Chapter Four 



. 



DDT Formulations 



From Laboratory to You 



xTlCCORDING to the old words of wisdom, 

 everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything 

 about it. Likewise, everybody talks about DDT but few 

 know what they are talking about. They spray with DDT 

 and they sprinkle DDT powder around, without realizing the 

 fact — which they could readily determine by reading the la- 

 bel — that their sprays or powders are formulations of which 

 DDT is only one of the ingredients, and a minor one at that 

 in terms of weight percentage. Pure DDT is never used as 

 an insecticide: it is always incorporated with other substances, 

 either aaive or inert, in order to give the best produa for the 

 particular job. And if you use the wrong formulation for 

 your particular job, don't blame the DDT if you don't get 

 satisfactory results. 



It is true that when DDT formulations were first 

 dropped into the outstretched arms of a waiting public, some 

 unscrupulous companies, taking advantage of the tremendous 

 publicity that DDT had received, duped the citizens by put- 

 ting out products with insufficient DDT to do the jobs 

 claimed. But the U. S. Government as well as the various 

 states have names for such operators and have clamped 

 down on their aaivities. Since all inseaicides sold must 



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