Where the Rubber Meets the Road Creative Pest Control “On the Fly”

1. Where the Rubber Meets the RoadCreative Pest Control “On the Fly”

2. Session Goals • Stimulate sharing of information among military entomologists of creative solutions used for pest control problems. Let this session be just the beginning . . . • Promote establishment of centralized database where these and future creative solutions can be incorporated for easy access to military entomology community.

3. MREs And Other Means of Pest Control LT Elizabeth Dykstra NDVECC Bangor

4. Non-Scientific Poll of Army & Navy Entomologists Regarding Use of MREs for Pest Control • 12 Responded to MRE Survey (~13% Total Army & Navy Entomologists) • Army: n=8 (8/60 = ~13% response) • Navy: n=4 (4/31 = 13% response)

5. Potential Pest Control Items in MREs • Peanut Butter • Cheese Spread • Pound Cakes • Main Entrees • Drink Mixes • Crackers • Jelly/Jam • Chocolate Cookie Bar • Oatmeal Cookies • Tootsie Rolls • Granola Bars • Egg-Based Entrees • Plastic Spoons • Cardboard MRE Case • Plastic MRE Pouch

6. P.B. Peanut Butter • Rodent Bait • Works great as attractant when placed in middle of glue board • More effective than cheese spread as bait

7. Peanut Butter • Rodent Bait - Cons • Too messy; too runny and soft • Can be eaten from the trap without setting it off Counteract by applying or wrapping in gauze strip • Takes too many packets and is popular with troops • (Complaints about people like LTC O’Guinn who keep eating bait with crackers => uses up bait in non-mission essential ways) • Increases risk of fragging incidents

8. Cheese Spread • Rodent Bait • Not as attractive to rodents as Peanut Butter • Dries out on trap and screws up trap mechanisms • Popular item with troops and not as easily obtained

9. Tootsie Rolls • Use in Mouse Traps • The key is to put it UNDER the lever and not on top so the mice get the full force of the trap without stealing the bait. • Mice can’t steal this as easily as they can the P.B.

10. Other Successful Rodent Baits • Granola type Bars • Poppyseed Pound cake • Chocolate Cookie Bar • Oatmeal Cookies

11. Other Successful Rodent Baits • Crackers • Jellies & Jams

12. Other Successful Rodent Baits • For desert rodents – Fresh fruit works well; Try the MRE fruit too.

13. Drink Mixes • Filth fly attractants Pros • Not real attractive to flies Cons • Can blow away unless sprinkled onto sticky tape e.g. duct tape

14. Drink Mixes • Use as sugar solution in water bottle fly bait Note: Not as effective as something stinkier

15. Main Entrees • Use for raccoon (and skunk?) bait. • Allow to “ferment” in sun and use for filth fly attractant.

16. Egg-Based meals • Filth Fly Attractant Mix with water and allow to sit for a few days in the sun for attracting filth flies

17. Pesticide Use ONLY! Plastic Spoons • Use to measure small amounts of fly bait or dry pesticides. • Be sure to label “For Pesticide Use ONLY”

18. Plastic MRE Pouch • Temporary holding bag for rodents or other creatures • Short term dry ice holder – wrap with duct tape and paper (e.g. paper towels) to increase insulation. • Container for small equipment or trash

19. Cardboard MRE Case • Use cardboard to make an expanded trigger on rodent traps • Darken inside of box or cover with dark cloth and use as Mosquito Resting Box. • Dry Ice holder • Wrap well with Duct Tape, punch small holes in sides and hang near trap.

20. Cardboard MRE Case • Trap for small rodents or birds (Gives a bored Marine something to do)

21. Cardboard MRE Case • Use as holding pen for captured creatures

22. Negative (and Other) Reports Not Attractive to Rodents • Beef Sticks • Peanuts • Fruit / Nut mix • Crushed crackers mixed with grape jelly Other • Belief that MREs can be used as effective, fast-acting non-lethal stomach poisons for just about anything, except soldiers and Marines.

23. Beyond MREs . . .

24. Mosquito Resting / Attractant Areas • Paint or cover with a dark cloth a box of some sort (ammo box, MRE case, whatever). • Mosquito netting with animal underneath as bait

25. Eye Gnat Control • Noticed that gnats were attracted to roadkill crabs. • Put rotting fish parts in cups, then covered with netting and put fly bait on netting. • Gnats attracted to rotting fish, fed on fly bait, and successfully killed.

26. “In-a-Pinch” Dry Ice Trap • Use a section of mosquito netting or cloth stockinette (from Medical). • Form tube with embroidery hoops (or something similar) on both ends to keep length of tube spread open. • Hang well sweated sock or sock with dry ice from top end so that bait hangs inside tube. • Tie off top so that top end is closed off; leave bottom end open. • Hang out over night or for specified time. • Collect mosquitoes at end of surveillance time.

27. Cautions on Sticky Tape for Fly Control • Beware of using commercial sticky tapes in hot temperatures – coating will melt and drip off tape, thereby losing stickiness. • Does not go over well in mess tents if coating drips onto tables. • Sand and dust storms will coat tape and reduce or eliminate stickiness and hence effectiveness.

28. Acknowledgements and Thank Yous to the Following Contributors: • COL Terry Klein • CDR Mike Bangs • LTC Eric Milstrey • LCDR George Schoeler • LCDR Dan Szumlas • LCDR David Lavender • MAJ Jennifer Caci • LT Fred Stell • CPT Michael Hiett • CPT Jittawadee Murphy • 1LT Lewis Long • HMC(SW) Gary Yestingsmeier • HM1 (ret) Mike Elam • Mike Medina • Jim Dennett • Dave Hedges

29. Comments? Contributions? LT Elizabeth Dykstra – elizabeth.dykstra@ndvecc.navy.mil