In full uniform and armed with permits, licenses, survey forms, larvicides and spray paint — yes, spray paint — a specialized control crew is waging war on mosquitoes, which carry the West Nile Virus. The virus, which can result in fatal encephalitis, first claimed a life in Whitestone, N.Y., in Sept. 1999. Immediately, Local 237 and the NYC Housing Authority began coordinating a plan to protect the city’s housing stock and residents by training members to become licensed exterminators with the credentials to treat West Nile Virus.

“If you want something done right do it yourself,” says Jamal Rashid, HA pest control resource technical adviser, describing botched initial efforts by the Department of Health, which hired private exterminators to treat all city agency properties. “They hired unlicensed subcontractors, with no expertise. There was no regular treatment and they weren’t properly supervised. There were lawsuits.”

By the year 2000, exterminating classes were under way at Local 237. In 2001, about 25 members passed the test and received the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Pesticide License, Category 8, qualifying them to apply mosquito larvicide at housing facilities. Since then, every mosquito season — which lasts from about May through October — the crew makes the rounds to treat every property throughout the five boroughs.

“Housing has never had a case, because we’ve been treating our own facilities,” says Mosquito Specialist Marguerite Fraser, who joined Housing in 2002, from the Department of Health.

“Exterminators work hand in hand with the Department of Health, other city agencies and housing management,” says Supervisor Benjamin Valentine, an 18-year veteran and shop steward, who is also on the contract negotiating team. “We’re licensed but constantly training,” adds Valentine, who is working toward an associate’s degree in entomology and has teaching licenses in seven categories.

The West Nile Virus crew of about 20 pest control officers makes four rounds each season, working in 10 teams of two. For treatment to be effective, it must be repeated about every 30 days. One team member wears gloves and applies about a quarter teaspoon of larvicide granules to suffocate larva in each breeding area. (Larvicide is safely stored at each housing site under lock and key and with appropriate warning signs.) The other member writes reports that must be sent to the Department of Environmental Conservation, indicating where, when, and how much larvicide is being used. They must also fill out violation reports and survey forms noting such things as standing water or clogged drains at each site. Notices must be posted at each location stating when treatment starts and ends, the name of the larvicide applied, and an emergency phone number.

They Leave Their Mark

Last, but not least, each team leaves its mark: a spray-painted dot that indicates a round of treatment has been completed. The half-dollar size dots are red, white and blue for the first three rounds. The final round, currently taking place, is green. “If someone complains they didn’t spray, I look for the dot,” says Rashid.

West Nile Virus teams deliver the full treatment to hot zones — swamp areas — leading with Staten Island, Far Rockaway and Coney Island, and all housing facilities on their routes throughout the city. Treatments take about four hours to apply and workers are paid overtime, so the assignment doesn’t interfere with their routine apartment exterminations.


Members of the West Nile Virus Crew pose for a rare group portrait.

Housing’s Long Island City complex, otherwise known as the home of Technical Services, is where Rashid and the crew meet every Monday afternoon to take care of mosquito-season paperwork. The occasion is characterized by a mountain of forms that builds up on a conference table, as each exterminator places his or her weekly batch of forms on the pile, which serves to fill out annual reports required under the Pesticide Reporting Law. After giving the crew instructions for the following week, Rashid reminds them to limit their overtime to 12 days in compliance with the law. “After that, they take a day off.” As the season winds down, crew members are putting in all the hours they can to get the job done.

“We’re saving lives and lots of money for the city,” said exterminator Edward Lewis, triggering a spontaneous rally. “We’re not just bug killers. We have a license,” said another crew member. “We’re professionals, higher than skilled trades,” said Fraser. “We always say we’re still learning,” said Supervisor Ernest McMikle, demonstrating the list of credits he must maintain in several categories posted on his license.

Short-staffing is a problem. “HA has 91 lines for exterminator titles, but only 75 are filled,” says Rashid. About a third of the staff are licensed to treat WNV. The biggest problem facing the WNV crew is to educate management and housing residents on mosquito prevention, to make sure there is no opportunity for stagnant water to develop.

Here are tips from the experts: report any floods, leaks, open or broken windows with no screens, high weeds or grass, uncovered containers or buckets, and clogged drains.