Mankind has long battled with pests throughout history. Today we use pesticides and intergrated programs to prevent and solve pest issues. But where does this modern pest control come from? What did civilization do in the past to prevent insects and rodents?
Below is a brief history of pest control and where the complicated history of man vs pests began.
Ancient Bugs
Long has insects been represented as pests, before knowing the exact science behind germs and disease ancient societies associated insects with filth, misery and death. The actual first mention of insects cohabiting with people was the Ancient Babylonians. Their god of pestilence and death, Nergal, was usually depicted with flies and locusts.In Egypt, the Egyptian god Khepri, Ra as the rising sun, was often depicted as a scarab beetle or as a scarab beetle-headed man. Egyptians for this reason would take the scarab beetle as the representation of rebirth and regeneration.
Ancient Pest Control
As agriculture emerged, villages became cities and as the population grew so did pest problems. This is when the first uses of pest control tactics emerged. An example of such was the Egyptians, who employed the use cats to control pest of grain storage and stop rodents from eating their crops. The earliest record of using a “pesticide” or chemical compound to deal with insects was in 2500 BC when the Ancient Sumerians used sulfur compounds repel/kill insects and deal with insect bites. The Ancient romans took this a step further and understood that filth lead to disease, pests and rodents. The roman would enforce actually enforce strict codes of cleanliness regarding local water and dwellings. Unfortunately, with fall of Rome these codes of conduct and pest control fell into history too. Soon humans would deal with the biggest outbreak of disease Europe would endure all thanks to the fleas carried by the rat.
The first Exterminators
Pest control during the middle ages was not an exact science. In the middle ages, “rat catchers and mouse catchers” were hired professionals to rid of rodents in cities. Their methods usually included a plank and stick as a trap(not the most effective traps) and hunting methods. Constantly surrounded by filth and disease, a lot of these rat catchers would succumb to sickness. They would also use different chemicals of plants to repel rodents and employ the use of felines to control mice. Unfortunately, this was a one sided battle as the common street during the middle ages were filled with garbage and waste. The streets were the playgrounds of rodents and fleas. These fleas would act as vectors of disease carrying the bubonic plague, which spread quickly through Europe, wiping out 1/3 of the population at the time. After the black plague sanitation became part of the arsenal of pest control and in the 1500s Queen Elizabeth would decree public areas to be clean and not cluttered with filth.
Barbers would also play an important role of pest control, many jacks of all trades, this would include the relief from biting insects. Not only would be they be able to give haircuts and rudimentary dentistry(yikes!) but people would go to them to have unwanted bugs in their hair, such as lice and fleas, removed.
The first recorded official pest control company was founded in 1695 by the name of Tiffon and Son. And by the 1800s “rat catchers” and exterminators became a thriving profession, armed with better techniques. The importance of pest control started to become apparent and companies started using chemicals and dogs to hunt down rats and to rid of rodent activity in cities.
19th Century and the near future
During the 19th century the use of pesticides became more prevalent in dealing with pests. The first generation of modern pesticides were vastly different from today. The use of chemicals such as arsenic and hydrogen cyanide, proved to be too ineffective and dangerous. The second generation of pesticides started to appear in the 1930s and 40s and were more effective compared to older chemicals used. This generation was used quite often to delouse soldiers during WW2 and fight against mosquitos in neighborhoods. DDT was a common chemical used, trucks would ride down the beaches pouring out large plums of pesticides. This would still affect non-targeted creatures and cause impact the environment.
During the 1970s arose the golden age of pest control, and regulations were put into place to protect the public, the environment and the employees using them. The FDA became increasingly involved with regulating and approving pesticide compounds and pest professionals were then required to be licensed and certified to practice any forms of pest control, at least within the U.S. These regulations have led to where we are today in pest control, green initiatives, “integrated pest management,” and safer, chemically-tested pesticides are all part of the 21st century’s pest management arsenal and are regularly used by exterminators all over the world.