Buggin' out

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Master Sergeant Wayne Baker, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, attaches a tarp to the door of a C-5 Galaxy before it is treated for Japanese beetles June 30. Once tarp is up in cannot be removed until the flight door is closed immediately before take off. All military and civilian aircraft leaving DAFB and traveling to one of nine quarantined states west of the Rocky Mountains must be debugged by entomologists before it can fly. The measures, enforce by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stop the artificial spread of the Japanese beetle which could devastate crops in California and other western states. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman James Bolinger)

Buggin' out

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Staff Sgt. Kevin Taylor, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aerospace maintenance craftsman, places a plastic bag over an oxygen mast on a C-5 Galaxy before it is treated for Japanese beetles June 30. All military and civilian aircraft leaving DAFB and traveling to one of nine quarantined states west of the Rocky Mountains must be debugged by entomologists before it can fly. The measures, enforce by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stop the artificial spread of the Japanese beetle which could devastate crops in California and other western states. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman James Bolinger)

Buggin' out

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Ken Barnes, 436th Civil Engineer Squadron pest management technician, prepares to debug a C-5 Galaxy June 30 here. All military and civilian aircraft leaving DAFB and travel to one of nine quarantined states west of the Rocky Mountains must be debugged by entomologists before it can fly. The measures, enforce by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stop the artificial spread of the Japanese beetle which could devastate crops in California and other western states. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman James Bolinger)

Buggin' out

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- A C-5 Galaxy is treated for Japanese beetles June 30 here. All military and civilian aircraft leaving DAFB and traveling to one of nine quarantined states west of the rockies must be debugged by entemologists before it can fly. The measures, enforce by the U.S. Department of Argiculture, stop the artificial spread of the Japanese beetle which could devaste crops in California and other western states. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman James Bolinger)

Buggin' out: Team Dover takes on Japanese beetle

Published July 1, 2008
By Senior Airman James Bolinger
436th AW Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Every year, thousands of insects, unique to the east coast, descend upon Dover Air Force Base quarantining military and civilian aircraft traveling west of the Rocky Mountains. These select planes must be debugged and certified before they can fly. The threat entomologists here are tackling is the Japanese beetle.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Japanese beetles exist in nearly every state east of the Mississippi and destroy plants during all stages of their growth. As larva, they eat roots, damaging lawn turf, golf courses and pastures. Then as adults, they feast on the foliage, flowers and fruit of more than 300 different agricultural and ornamental plants.

The USDA is responsible for stopping the artificial spread of the Japanese beetle from the east coast. Representatives visit military bases and civilian airports to count the population of the Japanese beetle and if levels per plane rise above a set number then the base or airport is placed under quarantine.

The Japanese beetle could devastate vineyards and citrus crops in California and eight other states west of the Rockies, which have no infestation, said Ken Barnes, 436th Civil Engineer Squadron pest management technician. If a plane is going to touch down anywhere inside these states, it must be certified as debugged.

"We've had pilots of civilian aircraft leave here and have their papers checked when they land at an airport in an infestation-free state," he said.

Japanese beetle season starts around the beginning of July but has started as early as June 23 and lasted as long as Sept. 3 at Dover Air Force Base, said Mr. Barnes.

"Dover has been under quarantine for nine of the last 10 years, and in 2007 we sprayed 75 aircraft in 52 days," he said.

Dover's pest managment shop isn't the only group on base stopping the spread of the Japanese beetle. Before a plane can be bug bombed by the entomology shop, the 436th or 736th Aircraft Maintenance Squadrons, or the 436th AMXS Transient Maintenance Flight must prepare the aircraft for debugging.

"We place tarps over troop and crew galleys, bag the oxygen masks and place a tarp over the door," said Staff Sgt. Kevin Taylor, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aerospace maintenance craftsman. "The tarps over the galleys stop eating areas from becoming contaminated and the tarp over the door stops stowaway beetles from getting into the cargo bay.

If the tarp is taken down or more cargo is added to the flight, then the plane must be debugged and certified again.

Spraying a C-5 takes about one minute, said Mr. Barnes. It's the preparation and clean up that take the time.

"It takes about 30 minutes to prepare a C-5 to be (bug) bombed," said Sergeant Taylor. "Then, after (entomology) sprays, we have to wipe down all the horizontal surfaces to avoid contamination."

It takes two cans of spray to debug a C-5. Mr. Barnes takes a can in each hand after a plane is prepared and walks from the back of the cargo deck to the front spraying as he goes.

"Comparing the cans I use to the little green tubes of bug repellent (Airmen) deploy with, the cans are 500 percent more potent," said Barnes. "Anytime I have to put on coveralls, gloves and wear an oxygen mask you know the stuff I'm spraying is good."

The nine states west of the Rockies that are quarantined by the USDA for the Japanese beetle are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.