Section I. PERSONNEL AND TRAINING
3-1.
GENERAL
a. Department of Defense standards for insect and rodent control require that
most pesticide dispersal and other insect and rodent control operations be
accomplished by trained and certified personnel. The basis for this requirement is
overwhelming. Within the past few years, hundreds of new pesticides have been
developed and still newer pesticides are being tested. These new chemicals permit
new approaches to pest control through their residual and other actions. To obtain
maximum effectiveness from these newer pesticides, it is necessary to know the biology
of the pests encountered so pesticides can be applied at the right time and at the right
place. These newer pesticides present a wide range of hazard in their use. If correctly
used, they may be quite safe. If they are mishandled, they may present a considerable
danger to the user, to the recipient of pest control service, or to the material being
treated.
b. Specialized equipment has been and is being developed to disperse these
newer materials in a more effective and economical manner. New control techniques
have been and are being devised. Because of these complexities, only persons with
capabilities for and a genuine interest in pest control should be assigned to pest control
programs. Pest control personnel must be able to demonstrate their capabilities by
qualifying for certification in order to comply with the certification requirements of the
Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972. Because of the rapidity of
developments in chemicals, equipment, and techniques, they must be periodically
reexamined and recertified.
3-2.
PERSONNEL
a. Selection Criteria. Personnel should be carefully selected for pest control
positions. Candidates must have the mental capacity to learn and an aptitude for
biological sciences and chemistry. Preferably, the candidate should be a high school
graduate with course work in biology and chemistry. It may be desirable to test the
potential of a candidate even before placing him in training status. Experience, by itself,
should never be the criterion for employing pest control personnel. In addition to having
an adequate background and potential, the candidate must be genuinely interested in
pest control work.
b. Training. Newly recruited personnel rarely will have the extensive
knowledge and experience necessary to properly perform their routine pest control
functions. These persons must be provided with on-the-job training. In addition, they
should participate in correspondence-type instruction when it is sponsored periodically
by the entomologists on the staffs of the major commands. The training courses should
include responsibilities for insect and rodent control; insects and rodents as reservoirs
and vectors of disease and as destroyers of property; identification, life history, habits;
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