Sleep tight, the bed bugs won't bite!

  • Published
  • By Amy Ausley
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  When you see bugs crawling down the hall, who are you going to call? The experts in pest management of course!

Air Force pest management professionals have to deal with everything from ants and mosquitoes to beavers, bedbugs and biological issues ... all in the name of supporting the mission, said Air Force pest management subject matter expert Don Teig of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center.

"We deal with anything that's a pest, even the bears that get in our dumpsters," Teig said. "Right now (the Air Force has) cut back on custodial and refuse contracts and mowing contracts and guess what? Pest populations are going up so we are very popular."

With the recent civil engineer transformation and the establishment of AFCEC in October 2012, some major commands no longer have pest management professionals on site. AFCEC's two full-time entomologists are there to help.

Every base's pest management plan is different and is updated annually. Plans range from bird management to keep birds away from multi-million dollar jets to handling sanitation issues in base commissaries that contribute to pest problems, Teig said.

Air Force pest management, part of AFCEC's Operations Directorate, reviews and approves those plans including any pesticides used and how the plan affects the Air Force mission.

Since pest management is a worldwide task for AFCEC, it means sometimes running into new problems. In a deployed environment, it's even tougher dealing with tents instead of fixed structures, Teig added.

"In the Middle East there was a new set of pest issues, like sandflies. We don't have sandflies in the United States," said Teig. "They carry a disease called Leishmaniasis which causes skin cankers and can be lethal in some cases."

Training and education are important to the AFCEC pest management mission. Pest controllers are trained to the highest standards while experts agree knowledge and awareness is key to keeping pests out.

For example, people might be surprised by what can hitch a ride home with them, said Master Sgt. Christopher Beach, pest management career field manager at AFCEC.

"Rats hitched rides aboard ships for centuries and traveled the world just like people. If you drive your car from Nome, Alaska, to Miami, Fla., it can pick up animal and plant life, relocating the species to a new environment with no native predators," Beach said. "The United States now has the Asian Tiger mosquito which came in tire casings from China years ago. Once a pest is here it is hard to eradicate."

If thinking about bugs, snakes and weeds makes you a little itchy, Beach said you're looking at it all wrong.

"(Pest management) is the best job in the Air Force because it's just like a big biology class," Beach said. "It's always something new, always inspecting, always trying to figure things out. You're not just explaining things; a good pest management technician educates people."

So if you've got pests, no matter what type, you know who to call.