Wartime rat control, rodent ecology, and the rise and fall of chemical rodenticides [An article from: Endeavour]

This digital document is a journal article from Endeavour, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The story of how World War II stimulated the development of DDT, and the ensuing postwar dependence on such chemical insecticides, is well known. However, less recognition has been given to the wartime efforts to synthesize new rodenticides to fight rat-borne epidemics. Baltimore, Maryland served as the site for field tests of the powerful new compound alpha napthyl thiourea (ANTU) from 1942-1946. This experimental campaign sparked debates over the efficacy of controlling rats via chemical warfare instead of environmental sanitation, which led to the ironic conclusion that urban rat control demanded an ecological, rather than technological, approach.