Exterior of house at 2701 No. 29th St., fogging machine in operation, South Tacoma Roofing & Appliance. A view of the fogging machine that exploded DDT in a white fog substance being used to fumigate a North End house. Since as early as the 1890's governments and agriculturists had been concerned about arsenic and lead arsenate used as insecticides having dangerous health effects on humans. The issue had become a political issue in the 1920's and 1930's in America when the FDA's gain was seen as agriculturists' loss. When DDT was developed little was known about its toxicity. During WWII the US Army had used DDT to subdue louse-borne typhus in Europe and mosquito-borne malaria in the Pacific and it was used so freely as even to replace rice at wedding ceremonies. ("Before Silent Spring", James Whorton, 1974)

Pest control--Tacoma--1940-1950; DDT (Insecticide)--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fumigation--Tacoma; Poisons; South Tacoma Appliance & Roofing Co. (Tacoma);

Two men are using the TIFA (Todd Insecticidal Fog Applicator) to rid this North end home of pesty insects. The DDT fog is said to be completely safe; it looks and feels like white smoke; the fog has a pleasant odor, makes nothing wet, and does not stain anything. This new product and service is featured in the June 1948 issue of "Better Homes & Gardens" and the July 19, 1948 issue of "Life" magazines. The articles explain the benefits to choosing fog DDT, including dairy cows being sprayed, people eating in fog and children playing in fog. Photo ordered by South Tacoma Appliance and Roofing Company.

Pest control--Tacoma; Fumigants; Fumigation--Tacoma; Smoke--Tacoma; Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; DDT (Insecticide)--Tacoma; South Tacoma Appliance & Roofing Co. (Tacoma);

In 1948, fog spraying was the new way to kill every type of pest in a person's home; the fogging machines were adapted from World War II smoke screen generators. The bug-killing spray was generated by a blast of hot gas that explodes DDT into a white fog which was blown into the house. The commonly used equipment was the TIFA (Todd Insecticidal Fog Applicator). At this time, fourteen years before Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" was published, fogging was believed to be completely safe, unlike DDT dust or direct DDT spray. View of "Bugmobile" Custom Fogging machine in operation on July 30, 1948 at a North End Tacoma home. Photo ordered by South Tacoma Appliance and Roofing Company.

Pest control--Tacoma; Fumigants; Fumigation--Tacoma; Smoke--Tacoma; Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; DDT (Insecticide)--Tacoma; South Tacoma Appliance & Roofing Co. (Tacoma);