The War Against Bugs

by Steven Heller · 3 comments

With all due respect to entomologists, there is nothing aesthetically pleasing about bugs (insects by any other name). These little monsters certainly have ecological significance, but don't tell me they are fun to have crawling around. Hence, chemical manufacturers have made it their business to find the most efficient means of ridding the pests while retaining the fine upstanding species. Too bad that anything designed to kill will doubtless have ill effects on the eco-system. In the 50s DDT was the magic bullet against such varieties as various potato beetles, coddling moth, corn earworm, cotton bollworm  and tobacco budworms (eeeecccchhhh!). Then in 1972, the US Environmental Protection Agency curtailed all use of DDT on crops. The ban did not take hold in other countries until much later, and DDT was vociferously promoted through eerie calls to arms like this poster by Savignac.


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1 Ed Darrell November 13, 2011 at 12:14 am

I'm interested in finding more such posters about DDT -- especially with the short history as you relate it here.  Got more?  Can you point me in the general direction?
Thanks!

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