DDT (insecticide). Why Dust is banned in Russia and most countries of the world

Cockroaches are unpleasant insects that often live in apartments. They cause a lot of problems; just the sight of insects causes a feeling of disgust and disgust. They can come from neighbors, they can be brought with things from an old apartment or brought with purchases from a store.

Regardless of the method of entry of parasites, it is important to know how to quickly get rid of them. Dust against cockroaches has a good effect.

This product is accessible and inexpensive, so it can be purchased at an insecticide store.

But still, before use, you should carefully read the properties.

Types of pesticides

For each type of treatment, certain pesticides are used:

Herbicides control weeds.
Insecticides kill harmful insects.
Fungicides – relieve plants from fungal diseases.
Zoocides - poison rodents.

Note. A number of these poisons include blockers of the reproduction and growth of organisms.

Pesticides stop biological processes in harmful organisms:

Bacteria.
Weeds.
Insects.

They are mainly used:

In field farming.
Processing industry.
Forestry.

Note. Their benefits are undeniable. A side effect of their use can be considered the harm they cause to nature - birds, animals, humans.

Pesticides are classified according to the main substance into 4 types

This:

Chlorine-containing.
Phosphorus-containing.
Contains metal.
Alkaloids (with nitrogen).

Note. Nitrogen-containing pesticides are especially dangerous to human health.

The symptoms of poisoning are poorly identified, and therefore it is difficult to diagnose it with this substance:

Pesticides fight insects, field rodents, and weeds.
They do not cause direct harm to humans, but when they enter the body with food and water, they accumulate there and poison the organs of the digestive tract.

Damage may occur through direct contact with the substance through the skin or inhalation.

How do bedbugs appear in the house?

There is an opinion that bedbugs can only appear in dirty apartments, but this is far from true. There are a huge number of ways for bloodsuckers to enter a house, after which they quickly multiply. Several ways for bedbugs to get into an apartment:

Move them with things. Guests can bring them.
From neighbors, especially if they started fighting with them.
With home appliances. Insects can get into your apartment even with a completely new item.
Parasites that attach themselves to a pet outdoors and thus enter the home.

Sometimes people pay attention to their appearance only when there are already a large number of them.

Basic properties of DDT and its analogues

DDT is a chemical that belongs to the category of substances based on organochlorine compounds. It has a crystalline structure, its color can be different - gray, white or slightly brownish. It does not interact with water, although under the influence of most organic solvents, including ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons and others, it demonstrates excellent solubility.

In the natural environment, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane has a long period of decomposition with a negative impact on water resources, plants and the soil itself.

Its transmission occurs along the food chain, the toxic chemical has a tendency to mutate, and when it penetrates inside a living creature, it affects the tissues and nervous system, negatively affecting the ability to reproduce.

Over time, the pesticide accumulates in the body - it is impossible to remove it through cleansing systems.

As for how DDT is deciphered, there is a combination of three components at once - dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, while the content of 4,4'-isomers reaches 75%.

Among the main analogues of this insecticide, the following are particularly distinguished:

Aldrin is a substance with fairly high toxic levels, prone to accumulation in the body and non-degradable. It has an increased danger to humans, which led to its ban in a number of countries.
Dieldrin is a chemical based on aldrin, but in a lower concentration. It is less dangerous for living beings, therefore it is very effectively used in agriculture.

First aid for drug poisoning

For humans, the lethal dose of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is 5-10 g, although very serious consequences are possible with a lesion of 1-1.5 g. Particularly dangerous are oil solutions, from which the pesticide is absorbed at maximum speed.

When poisoned by dust, a feeling of nausea occurs, general weakness of the body, heart problems, pain in the limbs, fever, and a number of other symptoms appear. Possible problems with the liver and kidneys. In such a case, delay is unacceptable; you should seek qualified medical help as quickly as possible.

Before the medical team arrives, extensive gastric lavage should be performed. To do this, use a suspension of activated carbon or a solution based on sodium bicarbonate at a 2% concentration. After this, you should take a saline laxative. The use of castor oil is strictly contraindicated.

Effects of various pesticides on humans

The answer to the question of what dust is and how the drug affects people has been received. Its use, despite all its effectiveness, is fraught with many dangers, therefore, in the absence of proper knowledge and experience, you should abandon dubious experiments and entrust the work to professionals. This will make it possible to save not only time and money, but also health.

Characteristics of DDT

Insecticides destroy harmful insects that eat up crops

If you miss the moment, you can lose half the harvest on the field and in storage.

In what cases is DDT pesticide used?

Against flying insects that carry malaria.
In the fight against pests of industrial and food crops - cotton, flax, soybeans, peanuts.
A powerful means of combating locusts.

Dust (DDT) is a white crystalline substance that is ground into a fine powder for use.

History of the drug's creation

DDT pesticide meaning: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an insecticide discovered in 1874 by German chemist Othmar Zeidler.

This compound did not find practical use for a long time, until in 1939 the Swiss scientist Paul Miller discovered its insecticidal capabilities and used them in the fight against malaria mosquitoes. For this great scientific research he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1948.

Description of the drug

Effect of the drug

DDT is a simple, effective, inexpensive means of pest control. It is obtained by the synthesis of chlorobenzene and sulfuric acid.

It acts on the insect externally:

Penetrating inside the body, DDT affects the nervous system of the pest.
A microscopic amount of poison is enough to kill the larvae.
But it exhibits a high degree of toxicity only to insects.
In contact with the skin of an animal or person, it does not cause severe damage.
Therefore, this remedy can completely remove parasites from the skin and coat of animals.
Dust is often used on domestic animals - cattle, sheep, goats.
If DDT comes into contact with a person's skin, it is enough to wash it off. There will be no harm.
Poisoning can occur due to ingestion of the powder through inhalation or food.

Note. Signs of poisoning are dizziness, vomiting, inflammation of the mucous membranes, redness of the eyes, and weakness.

Particular care must be taken when handling the chemical during seed treatment, when toxic dust is in the air. It is necessary to use respirators and protective clothing.

The intensity of poisoning is determined from the table as a result of experimental studies:

Weight of a single dose of poisoning in mg/kg	Body reaction
Unknown	Death
16—286	Gastrointestinal poisoning, vomiting, in some cases - convulsions
6—10	Minor intoxication, not hazardous to health

Benefits of DDT

The insecticide DDT has found application in many areas of the economy.

So:

Effectively fights against domestic insects - flies, cockroaches, moths.
It is used to destroy pests of garden crops - the Colorado potato beetle and aphids.

Protects crops of many crops from insects - pests in agriculture.

Instructions for use

Dust was used against insects - pests of crops and carriers of various infections in animals. This drug was produced in different concentrations: 5.5% and 10% of the powder used for dusting.

Degradation resistance

DDT is highly resistant to decomposition: neither critical temperatures, nor enzymes involved in the neutralization of foreign substances, nor light can have any noticeable effect on the decomposition process of DDT. As a result, when DDT enters the environment, it somehow enters the food chain. When circulating in it, DDT accumulates in significant quantities, first in plants, then in animals, and finally in the human body.

Calculation by Dahmen and Hayes (1973) showed that at each link in the food chain there is a 10-fold increase in DDT content:

Sludge containing DDT - 1x

Plants (algae) – 10x

Small organisms (representatives of zooplankton - daphnia, cyclops) - 100x

Pisces - 1000x

Predatory fish – 10000x

This rapid accumulation of DDT is clearly illustrated by the following example. Thus, in a study of one ecosystem in Lake Michigan, the following accumulation of DDT in food chains was found: in the bottom silt of the lake - 0.014 mg/kg, in crustaceans feeding on the bottom - 0.41 mg/kg, in various fish - 3-6 mg /kg, in the adipose tissue of seagulls feeding on this fish - over 200 mg/kg.

High solubility in fats and low solubility in water cause retention of DDT in adipose tissue. The rate at which DDT accumulates in the body varies depending on the type of organism, duration of exposure and concentration, and environmental conditions. The high retention rate of DDT means that toxic effects in organisms may occur with a time delay and also at a significant geographic distance from the site of exposure. In general, organisms at high dietary levels tend to accumulate greater amounts of DDT compared to organisms at lower dietary levels. DDT can be transported around the world in the bodies of migrating animals, as well as by ocean and air currents.

Thus, DDT, accumulating in living organisms, has a toxic effect on them, varying in strength depending on the concentration of DDT in the living organism.

There were doubts

In the late 1980s, the group's leader, Yuri Shevchuk, was a rock star of the first magnitude, and his songs were a symbol of perestroika and glasnost. The performances filled stadiums. At the same time, he never behaved like a celebrity; he was and today remains primarily a poet.

By the fall of 1991, the euphoria from the Gorbachev era had finally passed. The store shelves are empty. The country, which previously had at least some confidence in the future, was living out its last months. Yuri then lived on the Sinopskaya embankment in Leningrad next to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Nearby there was an old cemetery, where he walked in the evenings, by his own admission, sometimes with a bottle and some interlocutor. The place was overgrown with weeds, but conducive to revelations and reflections on life.

One September evening, it was drizzling, leaves were falling, and the musician had an indescribable feeling of melancholy and anxiety in his soul. Upon returning home, the song spontaneously spilled out onto paper. At the time of writing, it has been six years since the central press published revelations of crimes committed by the Soviet leadership in different years. It was clear to many that party careerists often covered themselves with words about the Motherland, people and patriotism. The author had some doubts in the written phrases, especially in the lines: “Autumn - will we crawl, will we reach the answer, what will happen to the Motherland and to us? Autumn - will we crawl, will we reach the dawn, autumn, what will happen to us tomorrow? It seemed to him that they contained a scent of bravura pathos mixed with panic.

DDT's exploits in the name of humanity

Mechanism of action

Typhoid epidemic in Naples in 1944. More than a million people were sprayed with a dust solution, which led to the destruction of lice that carry typhus. The disease has subsided. They successfully fought typhus with the help of dust in many other hot countries.

DDT significantly increased crop yields:

Quick achievement of results, low price, simple production technology increased the use of DDT.
Insufficient research has led to its widespread and uncontrolled use.

The effective drug was used both industrially and in households. This led to pollution of water bodies, soils, vegetation, and a negative impact on the human body.

BG couldn't

When Yuri brought the song to rehearsal and sang it with a guitar, the younger part of the DDT group refused to perform it. The guys said: this is either a twist or pop music. They say they are rockers, not the bard's accompanists. Those who were older called the youth small and incomprehensible. They suggested an arrangement: an electric guitar part in the style of the romantic 1960s, a flute solo, a bass riff. The work took three days. On the fourth, they recorded the soundtrack for a future video clip. Shevchuk believed that he should share the anxiety and hope of the song in a new video with recognizable rockers of the country. A manifesto of sorts. In the first echelon of rock stars, besides Shevchuk, there were Konstantin Kinchev (“Alice”), Boris Grebenshchikov (“Aquarium”), Vyacheslav Butusov (“Nautilus Pompilius”). Viktor Tsoi died a year before the song was written.

On October 15, 1991, Butusov had his birthday. At home in the kitchen, he was chopping vegetables for a holiday dinner. The phone rang. Shevchuk asked to come to Pushkin (a city near Leningrad), where a cameraman with a camera was already waiting. This was urgent, since Kinchev had difficulty finding one day in his busy tour schedule and specially came to the city on the Neva. Butusov decided: we need to use the chance to get together in one video. I gave up cooking the holiday dinner and rushed out of town.

Grebenshchikov, according to the plan, was supposed to sit near the Pushkin monument and look at the sky in a number of changing frames of the video. After all, autumn is Pushkin’s time. But Boris didn’t make it to the shoot; he was abroad.

They filmed with two cameras from several plans, which were then edited, inserting footage of Shevchuk performing the song with a guitar in the kitchen. The cassette recorder in Yuri's hands appeared by chance. It was borrowed from the boys who came up for autographs. The Russian roulette scene with a real revolver was planned in advance. But the musicians did not agree on how to perform it as an actor. Therefore, Shevchuk and Butusov shoot both as a joke and seriously, and Kinchev emphasizes with facial expressions: we are just fooling around here.

Konstantin Kinchev

Does using pesticides save people or kill birds?

Put on your protective suit and respirator because today we're going to take a very close look at the pesticide DDT, with opinions on both sides being taken into account. DDT has been used since the 1930s. Its primary purpose is to combat malarial mosquitoes, typhoid lice, CC flies and other insects that carry diseases, in which the pesticide has proven to be extremely effective. Its use was so successful during World War II that the creator of DDT was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1948. The pesticide DDT also turned out to be effective in protecting crops from various pests and remains so. But several decades later, DDT became controversial. Opponents began talking about the pesticide's impact on human and animal health. This mainly concerned birds laying eggs in too thin shells and potentially dangerous diseases to humans. In response to increased concern, the pesticide DDT was banned in many countries. But the contradictions did not stop. Since the ban is based primarily on the protection of birds, it has been condemned as being overly cautious, since concern for bird populations is leading to a marked increase in human mortality from malaria in the Third World. In fact, DDT is making a comeback and is being produced in increasing quantities by India, China and North Korea for use in agriculture and to fight malaria.

DDT is dichlorodiphenyltrichloromethylmethane, a completely synthetic substance that does not exist in nature. It is a white, waxy powder that does not dissolve in water and therefore does not pollute it. DDT is easily soluble in oil and solvent. The pesticide is used in the form of a white smoke-like mist. DDT kills insects by short-circuiting their neurons, causing spasms and death. The hydrophobicity of DDT is both good and bad at the same time. Without dissolving in water, DDT does not pollute it. But it is not washed away by precipitation, remaining for a long time where it was used.

DDT would probably never have been banned had it not been for the 1962 book Silent Spring, the title of which invokes dead birds. The author, Rachel Carson, was a popular writer who died just two years after the book's publication. Carson was a marine biologist working for the US Fish & Wildlife Service. I got the opportunity to leave the service after writing a trilogy about the sea. The books became a bestseller in the 1950s, and the public was captivated by the poetic narrative of everything related to beaches, islands, the depths of the seas and the living creatures that inhabit them. The publications that followed the trilogy revealed the problems of environmental conservation, criticizing industry, government and human influence on our planet louder and louder.

"Silent Spring" was published in the New Yorker magazine before the book was published and it was probably the harshest story, although it was beautifully written. The book blamed DDT for its health hazards and widespread environmental impacts, namely on bird populations. Undoubtedly, the book became the starting point for the decision to ban the pesticide in the United States and other countries. One Environmental Protection Agency writer said:

“Silent Spring played as much of a role in the abolition of DDT as Uncle Tom's Cabin played in the abolition of slavery.”

Rachel Carson's list of posthumous awards is quite impressive, testifying to the depth of recognition of Silent Spring not only among environmentalists, but also in the public consciousness. President Jimmy Carter awarded Rachel the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her portraits appeared on postage stamps of several countries. A bridge in Pittsburgh and a government building in Harrisburg are named after her. The list of parks, schools, educational programs, scholarships and nature reserves named after Rachel Carson would take up an entire page.

The main thesis of Silent Spring is that DDT harms bird populations by reducing the thickness of eggshells. The book does not describe the mechanism of action; an explanation was proposed later by other researchers. The process of influence is now almost completely understood. In short, DDT affects the glands that are responsible for producing calcium carbonate for eggshells, causing them to become thinner. Thinner egg shells can lead to the death of the embryo. Eggshell thinning is the main concern regarding DDT and the environment.

Five decades have passed since the publication of Silent Spring, and we have learned a lot over the years. The pesticide DDT is just one of many causes of eggshell thinning. Other causes include toxic lead, mercury and petroleum. Lack of phosphorus and calcium, as well as dehydration. Perhaps the most significant factor is the captive condition of the birds during testing. Stress alone can cause eggshell thickness to become compromised. Although the mechanism of the pesticide DDT is logical for thinning eggshells, numerous experiments in the 70s and 80s failed to confirm such an effect, even at high and very high levels of DDT. The rest of Rachel Carson's conclusions have been confirmed by research. According to the author, there is some effect of the pesticide on the thickness of the shell, but it is not the main thing and not the only one. Using or banning DDT will not have a noticeable impact on bird populations.

Despite the possibility of DDT affecting birds, it is known that Rachel was primarily concerned with Bald Eagles, which were already on the verge of extinction even before the use of the pesticide DDT. Loss of habitat due to human encroachment and poaching were the main causes of loss of Bald Eagles. Hunters have reduced the number of individuals in the mountains to just a few hundred pairs capable of reproducing chicks. In the valleys, Bald Eagles were simply left with no nesting opportunities.

The American Brown Pelican is also often cited as a victim of the pesticide DDT in California. A significant decline in the population did coincide with the use of the pesticide, but coincidence cannot be ruled out. Disgruntled fishermen in Texas took up their guns and reduced the number of birds from an annual intake of 5,000 to 200 by 1941. The population of the American Brown Pelican in California suffered two significant blows of fate after the publication of Silent Spring. The first time was the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, the second time was the Newcastle disease in 1971. 12 million Brown and White Pelicans were destroyed and, as it turned out, only 4 individuals were infected. These weren't Pelicans. DDT had nothing to do with these cases, but its use coincided with a sharp reduction in the number of livestock.

Of course, it would be a mistake to ignore the influence of the pesticide DDT just because there are other factors. We can do a benefit/harm analysis and make an informed decision, which has nothing to do with science. Everyone has the right to decide on their priorities, and in the United States the decision was made in favor of birds.

The consequences of Silent Spring may be good for birds, but not for people in the third world. DDT has proven to be one of the most effective tools in the fight against malaria. Although the use of DDT is quite legal in many malarial regions, funds for its acquisition come from developed countries such as the United States. Wealthy donors can change the perspective somewhat, with the Bald Eagle population on one side of the scale and the lives of children in Mozambique on the other. Prof. Amir Attaran, writing in Nature Medicine, weighs in with environmentalists who oppose exceptions to the DDT ban in the interests of public health:

“Environmentalists in rich and developed countries have nothing to gain from banning DDT. The minor risks looming at home are disproportionately smaller than the benefits obtained from the use of DDT in the poor tropics. More than 200 groups, including Greenpeace, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the World Wildlife Fund, actively condemn DDT. »

As a result of this pressure, many donations received from wealthy countries dependent on the DDT ban are spent on less effective and more expensive pesticides. At this time, children die. Malaria claims up to three million lives every year, mainly in Africa. DDT, while having some health and environmental effects, like all pesticides, has not yet killed anyone. If we throw the most effective drug on the shelf in the hope of getting an even more effective and safe one someday, we will wait forever, and in the meantime, thousands of people die every day. This is exactly a case of wealthy environmentalists doing everything they can to protect their elitist stereotype at the expense of black people. (Additional information: The World Health Organization has given limited approval for the use of DDT in malarial regions. In Africa, the exception allows only indoor use. This is like protecting your body from danger by only half.)

Rachel Carson was well aware of the importance of DDT in the fight against malaria, but was quick to point out the disadvantage: acquired immunity. After 6-7 years, the mosquito population acquires similar immunity to DDT. However, this applies to all pesticides and is not a reason to avoid DDT. Moreover, we know that the effectiveness, although decreasing, is still quite noticeable. Adapted mosquito populations are 63% susceptible, versus 87% susceptible for unadapted populations. Even in adapted populations, DDT remains an extremely effective repellent. In houses treated with DDT, all mosquitoes, adapted or non-adapted, are killed.

But, like all synthetic drugs, DDT is blamed for all possible human diseases. Some say it causes cancer, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, infertility and more. The World Health Organization classifies DDT as "moderately hazardous," and in response to extensive and conflicting testing, the US Environmental Protection Agency classifies DDT as a "possible carcinogen." Claims of inevitable disease from DDT use do not correspond to experiments. Of course, you should not come into contact with the synthetic substance unless necessary. And the point here is not about science, but about the degree of possible risks.

DDT has its place and its current use is within the bounds of what is necessary. The exception is Africa, where the benefits of DDT greatly outweigh the disadvantages. In the author's opinion, sponsors should relax and let local experts make the final decision on the use of DDT. For most of the rest of the world, DDT has been replaced by newer and improved pesticides where there is no need to put the environment at risk. Scientific revision almost always leads to more judicious use and, in the author's opinion, attitudes towards DDT require reconsideration.

Fighting epidemics with DDT spraying

Why is DDT dangerous?

The main danger of DDT is that it accumulates in living organisms. DDT is highly soluble in fats and very poorly soluble in water. Therefore, it is deposited in adipose tissue. And all living things in the world are part of food chains of varying lengths. And in each link of such a chain, the concentration of DDT increases approximately 10 times.

This means that if the silt at the bottom of the river contained a certain amount of DDT, then the algae that grew in this place will already contain a 10-fold dose of this substance. Those who feed on algae (the microscopic crustaceans Daphnia) will receive in their tiny bodies a 100-fold increase in the dose of what was in the sludge. The bodies of fish that feed on zooplankton will contain a 1000-fold dose of a substance that is no longer harmless (in such and such quantities!). In predatory fish that eat other inhabitants of the river, the excess of the initial dose in their bodies will already reach 10 thousand. It is easy to imagine what will happen to the body of a person who eats such fish.

The accumulation of DDT in the bodies of living inhabitants does not occur in one place, but where these inhabitants are brought - zooplankton, algae, animals, birds and fish can migrate throughout the world. This is not tied to a sewage source or toxic waste dump. Considering that DDT does not break down for many years, its active use threatens all life on the planet.

How to choose the right product

Before purchasing powder to combat parasites, you need to determine exactly what bugs have infested your home. Signs of the presence of insects:

Bites on the body. They look like large red blisters and are accompanied by itching and swelling.
Bedbug waste is brown grains.
Blood stains on the bed, they appear when a person crushes bedbugs at night.
An unpleasant odor is felt in places where insects are suspected to accumulate.

Bedbug bites are often confused with allergies.

Bedbugs can also be found in bed frames - their most common habitat.

Bedbugs can often be seen in furniture, crevices and cracks.

Once you are sure that bedbugs are visiting you at night, you can purchase powder. Tips for buying dust:

Take contact dust, otherwise it will be useless.
Choose the brand that suits the price.
Despite the fact that dust is used economically, you need to calculate how much is needed to treat the entire area. For a one-room apartment you will need 4-5 sachets of 50 grams each.

Read the information on the packaging carefully. If there are small children or pets in the house, then not all dusts will be suitable. Some of them are toxic.

End of the DDT era

DDT was so effective and seemed so safe that it was used throughout the world in huge quantities, without thinking about the possible consequences. Environmentalists were the first to sound the alarm after the publication of Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring,” which spoke about the harmful effects of dust on birds. However, incorrect use of the data led to the fact that those birds that were much less sensitive to the effects of DDT than others became the main focus of the study. As a result, the final understanding of the dangers of DDT for humanity came late.

Soon, by the way, it was discovered that nature does not stand still - just a few years after the start of the active use of DDT, it turned out that insects were learning to resist it: flies appeared that were not affected by even 10-fold doses of the dust.

Sweden was the first to ban the use of DDT, back in 1969. Behind her, a gradually wave of bans swept across the world. The WHO did not officially restrict the use of DDT; it simply stopped funding its use in countries where DDT had become a panacea for infectious diseases spread by insects.

However, in the 1970s, the ban on the use of dust in some tropical countries was lifted, and the substance is still used to kill mosquitoes that spread such severe pathologies as malaria, dengue fever and Zika fever. For example, in South Africa, without the use of DDT, the incidence of malaria instantly increases several times. Of course, now it is not sprayed from airplanes over cities and plantations, but is used locally, in the form of aerosols for spraying the walls of houses once a year. According to observational data, DDT in such concentrations does not cause harm to humans.

conclusions

DDT is a striking example of the fact that not a single substance, even the most remarkable in its effect, should be used widely until all possible aspects of its use have been studied, including its impact on the ecology and the environment around us.

What instead of DDT, or modern dust?

Currently, powder insecticides (“dust”) continue to be used, but use other chemical compounds.

Once again, DUST is not a drug or an active substance. Powder is called dust; it is a finely ground mixture of active substance and filler.

Talc, pyrophyllite, chalk, kaolin, gypsum, tripoli, silica gel and various clays are used as fillers. The most convenient are pyrophyllite and talc, which adhere better to plants.

The content of the active substance in the dust depends on its activity and purpose and is usually 1-10%. The active ingredients for modern powder insecticides are:

FOS (organophosphorus compounds). They have been put into circulation since 1965 to replace DDT, hexachlorane and other organochlorine compounds. FOS turned out to be easy to synthesize and highly effective against insects; they are currently actively used. Among the active ingredients of insecticides of this group, produced in the form of powders, are MALTHION (“Karbofos”), CHLORPYRIPHOS (preparations of the “Clean House” brand), etc.
Inorganic substances , for example, BORIC ACID (“Baf, Dust”, “Bifetrin”, “Phenaxin”), ZINC PHOSPHIDE (“Ratox”, “Commando”), SODIUM TETRABORATE/BOROX (“AntiAnt, P”), etc.
Bacterial bases , for example, powder “Lepidocid” or “Bitoxibacillin”.
Neonicotinoids are nitromethylene heterocyclic compounds (artificial nicotine), for example, the drug “Stozhar, RP”.
Pyrethroids , for example, the powder preparation “Fas-Double for ants” or the well-known drug “Iskra”, etc.
Vegetable base ( tobacco). Preparations - “Antitlin, P”, “Tabazol, P”, “Tobacco dust, P”, etc.
Phenylpyrazoles . Among this group, the leading place is occupied by FIPRONIL. For example, drugs - “HECTOR powder for ants”, “HECTOR powder for bedbugs”, etc.

READ MORE: “Boric acid for ants and cockroaches (FOUR basic recipes and ready-made preparations)”

Directions for use and packaging

On a mass scale, DDT is used in two ways. The first method is the spraying of chemical agents, from spray bottles to light aircraft. The second method is to use DDT in powder form in the form of a substance better known as “dust.” Until the mid-2000s, it was widely available in Russia.

Aspects of use and precautions

When using the drug, you should adhere to certain rules, not forgetting about your own safety. It is important to remember that dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is extremely dangerous and toxic.

Relevance of pesticide use

The pesticide DDT is especially effective in the following situations:

in the fight against flying insects that carry various diseases, including malaria;
against pests affecting food and industrial crops;
to rid territories of locust infestations;
when treating domestic animals from all kinds of parasites.

The manufacturer recommends storing dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane in a dry and dark place at room temperature. It is important to exclude contact of DDT with products; children’s access to the chemical is also strictly prohibited. Before use, make sure the expiration date is up to date.

Rules for treating open areas with the drug

When treating exposed areas, the following factors should be considered:

work is carried out in protective clothing;
An eye mask and a hat are required;
upon completion of treatment, shake off DDT from clothes, take a shower and change into a clean set;
optimal temperature: +20-22°C, the weather should be calm;
There should be no pets nearby during treatment.

Work with reliable protection

Using the substance at home

Processing is carried out in the following order:

All unnecessary items are removed from the premises - furniture, food, etc. It is important to take care of personal protection - work is carried out with gloves and a respirator.
It is better to treat surfaces with a brush. To begin with, apply the pesticide to the backs of carpets, thresholds and cladding panels, after which they move on to furniture and ventilation items. It is important not to forget about upholstered furniture and all kinds of joints and gaps.
After treatment, wait approximately 3-4 hours - it is not recommended to stay indoors during this period. After applying dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, wash your hands thoroughly and change into clean clothes.
Upon return, ventilate the room. Smooth surfaces are cleaned using a soda-soap solution. Work is also performed with gloves. Upholstered furniture is cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane does not need to be removed from hard-to-reach places - this way it will continue its protective effect in the future.

Liquid preparations

This is a very broad and most commonly used group of insecticides. In particular, bedbug repellents are most effective in this form . Liquid preparations can be presented:

suspensions and emulsions,
aqueous solutions,
soluble powders (such products must be additionally prepared, namely, diluted before use),
gels, etc.

The undoubted advantage of all these products is the ability to process both horizontal and vertical surfaces . Some of them, when dry, form a film that continues to act on pests for some time. Others have insecticidal activity when sprayed. In this case, the holding time of the solution is quite short. After this treatment, all surfaces are washed to remove the insecticide.

Application of gels

One of the most modern methods of fighting insects, in particular cockroaches, are gels. We talked about them in this article: KNOW-HOW: a modern method of exterminating cockroaches! Some of the benefits of this form of the drug are as follows:

non-fluidity,
ease of application,
the ability to dose the volume of drops,
application on any surfaces: both horizontal and vertical,
non-toxic for people and animals,
the ability to apply the drug in hard-to-reach places,
precision of application, and therefore economical use of the product,
no need to wash surfaces after treatment,
prolonged (i.e. long-term) action, etc.

These drugs have already proven their effectiveness . Especially if these are professional products. In addition to poisons and additional substances, gels usually contain attractants - chemical compounds that attract insects. It is they who, to a greater extent, ensure the high effectiveness of these drugs.