Gallery: Vintage Pesticide Paraphernalia From the Glory Days of DDT

  • Cedar wallpaper impregnated with DDT.
    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
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    Cedar wallpaper impregnated with DDT.
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    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
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    DDT-impregnated wallpaper with images of Donald Duck and Pluto (or Jack and Jill) were marketed to parents for the walls of their children's bedrooms.
  • Image may contain Human and Person
    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
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    The Cornelius sprayer touted its versatility. It could be used to kill insects---or apply suntan lotion and deodorant.
  • Image may contain Advertisement Poster Brochure Paper and Flyer
    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
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    No, roaches don't spread cancer. But this ad for Tanglefoot fly spray would have you believe otherwise.
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    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
    05

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    Ads and labels for DDT and other insecticides played up the supposed benefits for food crops and domestic animals.
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    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
    06

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    This ad in the Ladies Home Journal urges mothers to protect their sleeping babies by spraying FLY-TOX in the nursery.
  • An assortment of insecticide sprayers.
    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
    07

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    An assortment of insecticide sprayers.
  • Another look at one of the pesticide sprayers.
    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
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    Another look at one of the pesticide sprayers.
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    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
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    A vacuum cleaner attachment (the blue object at left), a plug-in fogger (center), and a garden hose attachment (green nozzle and yellow cartridges) for delivering DDT and other pesticides inside and outside the home. There was also a car-washing cartridge made for the hose attachment, but Allegretti didn't manage to get one of those for his collection.
  • A closer look at the Tanglefoot Difusor pesticide fogger.
    Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED
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    A closer look at the Tanglefoot "Difusor" pesticide fogger.
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