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History

A short history of U.S. pest control

Modern pest control began with DDT, developed in the 1940s as the first of the modern synthetic insecticides and used with great effect against malaria, typhus and other insect-borne diseases before spreading to farms, homes and gardens.[1]

The short answer

  • 1940s: DDT arrives; house flies resistant to it are confirmed by 1947.[1][4]
  • 1962: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring stirs public concern about improper pesticide use. 1970: EPA is formed and takes over pesticide regulation from USDA.[1]
  • 1972: EPA cancels DDT because of harm to wildlife and potential human health risks.[1]
  • 1996: the Food Quality Protection Act sets a 'reasonable certainty of no harm' standard and extra protection for children; registration review, begun in 2006, re-examines each pesticide about every 15 years.[3]

DDT's rise and fall

DDT's quick success and broad use led many insect pests to develop resistance. USDA, which regulated pesticides before EPA existed, began prohibiting many DDT uses in the late 1950s and 1960s as evidence mounted of declining benefits and environmental and toxicological effects.[1]

DDT is very persistent, accumulates in fatty tissue and can travel long distances in the upper atmosphere. Its levels in the environment and animals have fallen since U.S. use stopped, but residues from historical use remain, and it is classified as a probable human carcinogen.[1]

The Stockholm Convention bans DDT worldwide except for a limited exemption for controlling malaria mosquitoes.[1]

FIFRA: every pesticide registered

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act authorizes EPA to regulate the distribution, sale and use of pesticides. With certain exceptions, every pesticide sold in the U.S. must be registered, and the applicant must show that using it according to specifications will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.[2]

That registration is why the label is legally enforceable: using a product inconsistently with its labeling violates federal law.[5]

The Food Quality Protection Act

  • Passed unanimously and signed August 3, 1996, it amended FIFRA and the food and drug law and fundamentally changed how EPA regulates pesticides.[3]
  • EPA must consider children's special susceptibility with an extra tenfold safety factor unless data support a different one, and weigh combined exposure from food, water and home use.[3]
  • EPA reassessed 9,721 existing tolerances within 10 years and revoked or modified almost 4,000 of them.[3]
  • The law created periodic review; since 2006 EPA aims to review each pesticide's registration every 15 years.[3]

What it means today

Registration review still reshapes products on store shelves. Recent examples on PCB include new label limits on bifenthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin products, and California restricting outdoor non-agricultural neonicotinoids to certified applicators since January 1, 2025.[6][7][8]

Resistance remains the other constant: with each new insecticide class, resistance has appeared in some key pests within 2 to 20 years.[4]

Sources

  1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “DDT - A Brief History and Status.” www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status (accessed 2026-10-06)
  2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Summary of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (updated February 23, 2026).” www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act (accessed 2026-10-06)
  3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Summary of the Food Quality Protection Act.” www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-food-quality-protection-act (accessed 2026-10-06)
  4. Insecticide Resistance Action Committee, “Introduction to Resistance.” irac-online.org/about/resistance/ (accessed 2026-10-06)
  5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Introduction to Pesticide Labels.” www.epa.gov/pesticide-labels/introduction-pesticide-labels (accessed 2026-10-06)
  6. U.S. EPA Pesticide Product Label System, “Bifenthrin TC (alternate name Bifen I/T) label, EPA Reg. No. 53883-118 (EPA-stamped, Sept. 1, 2026).” www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/ppls/053883-00118-20260901.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
  7. U.S. EPA Pesticide Product Label System, “Demand CS Insecticide label, EPA Reg. No. 100-1066 (EPA-stamped, Jan. 28, 2026).” www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/ppls/000100-01066-20260128.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
  8. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Home and Landscape Pesticide Active Ingredients Database: imidacloprid.” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/pesticide-active-ingredients-database/active-ingredient-details/?uaiKey=22 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-06. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.