Time to put away the old DDT nostalgia. This should be the last DDT post. I should have ended on the good stuff, but apparently can’t leave well enough alone.
Guess what I found, an old top 10 pest list from from a Rutgers survey of New Jersey Pest Control Association members:
Top 10 pests, Rutgers NJPCA survey, Pest Control, May 1961
Kirby, J. 1961. Termites Rank No. 2 with PCOs in New Jersey. Pest Control. 29(5): 69-71
The New Jersey Pest Control Association is now the New Jersey Pest Management Association, and Pest Control is Pest Management Professional. I wonder if Rutgers or NJPMA did surveys in other years?
Anyway, what is interesting is the commentary from John Kirby, Rutgers extension entomologist:
It was somewhat of a surprise to me that bed bugs were mentioned on 11 of these 17 questionnaires and on this basis gained fourth place in the problem rating. A couple of years ago, bed bugs didn’t seem to be very much of a problem but now they appear to be popping up more often. Perhaps the proven resistance of Cimex lectularius to DDT in other areas of the United States is also a factor in New Jersey. Although such resistance has not been definitely established in New Jersey, PCOs have generally switched from DDT to lindane for bed bug control.
The bed bug, habitual popper-upper. Always causing surprise too—why do you think that is? Bed bugs?
Wonder if we’ll ever stop acting surprised.
Say bye-bye, DDT.
These pages may be of related interest:
