Killing Mosquitos

What were we thinking? Looking back over time, there are many situations where I wonder what on Earth we, as a people, were thinking. I mean, how did we believe THAT was a good idea? Or, how did we not realize how dangerous, or how cruel, or how unfair, or how downright stupid some things were? Sometimes it takes years of analysis and re-evaluation to help us see the error of our ways. Sometimes, advances in science and technology give us new perspective. Hindsight is often 20/20.

One of the strangest things I remember from my childhood was the Mosquito Fogging Truck. First, let me tell you what I remember, then I will fill in details using the research I recently did. In the 1960’s, in my small hometown in South Carolina, mosquitos were out in full force in the summer. The bugs were mostly nuisance mosquitos, not disease-carrying mosquitos.  Our town combated mosquitos by regularly sending out the Mosquito Spray Truck. We could smell it coming.

The Mosquito Truck was a large truck with complicated contraptions that shot insecticide spray all over the place. We often sat on the front porch watching the truck drive down our street spraying its heavy fog. If the smell got too strong, we would go back inside and close the windows to escape the intense smell.  But, we often didn’t rush out of the way when the spray came down the street. We were not alone. Apparently, around the USA, it was common practice in the 1960s for towns to use Mosquito Spray Trucks, and it was equally common for neighborhood kids to chase the Mosquito Trucks, riding bikes behind the trucks, and following them around town.

What were those trucks spraying around all those towns? DDT.

So, in the interest of scientific fact, I researched some more. Here’s a summary of information that I gathered from sources such as Environmental Protection Agency, the National Pesticide Information Center, Stanford Journal of Public Health, and the American Mosquito Control Association. When I research, I like to really research. In the early 1900s mosquitos were a very big health hazard in the USA. Outbreaks of diseases, like yellow fever, dengue fever, malaria, and encephalitis in humans and horses were all traced to mosquitos. Commissions and organizations were formed in states, regionally, and nationally to devise ways to combat the problems, diseases, and deaths that were being caused by the preponderance of mosquitos.

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was developed as an insecticide by Paul Hermann Müller in 1939. Because it was so effective at eliminating mosquitos and other pests for long periods of time, the US Military ordered large amounts of DDT in powder and aerosol bombs to distribute to Allied forces in various locations around the world.  DDT was hailed as America’s contribution to world health, reducing outbreaks of malaria, typhus, and other diseases. It was a miracle drug. Müller won the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine. (Shout out to my friend who was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 – You Rock, Harry!!)

Even as DDT rose in popularity, there were critics who challenged its safety on humans and the environment. In 1962, Rachel Carson published the book Silent Spring, an impassioned plea to recognize the lasting impact that DDT was having on the environment, as well as the contamination of the food chain throughout the world.  According to Carson’s research, the most powerful pesticide the world had ever known was putting the world in danger. Big Chem fought hard against her charges, but she stood firm with research notes, scientific facts, and collaborative expert opinions, ultimately laying the groundwork for the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Earth Day, and other environmental impact ideas. In 1972, the EPA banned the chemical. Even so, now in some countries, DDT is still used to control mosquitos and other insects, as the threats of illness outweigh the dangers of the chemical.

So, there’s your history lesson on DDT. Full disclosure, I’m not certain that I sat through fogs of DDT, because research shows that other chemicals were tested to combat the mosquito population in the 60s and 70s. But, I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t have been inhaling the chemical, no matter what it was.

Whether you are a fan of DDT or not, you have to admit that it was a really bad idea for so many of us to hang out while the Mosquito Truck sprayed us. I was just a kid—what did I know? But, my parents? Why didn’t they have a sense of urgency to get out of the way?  And, what about the multiple stories I read online of the kids who jumped on their bikes to follow the trucks around town? Were we all that naïve, or that dumb, or that clueless?

And, quickly, here’s another thing from my childhood that I can’t believe actually happened. In the 1970s it was common practice for high school students to drive school buses for all the schools in town. The drivers always came into class a little late and left a little early so that they could fire up the buses to collect and deliver students at the elementary school, junior high school, and high school. 17 and 18 year old boys. That’s who drove the school buses. Can you imagine? Note the bus driver page photos from my high school yearbook, and the message about safety that says the drivers had to pass a written exam to get their license. Let's hope there was some hands-on practice, too!

Looking back, I’m sure everybody has I Can’t Believe We Did That stories from their early years.

I can’t help but wonder if there are things that we do nowadays that, in the future, we might look back and wonder why we did what we did. Or why we thought what we thought. Surely, we can be smart enough to recognize dangers and protect ourselves. I guess a lot of people struggle with the balance of trust, suspicion, believing what you hear, and delving into conspiracy theories. But, surely, we can evaluate and wonder, Is This A Good Idea? , or Does This Make Sense?, before we go along with things that are questionable. Seems like we would be smart enough to do that.

I hope that nowadays I would have the sense to recognize the dangers of something as radical as The Mosquito Spray Truck.  I think that, given the research tools that are at the tips of our fingers, it is much easier now to identify iffy products and uncertain procedures. But, we don’t always get it right. Sometimes we get sucked into believing the validity of or the suspect nature of a product because of the players who are invested in swaying our opinions. They convince us sometimes that All Is Good or sometimes that we Shouldn't Trust what we see with our eyes.

My advice: Arm yourself with sound reason and critical thinking skills. Don’t be afraid to question when something doesn’t seem right. But, don’t become stubborn and unwilling to reconsider, either. Just because something seems to be on the up-and-up doesn’t mean that it is. And, likewise, just because something seems a little off doesn’t mean that it is. Talk to people and get a VARIETY of opinions. As I tell my preschoolers, There is Always Something New to Learn.

I hope that you won't be covered in mosquito bites this summer. I hope that you won’t have any run-ins with DDT.  I hope you won't be required to ride with an inexperienced driver. We're all in this together. Let’s make good decisions so that we don’t subject ourselves to unnecessary risks. And, let's look out for each other. Everybody can use a concerned friend. Peace Out!