YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Termites on the hunt for a new home temporarily closed the Yongsan Readiness Center child care room and are popping up elsewhere on Yongsan Garrison, officials confirmed Friday.
Michael Chung, the U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan Director of Public Works and acting deputy garrison commander, said Friday that the termites were discovered in the child care room late Thursday afternoon.
Parents were alerted and given the opportunity to take their children from the room, Chung confirmed. The three children who needed care Friday were transferred to the Child Development Center, according to a garrison news release.
The DPW’s pest control crew worked with the 18th Medical Command’s 5th Preventive Medicine Unit on fumigation strategy, according to Chung. That coordination is necessary when working on child care facilities, Department of Defense Dependents Schools or the hospital, according to Chung.
The recommendation was that the pest control unit lightly spray the area with a mild concentration of a pesticide to kill the termites.
Chung said that following Friday morning’s treatment, officials discovered one dead termite that afternoon.
Since the readiness center’s child care room is open only on Thursdays and Fridays, Chung said his crew will have most of next week to monitor the situation. Before any children are allowed back into the room, he said, workers will scrub the treated surfaces for any residue.
Enrique Blanco, the garrison Roads and Grounds branch chief, explained the problem in a news release.
“This is the time of the year when adult termites grow wings and search areas to create new hives,” he said.
Blanco said it’s an annual problem thanks to a “combination of aging infrastructure and seasonal moisture.”
According to the release, several other work spaces, housing units and barracks also are being fumigated.
For more information — or to report termites — call DSN 724-4176.
