Dirty jobs: exterminating pests

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Matthew Lotz
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  The creepy crawlers and herbological eyesore weeds that try to invade offices and base buildings here are not exterminated by superheroes or magic tricks, but by a dedicated pest management team.

"Pests don't just hang out in the open waiting to be taken out. We have to really get in depth and check areas often overlooked," said Tech. Sgt. Erich Schmidt, 31st Civil Engineer Squadron pest management technician. "Whether it's removing carcasses off the road, wearing a bee suit or applying chemicals daily, there's always the need to shower when we get home."

Schmidt is one of two Airmen on base responsible for killing the varmints and bugs along with Tech. Sgt. Adrian Pozo-Romero, 31st CES pest management technician. They also help kill sidewalk weeds, various rodents and help keep away birds that find themselves nesting in buildings.

"Without the upkeep of weeds every week, they would degrade sidewalks, roads and eventually runways, causing problems with aircraft," said Schmidt. "Food facilities would be unprotected from insects and rodents if we don't do our regularly checks in and around buildings."

With a small staff and no civilian contractors to help during the year, they find themselves busy day-in and day-out.

"Besides the daily spraying we do every week around the base, monthly we are responsible for updating our inventory to make sure all of our pesticide used for that month has been entered into a database," said Schmidt. "While trying to complete our daily and weekly tasks of spraying and urgent work requests, we have to also submit a yearly report to United States Air Forces in Europe to show how much pesticide was used."

When accomplishing all their dirty tasks, Schmidt and Pozo-Romero always keep safety at the forefront.

"Some of the products we use are very similar to what people would find in most stores, just more 'industrial strength.' Although we use more environmentally-friendly chemicals today than what was used decades ago, all pesticides should be treated as hazardous," said Schmidt, who ensures his team follows proper safety precautions. "It's important to always check the label and utilize the necessary protection."

During spring and summer, weeds begin to grow through the cracks in the sidewalks and in the fall and winter, rodents and bugs attempt to hide in different buildings on base.

"In the winter months, everything wants to come inside, but when it gets warmer, we see increased wasp, bee and mosquito activity," said Schmidt.
With different pest activity happening year-round, the team works closely with Italians to ensure they follow proper local laws that prevent exterminating certain types of insects and animals.

"An example [due to the Italian law] is we cannot kill certain types of bees because they are critical to the environment," said Schmidt. "We are also not allowed to move bird nests while they are being occupied."
With Aviano Air Base spread out over several areas, the "exterminators" do their best to make the base as clean and pest-free as possible.

"We always take pride in our installation so we are always trying to keep the constant pest and weed growth under control" said Schmidt, a native to Visalia, Calif. who will hit his 10 year mark in the Air Force this year.

Schmidt has a decade under his belt of entomology and continues to enjoy his dirty job, no matter how icky it may get.

"Doing my job is an acquired taste, but I have risen to appreciate the people working behind the scenes who don't always have the glorious jobs; the people we don't always appreciate who help us maintain a civilized and clean lifestyle," said Schmidt. "Whether it's security forces or air traffic control, everyone has issues with pests from time to time and this allows me the chance to go and see things I would otherwise never see sitting behind a desk."