Clark in front of a Dumpster outside of a Haitian hospital. The Dumpster was overflowing with garbage and medical waste.

LODI, Calif. — Terry Clark, vice president of Clark Pest Control, Lodi, Calif., was among a group of NPMA delegates that recently returned from a two-day mission to earthquake-devastated Haiti to assess current pest issues and potential infestation risk factors (see related article).

Clark has shared his experiences and photos from the trip on the Clark Pest Control blog. 

In recounting the trip, Clark wrote that he was shocked, overwhelmed and appalled by the conditions he observed, including a pediatric ward that did not have window screens to slow flies and/or mosquitoes and also did not have doors properly sealed, allowing for rats to enter. “One doctor stated that when they come in the nurses yells at the rats to shoo them away,” Clark said.

But Clark also said he was inspired and motivated to work to relieve some of the suffering he witnessed.

Clark and other NPMA delegates focused on three major pest problems in the tent cities and the hospitals. Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas are overrun with pests including flies, rodents and cockroaches, and it is causing major health and safety concerns for the Haitian people.