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Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health

Integrated Pest Management

In a small study, investigators at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health tested IPM in 25 homes of healthy pregnant women living in northern Manhattan or the South Bronx. IPM reduced cockroaches by almost half and eliminated toxic pesticides measured in blood samples from mothers and their babies at birth.

We used professional cleaning and pesticide services in this study. But you can use these same IPM methods at home. It’s safe, it works, and you can do it — you just need to know which low-toxicity cleaning and pesticide products to buy, and get a little help from your building superintendent and family members.

Some effective general household cleaners are: soap, water, baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice mixed with Borax—use a coarse sponge and scrub hard.

Low-toxicity cleaning brands:

Low-toxicity pest-control

Follow all directions on product labels.

For cockroaches:

  • gels (such as Maxforce)
  • pheromone traps (such as Victor)
  • bait and sticky traps (such as Combat)
  • boric acid powder (blow into cracks with hair dryer & caulk)
  • Borax & sugar mixture sprinkled on roach trails
  • Epsom salts sprinkled on roach trails

For mice:

  • bait stations
  • snap or glue traps

For a wide variety of traps and other nontoxic rodent pest control products, see www.victorpest.com.

low-toxicity cleanser

Use low-toxicity cleaning products

  • Clear general clutter so that pests don’t have comfortable places to breed.
  • Use low-toxicity, citrus-based cleaning products to remove food debris and grease stains.
low-toxicity pest control

Apply low-toxicity pest control products

  • Use a hair dryer to blow small amounts of boric acid powder directly under floor moldings and into cracks and holes before sealing with caulking compound.
  • Place glue traps, gels and bait stations for cockroaches and sticky traps for mice throughout the kitchen, bathroom, and any problem areas.
apartment repairs

Make minor apartment repairs

  • Seal pest entry points with caulking compounds and/or metal screens. Ask for caulk and screens at your local hardware store.
  • Ask your landlord or building superintendent to help make repairs. The law requires landlords to help keep apartments in good condition.
family teamwork

Family teamwork

  • Talk to household members about the importance of everyone pitching in to help remove garbage from the home each day, eat meals and snacks in the kitchen only, and clean up dishes and food spills as quickly as possible.
  • Inform household members about which pest control products are best to use at home and get everyone to agree not to use pesticide sprays or let exterminators into the apartment.