Is the EPA to blame for the bed bug ‘epidemic’?

[Chris_]

Is the EPA to blame for the bed bug ‘epidemic’?

But why are bed bugs back? Though they’ve been sucking humans’ blood since at least ancient Greece, bed bugs became virtually extinct in America following the invention of pesticide DDT.

There were almost no bed bugs in the United States between World War II and the mid-1990s.

Around when bed bugs started their resurgence, Congress passed a major pesticides law in 1996 and the Clinton EPA banned several classes of chemicals that had been effective bed bug killers.

The debate isn’t over long-banned DDT, since modern bed bugs have developed a tolerance for that chemical. But in the pre-1996 regime, experts say, bed bugs were “collateral damage” from broader and more aggressive use of now-banned pesticides like Malathion and Propoxur.

Now some health officials are clamoring to bring those chemicals back to help solve the bed bug “emergency.” Meanwhile, EPA bureaucrats have downplayed the idea and environmentalists are pushing hard against the effort, citing safety concerns.

Jonathan Strong @ The Daily Caller

Another case of the government "fixing" something that wasn't broke.

[vesta111]

Jonathan Strong @ The Daily Caller

Another case of the government "fixing" something that wasn't broke.

Yes it was a problem Rachel Carson and her Silent Spring gave an insight to the danger of DDT and how if misused was a danger to our wild life, the water table and children that romped about in areas it had been used.

Economics came in here.   It was cheaper to ban the DDT then to oversee the use of it.

[thundley4]

Yes it was a problem Rachel Carson and her Silent Spring gave an insight to the danger of DDT and how if misused was a danger to our wild life, the water table and children that romped about in areas it had been used.

Economics came in here.   It was cheaper to ban the DDT then to oversee the use of it.

And how many millions of people died of malaria in Africa since DDT was banned?

[vesta111]

And how many millions of people died of malaria in Africa since DDT was banned?

Why was DDT banned in Africa.?

As a child I lived in Panama and the nastys were not to be found because of DDT.    So how do they control the diseases there today, do they still use DDT ?