IPM in Multifamily Housing

StopPests in Housing Program Overview

For the past month, we’ve been hard at work planning our 2013 offerings.

I’m thrilled to announce that HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture have funded the Northeastern IPM Center at Cornell University to run the StopPests in Housing Program for another four years!

Our goal remains to use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to address housing conditions that threaten human health and strengthen affordable housing communities.  Over the past five years, we’ve built a great network of passionate professionals from health, housing, and pest management who come together to StopPests—many of who subscribe to this blog! We are grateful for your involvement and advice. In addition to making local connections around the country, you help us provide the best resources to affordable housing communities. 

In the spirit of partnership, we’re also excited to be funding two important studies on topics you told us were important.

• We’re funding Virginia Tech to evaluate the efficacy of a bed bug prevention program in a 120-unit HUD facility in Virginia. If you want to know more about the initial program that was implemented, view our webinar with the Virginia Tech’s Molly Stedfast.
• To continue to develop strategies around the issue of hoarding, we’re funding the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to work with the Partners in Health and Housing Prevention Research Center at Boston University School of Public Health, the Hoarding Research Project in the Boston University School of Social Work, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha School of Social Work to study how resident hoarding affects IPM/pest control in affordable housing in the BHA. Based on their findings, we’ll run an informative webinar and possibly revise “How to do IPM in the home of someone with hoarding.” 

StopPests Offerings

Need resources or advice?

 

The IPM Guide

Explore www.StopPests.org. There you’ll find free resources like a resident training video, the powerpoints for our IPM in Multifamily Housing Training, funding and training opportunities, sample language for IPM policy and plans, pest-specific pages, and our popular IPM: A Guide for Affordable Housing (at least 3,618 people have visited the site and we’ve mailed out nearly 800 print copies). In the next year, we’ll record and post more webinars and videos on technical topics for the affordable housing audience.

 

We’re also on twitter and facebook. Join the conversation @StopPests or on Facebook to stay on the cutting edge of all things IPM in affordable housing. 

Want to get an expert at a conference?

We’ve presented at over 30 conferences and love the opportunity to make new connections and spread the word on why and how you can StopPests in Housing. 

Want to implement IPM at an affordable housing site?

This is where StopPests is changing from the past five years.
First, we’re now able to work at any HUD-subsidized property, not just conventional public housing. Second, we’re looking at our on-site training as a step in the process of IPM implementation rather than a one-day show that kicks off an IPM pilot.

Participating housing providers who commit to work with us pick a pilot property; complete an initial program questionnaire; work with an StopPests IPM expert to set program goals; and accomplish the goals at the pilot site with coaching and resources from StopPests. We will still hold IPM in Multifamily Housing Trainings, but only after the housing provider demonstrates the capacity to implement the training recommendations—but we’re here to help through the whole process!

For those who want a one-day training without the ongoing consultation, we recommend the National Center for Healthy Housing whose national training partners offer the IPM in Multifamily Housing Training too.

I welcome any interested housing provider or partner to get in touch by e-mailing stoppests@cornell.edu—we’ll find the information and support to suit your need.

We’re open for feedback!

You can help us cater our resources to the pest management needs of affordable housing by asking questions, offering suggestions, or telling us your thoughts via e-mail, facebook, and twitter. Even clicking around stoppests.org gives us useful data.

 

Pest Solutions

For example, we recently looked at the most frequently visited pest pages at StopPests.org and updated those first (including the related FAQ’s). Can you guess the most popular pests?
Bed bugs, cockroaches, ants, and spiders!
Find the information and resources to stop these pests.

 

 

 

------------------Sample Newsletter Article-------------------------

Check out StopPests.org!

HUD funds a program at Cornell University called the StopPests in Housing Program. The StopPests experts focus on getting the best information on pest control to affordable housing communities. Pests like cockroaches and mice are health hazards. We all need to do our parts to get rid of these pests.

Stay informed and connect with pest experts:
Stoppests.org, facebook.com/StopPests, or @StopPests

Case Studies of IPM at Section 8 Properties

 

Last year I worked on a project for the National Center for Healthy Housing. I interviewed property managers at Section 8 properties that had been tasked with putting together an IPM program as part of the Mark-to-Market program. NCHH just published the results in their winter newsletter. Below is the excerpt from their newsletter and links to two case studies on how properties implemented IPM.

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In 2007, HUD started a Green Initiative pilot for Section 8 properties participating in the Office of Affordable Housing Preservation’s (OAHP) “Market-to-Market” program (M2M). The goal of this program is to ensure that new construction and renovations are performed according to healthy housing and green building principles. Reducing exposure to pests and pesticides is an important component; hence, the OAHP made Integrated Pest Management (IPM) a major part in the Green Initiative program. This IPM element is non-negotiable and demonstrates OAHP’s commitment to promoting healthy homes through IPM. It also represents a significant transformation in the pest control practices at multifamily properties.

The following case studies are just two examples of properties with exemplary IPM programs in place. Our goal is that by highlighting a couple of the success stories, other affordable housing providers might be inspired to strengthen the IPM efforts in their developments.

Integrated Pest Management at Rockefeller Park Tower: A Contractor-Led IPM Program

Built in 1925, Rockefeller Park Tower is a six-story brick veneer apartment building in Cleveland, Ohio. The building has 132 units and several common areas. A pest control company took the initiative to develop and lead an IPM program at the property based on its own knowledge of IPM and understanding of OAHP’s requirements. The program they developed and proposed to property management is an outstanding example of an authentic IPM program.

 

Read the full case study.

 

Integrated Pest Management at Washington Columbia II: A Management-Led IPM Program

Washington Columbia II is a seven-building apartment complex in Boston, Massachusetts. Resting on a 4.6 acre-site, the complex and its 175 units were renovated in 1992. WinnResidential, a Boston-based property management company with over 80,000 multifamily residences nationally, manages the property. Out of 14 properties involved in OAHP’s M2M Green Initiative, this development was the only property to have an IPM policy and plan that was written by property management rather than a pest control company. 

WinnResidential heard about Boston Housing Authority’s (BHA) IPM efforts in 2006 and pursued putting together its own IPM program to reduce the amount of chemicals that were being applied in its properties. WinnResidential  hired an IPM consultant to write its IPM plan and train managers, maintenance staff, and residents. This property subcontracts for pest control, but the property manager performs a quality assurance role, ensuring that renovations are performed to a standard that helps pest-proof the buildings. High levels of pest management have been maintained across the various properties using different pest control companies as a result of this property-led IPM initiative.

 

Read the full case study.

 

StopPests.org—check it out!

I am thrilled to announce that www.StopPests.org got a facelift and is ready to step out into the world!

• Want tips for working with residents? Try some techniques we've learned from housing authorities and use our popular Tenant's Role in IPM video (you can download and burn it to a CD for free). 
• Interested in partnering with your local housing authority? Read how we approach, train, and work with housing authorities.
• Need money or free training? There are pages for funding and training opportunities.
• Got pest problems? View our pest solutions page for tips and suggested resources.

And there's so much more!
Try out the site's robust search function if you're looking for something specific. Popular search terms include "hoarding," "spanish" and "video." 

If you don't find what you need or you have suggestions for improving the site, e-mail me at stoppests@cornell.edu.

HUD's Notices of Funding Availability

I've never posted twice in one week, but this one is time-sensitive.

See below for funding announcements that I received this week.
The following grants can be used for IPM work because pest-free is part of a healthy home. IPM is a proven strategy for reducing indoor allergens and improving the indoor environment.

Follow the links or search grants.gov for more information. As always, these funding opportunities and more are posted at http://stoppests.typepad.com/ipminmultifamilyhousing/funding-opportunities.html

FY 2011 Healthy Homes Production Program
General Section
Program Section
CFDA #: 14.914
Funding Opportunity Number: FR-5500-N-03
Opportunity Title: HEALTHY HOMES PRODUCTION PROGRAM
Competition ID: HHP-03
Open Date: April 8, 2011
Close Date: June 9, 2011
 
FY 2011 Lead Technical Studies and Healthy Homes Technical Studies Programs
General Section
Program Section
FONSI NOFA
CFDA #:14.902
Funding Opportunity Number: FR-5500-N-15A
Opportunity Title: Lead Technical Studies
Competition ID: LTS-15A
Open Date: May 2, 2011
Close Date: June 30, 2011

General Section
Program Section 
FONSI NOFA
CFDA #: 14.906
Funding Opportunity Number: FR-5500-N-15B
Opportunity Title: Healthy Homes Technical Studies
Competition ID: HHTS-15B
Open Date: May 2, 2011
Close Date: June 30, 2011

FY 2011 Asthma Interventions in Public and Assisted Multifamily Housing
General Section
Program Section
CFDA #: 14.914
Funding Opportunity Number: FR-5500-N-06
Opportunity Title: ASTHMA INTERVENTIONS IN PUBLIC AND ASSISTED MULTIFAMILY HOUSING
Competition ID: AIMH-06
Open Date: April 8, 2011
Close Date: June 9, 2011

REAC and a massive inspection checklist

Before I begin, I have to confess that I may have set an acronym record with this post…here’s a reference list:

• HUD: Housing and Urban Development (the federal agency overseeing housing). They fund my work and thus they hold a special place in my heart.
• NPMA: National Pest Management Association
• PHAS: Public Housing Assessment System
• REAC: Real Estate Assessment Center (If you remember one thing from this post, remember “REAC.”)
• UPCS: Uniform Physical Condition Standards

Okay, now for the post!

Last week I got the April HUD Asset Management E-Newsletter. Sounds like good reading huh? Don’t beat it till you try it, see: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=asset_management_april.pdf

One announcement that is very relevant to all of us trying to work with PHAs is that a change was issued for HUD’s Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS). “The purpose of the PHAS physical condition assessment is to ensure that public housing units are decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair, as determined by an inspection conducted in accordance with HUD’s Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS)” from http://www.hud.gov/offices/reac/products/phas/pass-scoring.pdf. Don’t glaze over on me! If you do work in public housing, you need to know about PHAS and the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC).

REAC is the inspecting system that grades each housing authority for PHAS. The “grade” has a lot to do with how the HUD treats the PHA in the following year(s). One incentive to do well is that the REAC inspection process is stressful and time consuming for property managers and high performers only have to go through the process every 3 years. The newsletter link above has a great summary of the REAC point categories. If you’re working with a PHA, find out when their REAC inspection is…and don’t count on working with management too much in that month.

For the REAC inspection, each PHA receives an overall score that is now based on four indicators:

1. Physical Condition;
2. Financial Condition;
3. Management Operations; and
4. The Capital Fund program. 

So what’s new with the PHAS/REAC process?

For one thing, there’s no more Resident Satisfaction Survey! The Capital Fund replaced it. (Sidenote: I will be updating the IPM in Multifamily Housing Training powerpoints available at www.stoppests.org to reflect this change.)
There used to be two questions on the resident survey that pertained to pest control:

1. How often, if at all, are rodents and insects indoors a problem in your development?
2. How often, if at all, have you had a problem with rodents and insects indoors?

The fact that these are gone makes it even more critical for residents to submit their pest control issues to management via the property’s work order system. The work order system is a PHA’s paper trail on deficiencies.

As far as I know, the only place where pests are still explicitly mentioned is in the Physical Condition part (the Physical Assessment Sub-System (PASS)). Basically, if an inspector sees evidence of insects, points are not earned. The exact instructions to the inspector are: 

• Insects (Infestation)

Deficiency: You see evidence of infestation of insects--including roaches and ants--throughout a unit or room, especially in food preparation and storage areas.

Note:

1. This does not include infestation from rats/mice. For this deficiency, see Infestation - Rats/Mice/Vermin under Health and Safety.
2. If you see baits, traps, and sticky boards that show no presence of insects, do not record this as a deficiency.

• Rats/Mice/Vermin (Infestation)

Deficiency: You see evidence of rats or mice--sightings, rat or mouse holes, or droppings.

Note:

1. This does not include infestation from insects. For this deficiency, see Infestation - Insects under Health and Safety.
2. If you see baits, traps, or sticky boards that show no presence of vermin, do not record this as a deficiency.

From the REAC inspector’s “Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions DCD v. 2.3 for Real Estate Assessment Center System (REACS) Physical Assessment Subsystem (PASS)” which is available at http://www.hud.gov/offices/reac/pdf/pass_dict2.3.pdf .

I have heard of PHAs losing points because one insect is stuck to a sticky trap monitor. HUD is working with REAC to get IPM training for the inspectors so that they understand that one insect on a trap that is dated from a year ago, is not standalone evidence of an infestation.

If you understand what goes into an IPM program, you understand that IPM-based recommendations focus on structural problems with the aim of preventing pests. Following this train of thought I downloaded the checklist that the REAC inspectors use for PASS. For each deficiency the inspectors look for, I added a quick reason why having the deficiency could lead to pest infestation. With a stretch of the imagination I think we could make an argument for everything, but I kept it to the most logical. I also left in the “Life Threatening” items because if a PMP sees these deficiencies he should report it to property management immediately.

Then I looked through the National Pest Management Association’s (NPMA) handbook on IPM which includes an inspection checklist. I added a few items from that, but as you’ll see most of NPMA’s items were already in the PASS checklist in some form. Download IPM for REAC inspection. Of the 272 possible deficiencies in the PASS, 139 directly link to IPM—that’s 51%!

In conclusion,

• PHAs: I’m sure you’re aware of this change, but please don’t let it lessen your focus on pest control. I hope the checklist helps you see how relevant IPM is.
• People working with PHAs: Look at the links I provide in this post so that you can be sensitive to what property managers have to deal with during the REAC inspection.
• And to all my federal government readers: I’m so glad you’re at work today!!