A new survey of California's child care centers found that more than half of them are ignoring state regulations to notify parents that they are using potentially dangerous pesticides.
Researchers at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health also found that 90 percent of the surveyed day care centers reported a pest problem, and nearly half of them used potentially harmful pesticides such as fogs and sprays.
While it's not against state law for day care centers to use such remedies, they must report to the state and to parents if they are using fogs and sprays, and how frequently. Yet 24 percent of the 637 centers that responded to the survey did not notify parents, and 35 percent did not post warning signs.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation warns that the use of pesticide fogging and spraying could expose staff and children to harmful chemicals. It's a concern that has some child care centers going pesticide-free.
"We have kids who put things in their mouth constantly. If anything were toxic near them, that would be awful," said Felicity Chapman, founder of Cubes&Crayons, an organic and pesticide-free day care in Mountain View. "I don't think