North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jwlehman@aol.com]

Don't forget the mosquito also carries West Nile Virus in this country. We have a great nephew who at the age of 4 was transmitted a virus by a mosquito here in Indiana, developed encephalitis and spent months in the best children's hospitals. He will be severely developmentally depressed the rest of his life. He cannot speak, cannot use his fingers, has an attention span of about 15 seconds. Severe front lobule brain damage. If you could ask him I'll bet he would favor the use of DDT even at the expense of a few birds with weak egg shells.

Now do you want the ironic part? West Nile Virus is killing thousands of birds. How do they get it?  Mosquitos! 

Thanks Don Yellman for your input. 

I know I'm preaching to a lot of purely organic folks here and many of you are/were 
my friends.   

As a child I remember when DDT first came out in the 1940s.  Dad purchased a can or aerosol DDT. I'll bet the concentrate was high. The can malfunctioned and get it all over his hands. I remember I cried because I thought it would kill him just as it kills house flies. Absolutely no effect and he lived another 50 years and continued to use DDT around the farm until it was mistakenly removed from the market.   

Chlordane is another that received a bum rap. Best control ever for termites. Had a long half life, protected from termites a long time, like years if dry. 
Personal belief: Competing chemical companies couldn't sell their products so they gave it a bum rap and had it outlawed. The plant where it was manufactured was made only a few miles from here, Paris, IL. Employee mortality or illness was not a problem. Loosing their jobs was a problem when the plant shut down. Biggest problem was objectionable odor when driving past the plant.  Bring back Chlordane but use today's application methods. But then "The Bug Man" wouldn't be able to sell homeowners monthly maintenance plans to replenish short lived pest controls. Even Dow now sells more of the replacement chemicals. 

OK, have at me! You will still be my friend.