Fort Campbell PCS Pest Guide

A PCS move puts you through hotels and storage on the way to a new house, and each stop is a chance to pick something up. Here is who handles pests where you will live, what tends to hitch a ride, and what to check before the boxes are unpacked.

On-post family housing

Fort Campbell's family housing is privatized. The garrison's plain language brief (as of November 2024) names Lendlease as the private partner and landlord and Campbell Crossing as the property manager that handles day-to-day maintenance. Our Census figures show 99% of occupied homes in the on-post ZIP code are renter occupied, so nearly everyone on post is in this system.

The garrison's Directorate of Public Works page says:

• Pest control in the housing communities is offered on a weekly basis upon request, through the service request process. The page lists the non-emergency maintenance and pest line as 931-431-3966.
• Residents are prohibited from hiring any other pest control provider. Pest service is provided only through Campbell Crossing and its maintenance division.
• Emergency maintenance is available around the clock at 931-431-6029.

That means you should not call us or any outside company for a problem inside on-post family housing. Put in the work order. The brief says routine work orders can go through the online resident portal or the RentCafe Resident app, where you can track progress. It says a work order is closed once the tenant and the garrison housing office sign off that the work is done. If the problem is still there, do not sign off.

The brief also lays out rights under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative tenant bill of rights that help with pests:

• Before you sign a lease, you can request the unit's previous seven years of maintenance history, due within two business days of the request. I would ask for it and look for repeat pest work orders.
• You get time and opportunity to be present for move-in and move-out inspections.
• You can report health or habitability problems to the landlord, your chain of command and the housing office without fear of reprisal.
• If a dispute is not resolved, the Army Housing Office runs an informal dispute process. The brief says the Garrison Commander mediates, normally within 10 business days, and a formal process follows if needed.

The brief lists the Army Housing Office at 270-798-3808 and the Legal Assistance Office at 270-798-0918.

Barracks and post buildings

Barracks and other government buildings are a separate system. The garrison's repairs and pest control page says non-emergency work orders go through the Army Maintenance Application (ArMA), and the DPW page lists a pest management number of 270-798-3110 for post facilities other than housing.

Off-post rentals in Clarksville and Oak Grove

Off post, your landlord is a private owner or property manager, and state law applies. In Montgomery County, Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act requires the landlord to keep the premises fit and habitable (Tennessee Code section 66-28-304). It also requires the tenant to keep the unit as clean and safe as it was at move-in (section 66-28-401). Formal remedies under the act start with fourteen days' written notice (section 66-28-501). Kentucky is different: its version of the act applies only where a local government has adopted it, and a December 2025 news report said Hopkinsville and Christian County have not.

Our renters guide covers who pays, how to write the notice, and the Kentucky side in detail. The housing brief also says the Army Housing Office provides referral services for off-post housing and handles tenant and landlord disputes, which is worth knowing if a landlord will not respond.

What rides along in a move

Bed bugs

Bed bugs travel in luggage and furniture. An Army article on bed bugs during PCS season warns that items kept in storage for two or three years can carry them, and that bed bugs may not show up until days after you arrive. The University of Kentucky bed bug factsheet adds that bite reactions can be delayed days or weeks, so the place you picked them up is often hard to pin down.

At each hotel or lodging stop, keep luggage on a rack or table, off the floor and the bed, and check the mattress seams at the pillow end before unpacking. When you arrive, put travel clothes straight into the dryer. UK says medium to high heat for 10 to 20 minutes kills all stages. Our bed bug page covers what to do if you find them.

German cockroaches

The UK cockroach factsheet says German cockroaches are often brought in with grocery bags and drink cartons, or in furniture. Cardboard boxes that sat in a kitchen or a storage unit are the usual carrier in a move. These are the small, light brown roaches with two dark stripes behind the head, and they only live indoors. Break down and recycle moving boxes soon after you unpack rather than storing them in the garage or under the sink.

Brown recluse spiders

The brown recluse is native to this region. The UK brown recluse factsheet says infestations in Kentucky become more common as you go west, and Christian County is in western Kentucky. It says people are often bitten while moving stored items or putting on clothing a spider has hidden in. It also notes that spiders can be carried to new areas in boxes or furnishings.

UK advises wearing gloves and long sleeves when you sort through stored boxes. Shake out clothes and shoes that sat in storage before you put them on. UK says flat glue traps placed in corners and along walls are a good way to find out whether you have recluse spiders and where. Our brown recluse guide covers identification and what to do.

If you find something in a box and are not sure what it is, a clear photo is the fastest answer.

Timing a pest visit around a PCS

If you rent off post, ask for any treatment before your household goods arrive, not after. An empty house is easier to inspect and treat, and you don't unpack boxes into a roach problem. Moving out, check stored boxes for brown recluses and roaches before they go on the truck, since the next house gets whatever rides along. Buying with a VA loan, order the termite (WDI) inspection early enough that a finding can be treated before closing. On-post family housing is different: pest service there goes through the housing maintenance office, not a private company.

Move-in checklist

Do this before the furniture goes in, while the rooms are empty and easy to see:

1. Look under the kitchen and bathroom sinks and behind the fridge and stove for droppings that look like pepper specks. UK lists those as German cockroach hiding spots.
2. Check closet corners and the edges of carpet for spiders and webbing. Set a few flat glue traps in corners for the first week to see what turns up.
3. If the home came furnished, check mattress seams and the box spring for dark spots and shed skins before anyone sleeps there.
4. Look for mouse droppings in kitchen drawers and along the garage walls. Note any gaps around pipes under sinks.
5. Write down everything you find on the move-in inspection form and take dated photos. In a rental, send it to the landlord in writing the same week. On post, put in a work order.

If you are off post and want a professional look before you unpack, ask for a free inspection and a written price before any treatment.

Buying a home with a VA loan

If you are buying in Clarksville or Oak Grove with a VA loan, ask your lender early whether a wood destroying insect (WDI) inspection is required. Our VA loan termite inspection guide explains what the inspection covers and what happens if termites are found. Termites swarm here in spring, and our swarm season guide covers what swarmers on a windowsill mean for a sale.

Moving out

If you had bed bugs or roaches at your current place, deal with them before you pack, not after. Packing an infested home spreads the problem into every box. Run clothes and bedding through a hot dryer before they go into clean bags. On post, follow the housing office's move-out steps and put in a work order for any pest issue so it is on record before the move-out inspection.

We only refer companies chartered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (and licensed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for Kentucky addresses). We do not handle on-post family housing, which goes through the housing work-order system. For an off-post home in the Fort Campbell area, Clarksville or Oak Grove, you can request an inspection here.