The United States Air Force is scheduled to make its first stop in Williston near the end of May to spray for mosquitoes and is to make a second round in mid-June.

The Air Force is able to come here thanks to the passage of a surcharge during the Nov. 4 election that provides additional funding for mosquito control efforts. Here’s what residents can expect when the Air Force arrives here.

The Air Force is using C-130 airplanes that have wingspans of 130 feet. Spraying is to be done about 100 feet above the ground, and if its done at night or over homes, it’ll be at higher altitudes, said Mark Breidenbaugh, chief entomologist of the Air Force Spray Flight at Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, Ohio.

The types of products used to kill mosquitoes depends upon what’s approved in the environmental assessment. The assessment, which describes the area to be treated and lists endangered species in that area, must first be approved by Williston Vector Control District 1, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Dakota Game and Fish, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But the Air Force has heard an insecticide called VectoBac may be used.

“My understanding is that they are proposing use of a mosquito larvicide that has a narrow spectrum of affect on insects, that is to say the material only affects mosquitoes and a few other aquatic flies. It does not affect mammals including humans,” Breidenbaugh said. Williston residents will reap the benefits of having the Air Force here, he said.

“We will extend more services to the local residents because we understand the mosquitoes that are being generated on federal property are transferring to private property as well.

“So we’ll go ahead and make any applications on the outside of the property that’s actually federal property,” Breidenbaugh said.

The Air Force is asking for per diem pay and to have lodging provided. It absorb the costs of fuel and salaries, he said.

“That’s all part of our training for our wartime mission, which is mosquito control, and to keep troops safe from these same types of diseases that people would be concerned about here, although in some places in the world they’re a lot more aggressive than what we have in the U.S. because we have decent mosquito control,” Breidenbaugh said.