Locust Plagues and the Dieldrin Controversy

Gunn, D. L.

doi:10.1080/09670877509411386

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 8 publications

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“…To protect the health and lives of people, we often have to make value judgements. Thus in an actual case, I say we ought to use dieldrin, suitably applied, to control locust hoppers, even if there is a risk of killing an antelope or two and even if the harmless body-burden of dieldrin in man is increased locally (Gunn, 1975(Gunn, , 1975a. This is a subject of which I have personal knowledge having spent 15 years on locust research and control.…”

Section: Value Judgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presidential Address to the Royal Entomological Society of London

Gunn¹

1977

Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London, Serie

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Section: Value Judgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presidential Address to the Royal Entomological Society of London

Gunn¹

1977

Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London, Serie

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Systems and management: Strategies, systems, value judgements and dieldrin in control of locust hoppers

Gunn¹,

Tucker²,

Abdallahi³

et al. 1979

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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The physiology and field biology of locusts have been extensively studied, and ecological control of Red Locusts has been investigated by field experiment. No fruitful or even promising non-insecticidal method of control has emerged. An effective and economical system requires an insecticide that is: (i) effective at very small area dosages, as a stomach poison placed on the natural vegetation can be, if it is also cumulative; (ii) persistent enough in sunshine and rain to retain effectiveness over the locust's non-feeding periods; (iii) capable of being well distributed by well-tried methods; and (iv) not dangerous to users or consumers and posing a minimal overall risk. Only one insecticide, dieldrin, satisfies all these requirements. Dieldrin is not in the small class of insecticides that are dangerous to man by skin absorption (such as parathion, arsenicals, DNC) and, at the area dosages needed for locust control, is not dangerous to stock. The Sayer exhaust sprayer in a Land Rover, with work rates of the order of square kilometres per hour is excellent for many situations; aircraft spraying at he rate of square kilometres per minute is quicker and less subject to difficulties of terrain, but requires trained and appropriately directed aircrew. Apart from checking, aircraft methods require no party on the ground to find, assess and control locust hoppers. Several ideas about dieldrin are found to be based on insufficient evidence and are probably not true: for example that dieldrin in the atmosphere at a few parts in a million million (10(12)) becomes concentrated in a food web and harmful to man, or that dieldrin is carcinogenic in man. It is noteworthy, however, that one species of antelope in South Africa is exceptionally susceptible to dieldrin poisoning, though harm occurs at area dosages considerably greater than are required in the method of aircraft spraying of Courshee & McDonald (1963). To attack tsetse flies, emissions two orders of magnitude greater have been used. Care must be taken with any insecticide, but the risks of using dieldrin as properly used in locust hopper control have been exaggerated by propaganda. If harm is to be expected, then a quantitative comparison of that with the undoubted benefits of locust control is required to enable one to make a value judgement.

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The Effect of Dieldrin, Sprayed by Aerial Application for Tsetse Control, on Game Animals

Allsopp¹

1978

The Journal of Applied Ecology

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Locust Plagues and the Dieldrin Controversy

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

Presidential Address to the Royal Entomological Society of London

Presidential Address to the Royal Entomological Society of London

Systems and management: Strategies, systems, value judgements and dieldrin in control of locust hoppers

The Effect of Dieldrin, Sprayed by Aerial Application for Tsetse Control, on Game Animals

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