[Squawk 8888]

One concern: what does DDT do to pollinating insects such as bees? Is there such a thing as too much of it?

Not good for them, which is why proper pest management know-how is vital to farmers. Indiscriminate spraying of DDT or any other pesticide can do more harm than good on a farm, which is why most farmers spray at specific times of the year and use products that break down quickly. The problem with DDT in agriculture is that it lingers, the same characteristic that makes it ideal for use in homes to eradicate disease-carrying insects.

[HiTech RedNeck]

A few years ago I was in an area which was truck sprayed with permethrins for mosquitoes. The literature from the company that did the spraying claimed that the droplet size of the spray was such that it would target mosquitoes but leave bigger insects virtually unharmed. According to this literature, permethrins don't directly kill mosquitoes, but they cause the mosquitoes' legs to come off so they can't land and suck blood, and so they starve to death. Permethrins are also supposedly harmless to mammals in the amounts used for mosquito control.