The following is part of a series of historical articles which appeared in Iowa State’s college newspaper. This article about Iowa State’s research work with the insecticide DDT appeared in the Wednesday, May 24, 1944 issue of the Iowa State Daily Student. Subsequently by the 1960s it was discovered that DDT was hazardous to the environment, especially for the thinning of egg shells. Rachel Carson predicted the hazards of DDT and other chemicals in her book “Silent Spring,” but many experts ignored her. By the early 1970s the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT in the United States.

As sensational in its field as wonder-working penicillin, the new miracle insecticide DDT is another research project of Iowa State scientists.

Used in a spray, DDT will make walls toxic to flies for as long as 3 months after application. The innocent-looking yellow powder is deadly to almost every insect but harmless to man if properly handled.

Iowa State research, directed by Dr. Oscar Tauber and Willis N. Bruce, of the Zoology and Entomology Department, has centered around the insecticide’s effect on fleas. A small quantity of it, applied to the sides of a test tube, proved to be fatal to fleas placed in the tube. DDT’s lethal action survived repeated washings.

Delousing powder

Developed by the United States Department of Agriculture entomologists through research initiated by the army’s surgeon general, the insecticide is widely used as a “delousing” powder by the armed forces. A single application keeps lice away for a month. Used in a special solution to impregnate underwear, DDT is effective for two months even though the clothing is laundered once a week during that period.

A carefully guarded secret until powder carried by captured American prisoners gave the secret away, DDT has been standard issue for all soldiers headed for the louse-infected front since the summer of 1943. Ironically enough, a German chemist was first to synthesize the chemical 70 years ago, but neither he nor the Swiss firm which patented it as a moth-killer realized DDT’s potential power.

Jawbreaking title

DDT, which bears the jawbreaking title of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, can be applied by means of a hand or powder duster or merely by sifting the powder onto the clothing. An object of derision to civilians, the cootie or body louse is the foremost carrier of the most virulent form of typhus, a fever which killed more than 2 million men during the first world war. The new insecticide is expected to save as many lives as any single discovery of this war, said Dr. Carl J. Drake, head of the Zoology and Entomology Department.

Three times as powerful as citronella, yet invisible and nearly odorless, DDT has a bright future as an insect-repellent for postwar civilians. All supplies now are controlled by the armed forces, and samples are difficult to obtain, even for research purposes.

The postwar householder merely will spray a dose of DDT on his walls to ensure immunity to lice, flies, and mosquitoes, to some extent, ticks, chiggers and many other insect pests. The insect who ventures on a DDT-treated surface meets instant death. Although technically poisonous to human beings, the insecticide may be used freely with only a few simple precautions. Highly selective, DDT has no effect upon spiders.

Iowa State entomologists this summer will test DDT on several truck crop and household insects. They will spray it in cattlebarns and houses to gauge its effects on common insect pests.