What is the strongest weapon that exterminates the cockroaches that were occurring in large numbers?
The United States used to be plagued with cockroaches, with more than 2 billion living in New York alone. The Atlantic summarizes the strongest cockroach exterminator that saved America, a cockroach superpower.
The Cockroach Cure - The Atlantic
In the 1980s, cockroaches were rampant in American cities, with more than 2 billion in New York alone, but there was no good way to get rid of them. Cockroaches are treated as a public health emergency, and it has been pointed out since then that exposure to cockroaches can triple the risk of children being hospitalized for childhood asthma.
The insecticides that had been used until then had become almost ineffective due to the evolution of cockroaches, and although classic traps using adhesive could catch cockroaches, they were of little use in exterminating cockroaches. According to an NBC report at the time, there was an infestation of cockroaches at the U.S. Capitol Building, and 'cockroach attractants and electric grills' were used to exterminate them.
In 1985, Congressman Silvio Conte declared a war on cockroaches at the Capitol and announced that local businesses had donated 35,000 cockroach traps. Mr. Conte seems to have appealed to Mr. Ronald Reagan , the president of the United States at the time, ``Please join me in the war against cockroaches!'' This alone should give you an idea of how prevalent cockroaches were in America in the 1980s.
A plastic disk-shaped insecticide called ``Combat'' has revolutionized the never-ending battle against cockroaches. Combat cannot eliminate cockroaches, but it has succeeded in reducing the serious damage caused by cockroaches in American urban areas.
Austin Frischman, a very important person in the history of cockroach extermination and also known as ``Dr. Cockroach'', was a scientist working for a pesticide manufacturer called
At the time, Combat was different not only because cockroaches had developed resistance to insecticides, but also because it was a stationary insecticide. The black disk contains an attractant that tastes like oatmeal cookies, which cockroaches like, and can attract cockroaches. In a study to confirm the effectiveness of Combat, it was confirmed that although only 25% of the cockroaches ate the insecticide in Combat, the mortality rate was 100%.
Furthermore, since the insecticides used in combat are slow-acting poisons, it is clear that cockroaches that have not eaten the insecticide can be killed by infecting other cockroaches with the poison once they return to their nests. became. The main route for cockroaches that have not eaten insecticides to become infected is through cockroach feces, as cockroaches eat the feces of other cockroaches. In fact, it was only after Kombat's research that cockroaches were known to feed their feces to their larvae.
In other cases, cockroaches regurgitate their food and other cockroaches ingest the vomit and become infected. In addition, cockroaches feed on the corpses of other cockroaches, which can spread the infection.
Mr. Frischmann began experimenting with a slightly modified Kombat prototype for cockroaches in restaurants and diners. In fact, Mr. Frischmann, who found cockroaches in a small diner, installed the insecticide contained in Combat, and the cockroaches devoured it.
Mr. Frischmann will debut Combat at events in various locations, including Texas, Georgia, and New York, and eventually it will be used at the Capitol. Due to the response to Combat, American Cyanamid even aired a TV commercial for Combat.
Advertisement from the time for American Cyanamid Combat
Combat's efforts will definitely reduce the cockroach population across the United States. In fact, from 1988 to 1999, the number of cockroach complaints sent to federal buildings decreased by 93%. In addition, in a New York Times article published in 1991, the New York Housing Authority said, ``Now everyone is saying, 'Where have all the cockroaches gone?''' It can be seen that there has been a sharp decrease in
Cockroaches have drastically decreased due to combat, but in recent years it has been pointed out that they are becoming more resistant to combat. Although cockroaches were unable to acquire biological resistance to combat, they appear to be able to counter the threat posed by combat by demonstrating behavioral resistance. Cockroaches basically no longer like sweet foods, and as a result, the number of individuals that like to eat insecticides in Combat is decreasing.
As a result, it is believed that cockroaches are definitely more numerous than they were at one time. According to the Pest Management Association, the number of households with signs of cockroaches has increased from an estimated 13.1 million households in 2011 to 14.5 million households in 2021.
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