FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 25, 2014) -- Hot summer days and frequent afternoon and evening thunderstorms can provide optimum conditions for pests, such as mosquitoes and ticks, to increase in numbers.
Fortunately, Fort Benning already has a plan of attack in place to battle the pests.
The Directorate of Public Works and Preventive Medicine section of Martin Army Community Hospital has formed a team to make life easier for all Fort Benning residents, said Ted Roever, Fort Benning Integrated Pest Management coordinator.
"Pest control on Fort Benning-administered property is conducted in accordance with the Department of Defense Pest Management Program (DoD Instruction 4150.07)," Roever said. "Preventive pesticide treatments such as regularly scheduled and periodic pesticide applications are not approved for DoD property unless the appropriate pest management consultant has given approval based upon current surveillance information or records documenting past disease vector or pest problems that require this approach."
Pesticides may only be used when surveillance confirms the presence of the pest at a particular location, he said, adding surveillance is conducted by Preventive Medicine.
"When survey numbers exceed a given threshold, Preventive Medicine will recommend control measures and DPW will execute a service order through a certified pest control contractor," he said. "This may include the use of a bacterium to kill larvae, a chemical to interrupt larval development (metamorphosis), or the low-volume application (fogging) of insecticide to kill adults."
Because controlling adult mosquitoes is typically less effective than targeting larvae, fogging is rarely used unless it's in conjunction with larvae control efforts, he said.
"Any source of standing water is identified and persons with responsibility for the area are notified of measures needed to alleviate the situation," he said, noting that rainwater collected in manmade structures and containers are the primary breeding resources for mosquitoes in developed parts of the installation.
When it comes to using rain barrels to collect rainwater for outdoor watering, Roever offered a couple of suggestions for limiting mosquito growth.
"Those who want to collect their rainwater for re-use should purchase purpose-built rain barrels with screened inlet and outlet," he said. "For those using open containers to collect rainwater, some form of larval control should be used. The only other reasonable alternative would be to empty any collected water, including bird-baths, often enough to interrupt the metamorphosis of the larvae."
While ticks are a known pest on Fort Benning, Roever said in addition to the use of insect repellent and wearing proper clothing, keeping grass and other vegetation neatly trimmed can help limit their numbers.
While DPW conducts pest control across a large portion of the installation, Roever said it lacks the authority to conduct pest management in residential housing areas.
"Due to privatization, family housing areas are not subject to DoDI 4150.07 and pest management decisions are the responsibility of housing managers. Pest control in residential areas is performed by a licensed pest control contractor," Roever said.
In the on-post housing areas, Villages at Benning marketing director Heather Bearden said there is a regular pest control schedule in which the exteriors of residences are treated.
"However, if a resident notices a problem, they can call our maintenance line at 706-685-3929 and we will have someone come out," Bearden said.
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