FLY SWATTERS MAKE A STYLISH COMEBACK
By Harry KatzThe fly swatter is back, only this time with an upbeat flair.
A July 25 article in the Sun Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, describes a resumption of sales of the original alternative to pesticides, the fly swatter. Only this time, they can cost as much as $10.50 each. Pictured in the article is the Dr. Skud fly swatter, an elegantly designed showpiece that stands on three legs and comes in colors to match the decor of the kitchen.
I remember back in the 1920s when house flies were so bad that we had to shoo them out with a towel before swatting the remainders with a 10-cent fly swatter. Often these swatters were handed out free by local merchants with ads on the handle.
Higher living standards and better sanitation reduced the fly menace to insignificant levels. Now, thanks to the loss of some of our pesticides and to resistance, the house fly is slowly making a comeback.
EPA ISSUES PESTICIDE SALES ESTIMATES
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its biennial report Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage, 1996 and 1997 Market Estimates, which tracks the amount of pesticides sold and used in the United States.
According to the report, overall pesticide usage in the U.S. did not change significantly throughout the last two years of data, increasing 2 percent in 1996, but decreasing 1 percent in 1997.
In 1997, the most recent year for which data is available, 4.63 billion pounds of pesticides were used at a cost of $11.9 billion, with nearly 75 percent of the use and sales occurring in the agricultural market.
The "industrial/government/commercial" market segment, which structural pest control is included, used 129 million pounds of pesticides in 1997 at a cost of $1.53 billion — 13 percent of total pesticide sales.
Other facts and figures from the report include:
• A total of about 890 active ingredients are registered as pesticides.
• In the United States in a typical year, 4.5 billion pounds of
chemicals are used as pesticides (measured on the basis of
active ingredient).
• In 1997, 28 new active ingredients were registered as pesticides
under FIFRA and 24 were registered in 1996. Of these new active
ingredients, two-thirds were biological or other reduced-risk
pesticides.
• EPA estimates there are 35,000 to 40,000 commercial pest control
firms in the United States.
• 74 million out of 100 million households used pesticides of some
kind, whether applied by the homeowner or by a professional.
• The U.S. contains a total of 374,888 non-agricultural certified
pesticide applicators. EPA Region 4 (the Southeast) contains the
most applicators, with 76,518. EPA Region 5 (the Midwest) is
second with 65,719 certified applicators and EPA Region 9
(California, Nevada and New Mexico) completes the top three with
50,623 certified applicators.