Bed bugs are on the rise again in homes and hotels.
DDT, a powerful pesticide, was at one time used to stop the spread of bed bugs, which were widespread in homes and hotels during World War II. It is now banned in the United States due to its harmful effects on humans and animals. Does this Spark an idea?
What is DDT?
DDT, short for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, is a powerful insecticide. DDT can have the following harmful effects on humans: damage the liver and nervous system, reduce reproductive success and cause damage, and cause liver cancer. It is also a possible carcinogen.
Early Use of DDT
The use of DDT to fight bed bugs was common in the middle of the 20th century, and it worked well at that time. After the widespread use of DDT, bed bugs only appeared in prisons, shelters and hostels. Eventually, DDT emerged as more harmful than the bed bugs---the pesticide was linked to cancer and other harmful effects. This led to DDT being banned in the 1970s in the United States.
Resistance to DDT
Around the 1940s, bed bugs grew resistant to the use of DDT. In fact, spraying DDT only made the bed bugs more likely to attack by making them more active. Now, bed bugs are once again a problem due to the frequency of international travel. Bed bugs have been sighted again in expensive hotels and in many homes. So far, modern insecticides have proven ineffective in killing bed bugs.
Tags: harmful effects, effects humans, harmful effects humans, homes hotels, United States