Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an insecticide used in agriculture. The United States banned the use of DDT in 1972. Some countries outside the United States still use DDT to control of mosquitoes that spread malaria.

Is DDT still used today?

DDT is still used today in South America, Africa, and Asia for this purpose. Farmers used DDT on a variety of food crops in the United States and worldwide. ... The reason why DDT was so widely used was because it is effective, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and lasts a long time in the environment (2).

Is DDT still used in 2020?

OSLO (Reuters) - The United Nations announced a plan Wednesday to rid the world by around 2020 of DDT, an outlawed toxic crop pesticide still used to spray homes to fight malaria-spreading mosquitoes. ... But exemptions have been allowed in many developing nations because it so effective in killing mosquitoes.