Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control
Operation Support
Welcome to the Bureau's Operational Support Program Section. This program located in Panama City is responsible for the control of dog flies in the panhandle area from Apalachicola to Pensacola.
The Operational Support Program was established under the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control by an appropriation from the 1972 Legislature for the purpose of controlling "Dog Flies" (Stomoxys calcitrans) along the beaches of the Florida Panhandle.
Before the program was transferred to the Department of Agriculture in 1992, the mission was increased to include mosquito spraying, following disasters, disease outbreaks, or during very high population levels, and to provide technical expertise to mosquito control programs.
The program began with a single engine bi-wing Steerman which proved to have too small a payload. This was followed by contracting with an agricultural spray company that supplied two single engine crop dusters, but the service lacked efficiency and the single engine aircraft were not suitable flying over the tourist and residential areas. A twin engine C-45 was then obtained and operated for several years with good results. This was then replaced with a DC-3 having over twice the payload.
The current DC-3 was built in 1944 and is equipped with a spray system that will allow coverage of large areas in a single application. The largest single flight was against adult mosquitoes and involved spraying approximately 50,000 acres following Tropical Storm Alberto.
Dogfly's DC-3 Aircraft
The program's plane was also utilized to spray for mosquitoes during outbreaks of Saint Louis Encephalitis (SLE) occurring in 1990 and 1997, as well as the threat of SLE in 1993. Spray operations were conducted following several hurricanes and tropical storms where flooding and wind damage forced people out of their homes and operations have been conducted when the mosquito populations have grown beyond what local programs could handle.
Program History
The Operational Support Program was established under the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control by an appropriation from the 1972 Legislature for the purpose of controlling "Dog Flies" (Stomoxys calcitrans) along the beaches of the Florida Panhandle.
Before the program was transferred to the Department of Agriculture in 1992, the mission was increased to include mosquito spraying, following disasters, disease outbreaks, or during very high population levels, and to provide technical expertise to mosquito control programs.
