Fighting pests to serve the rest

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kirby Turbak
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Many people see venomous snakes, deadly spiders, swarms of stinging insects, rabid creatures of the night and plants that make people breakout in rashes and hives in their nightmares but for members of the 97th Civil Engineer Squadron Pest Management flight its their everyday job.

But pest management does more than most people may know.
“We control any vegetation on the flightline or in the parking lots,” said Lawrence Robinson 97th CES pest management supervisor, “Weeds can damage concrete and over time it can damage the roads and flightline.”

Pest management doesn’t only keep Altus AFB looking pretty but keeps its personnel safe from a variety of dangers.

“We do a monthly inspection on any food facilities on base to make sure there’s no potential of any insect or pest problems,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Matthew Rodriguez 97th CES Pest management journeyman. “We also check for any structural damage from termites on wooden or partially wooden buildings.”

Dangers from pest are not just in the food we eat or in the floorboards under our feet they also exist in the air around us.

“If we don’t fog or do larva site then the mosquito population here on base will sky rocket,” said Robinson. “Mosquitoes are also very dangerous due to the variety diseases they can spread.”

Some of the dangers Airmen and their families face can be prevented simply from keeping their eyes open and their areas clean.

“You can keep your home and work area safe by keeping things clean, make sure you don’t leave food out, clean up after yourself and keep your garbage secured,” said Rodriguez. “Make sure you look for things out of the ordinary, many pest can be noticed from the smell they give off like a skunk or their sound they make like a rattlesnake’s tail.”

Pest management specialists must be able to identify different animal and plant species, how to handle their growing populations and how to prevent their population from going back up. They become certified on numerous tasks to be able to handle the many duties needed to keep a military base safe.

“Air Force pest management members aren’t your regular exterminator, we are certified in numerous tasks while most exterminators may have one or two certifications.” Said Robinson. “We’re always working on keeping the pest population down and making sure the Airmen stay safe.”