Recent reports have shown that rat populations are exploding in Washington, DC and Detroit (Rodent Reports Increase In DC and Vermin Complaints Soar In Metro Detroit) due to the mild winter. In Detroit, the mild weather combines with the halting of a highway-side rat baiting program that had held the problem in check for years, it was halted due to legal liability concerns--yet another instance of the weakening of our defences against pests and parasites. Some in DC are banding together to make war on rats and try to get something done about it (Washingtonians Against Rats). New York is also fighting its rats out of control (Rats Rampage At KFC and New York Tackles Its Gnawing Rat Problem) as is Seattle (Chilly Rats Want a Cozy Home).
The increase in rats can be expected everywhere, and with them will come the Rat Mites. In the 1950s, these mites were known to mainly infest rats and people in the Southern States (see Pratt in my post "Academic Research on Tropical Rat Mites"), but now they are making their way up to Oregon, Washington State, and British Colombia (Reports of Rat Mites on the Rise, Seatle)--and most likely in many other places that have not yet realized what hit them.
(I actually wonder if many of the cases of mite infestation in the last two years might not be this increase of rats and spread of rat mites due to mild weather or perhaps the weather has a similar effect on pigeons and bird mites.)
Also, Bed Bug infestations have risen exponentially in all 50 states and they are more resistant than ever. Just between 2000 and 2005 pest control companies saw a 71% increase in bed bug complaints (Bed Bugs Bounce Back: Outbreaks in All 50 States). Some scientists are not only pointing out that people in Third World countries die from Malaria because DDT is not used, but that Malaria and the mosquitos that spread them will spread into Europe and the United States, killing thousands (Bring Back DDT: Overspraying Made DDT Look Worse Than It Deserved).
If I may say so, it is time that a movement starts to build up to stop this insanity. DDT wiped out bed bugs once, it can do it again. It wiped out malaria once, it can do it again. And it can help all those who struggle day after day with the loneliness and distress of mite infestations that destroy lives and waste fortunes.
While our safety procedures and technology have improved, our pesticides have weakened (see Bed Bug article above). It is time to combine modern safety with the strongest pesticide known to humankind, DDT. This could be extended to other pesticides as well. Why create regulations for Malathion and other pesticides that have recently been targeted for either bans or too tight restrictions?
Inform the users/clients of the risks, take the necessary precautions and allow them to take responsibility for themselves. The stress and loss from these long term and traumatic pest infestations (Acariasis is a disease) may already be shortening our lives--it has definately affected our quality and dignity of life--shouldn't we weigh this in the risk consideration?
Further Reading
FrontPageMag 2005: Bring Back DDT-Congressional Hearing
EcoWorld 2004: Bring Back DDT: Overspraying Made DDT Look Worse Than It Deserved
21st Century Science and Technology 2002: Bring Back DDT and Science With It
Spiked Science 2001: Without DDT, Malaria Bites Back
Fox News 2002: DDT Could Thwart West Nile Virus
The Hindu 2006: Banned DDT Back to Fight Dengue (An Indian state lifts ban to save lives.)
Gus van Horn 2007: So Bring Back DDT Already!
