Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107313

John Knight, Safer Pest Control, 25 E Washington, Suite 1515, Chicago, IL 60602, (312) 641-5575 ext.256, jknight@spcpweb.org

In 1996, the Safer Pest Control Project (SPCP) was contacted by the Horner Residents Committee (HRC) – Chicago public housing residents elected to represent their peers in the Henry Horner Public Housing Development in Chicago. The HRC complained that the extermination methods being used in their housing development were not solving their pest problems, and were making some residents sick. Based on subsequent meetings, a Horner Pest Control Plan was developed using the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Through resident education, employment, and involvement; improved sanitation and maintenance; and a commitment to minimizing the hazards of pesticides, the program was a tremendous success - dramatically reducing both pest problems and pesticide use. A survey showed that 90% of resident respondents felt that the program was very successful. Word of the program's success soon reached other Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) developments, and in the summer of 1998, the resident leaders from 19 CHA developments passed a resolution calling on CHA to adopt this program Authority-wide. CHA subsequently expanded the program to additional developments and hired SPCP as a consultant to assist them with program design, coordination, and evaluation including an education component. In 2001, after numerous successes in brining this program to other developments, an IPM policy was adopted by the CHA. Recently, SPCP has assisted the CHA with the development of requirements to ensure that IPM services are provided to its property mangers. The presentation will highlight the process of developing partnerships to conduct the research to establish IPM services.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.