Science: DDT Down, 2,4-D Up

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had a mournful announcement to make: DDT, the wonderful insecticide that debugged World War II, is losing its effect against mosquitoes.

The first bad news had come from the Air Force, which for four years has been DDTing the marshes near Cocoa, Fla. with signal success. But this year, massed mosquito formations roared out of the swamps once again to puncture young & old. The Air Force fought back with more DDT, but it could not regain command of the air. The Department of Agriculture discovered that the Air...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!