or other sanitary surfaces such as a highchair tray. Never serve food on the floor.
Have children and adults wash their hands before eating. Help infants and toddlers wash theirs.
Wash reusable bibs, tablecloths, and placemats after each use. Discard disposable napkins, bibs, placements, dishes, and utensils after each use.
Separate the food preparation area from eating, play, and bathroom areas.
Don’t store toxic chemicals and cleaning supplies with food.

Control food temperature
Bacteria that cause food poisoning are sensitive to temperature. They grow rapidly at room temperature, generally 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, bacteria can grow at any temperature between 40 and 140 degrees. Some foods are more prone to bacteria growth than others. These are moist, low-acid, high-protein food such as cream pies, meat, gravy, milk, eggs, and any dishes containing eggs such as potato salad.
Refrigeration can stop bacterial growth. Because food cools from the outside toward the center, it can take the center much longer to reach 40 degrees or lower. For that reason, experts recommend storing make-ahead dishes and leftovers in shallow containers so the center cools quickly.
Refrigeration and freezing do not destroy bacteria. If food is contaminated going into the freezer, it will be contaminated coming out. As soon as the food warms up again, bacteria can begin growing.

Food temperature guidelines
Store perishable food in the refrigerator until ready to heat and serve.
Thaw raw meat in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
Make sure refrigerators keep food below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
When storing leftovers, place them in shallow, covered containers in the refrigerator.
When reheating foods, heat them to at least 165 degrees in the center.

Food storage guidelines
Keep the pantry dry and cool, between 50 and 70 degrees.
Place food containers on shelves, not on the floor, to allow cleaning underneath.
Note expiration dates, and rotate stock so you use older products first. Discard all leaking and bulging cans.
Place frozen items in the freezer as soon as you bring them from the store. Store at zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Store food in containers intended only for food storage, not in garbage bags, for example.
Use eggs within a week or two. If eggs are cracked, use them only in foods that will be thoroughly cooked.
Store meat in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
Freeze fresh meat, poultry, and fish if you can’t use it within two to three days after you buy it.
Don’t use home-canned foods in your facility.
Don’t rely on look, smell, or taste to judge a food’s safety. When in doubt, throw it out.

References
Food Services of America. Food Safety/Latex Glove Hazards, www.fsafood.com/fsacom/News+and+ Information/Solutions.
Ladd, Linda. 2000. Food Handling & Storage, in The Child Care Provider Program: Training for Family Day Homes & Licensed Facilities. College Station, Texas: Texas Cooperative Extension.
Public Health Agency of Canada. Gloves & Food Safety, www.foodsafe.ca/FSSafety.htm.

Editors note: Thanks to Jeff Isler, Texas Structural Pest Control Board, and Janet Hurley, Southwest Technical Resource Center for supplying information and reviewing this article.