Matthew Green has decided to take a stand. He was recently elected to represent the 3rd Ward of Hamilton, Canada on the city’s council. According to The Hamilton Spectator, during his campaign he noticed large bed bug populations in city apartment complexes. While going door-to-door in one complex, he noticed bed bugs were crawling on some people’s skin. His solution to the problem? Consider the use of DDT. The decision, while controversial, certainly deserves some consideration.

The substance successfully killed mosquitoes that carried malaria in which by doing so, cases of the sickness went down drastically prior to the insecticide being outlawed. Some countries, such as South Africa, have been using DDT and the cases on malaria in places that do plummet.

Unfortunately, the science was not on his side. A Canadian Broadcasting Company report on using DDT was released soon after Green’s position on using DDT to kill bed bugs was made public. The report quotes some experts who state the insects build an immunity against every new substance used against them at some point. None-the-less, Council member Green deserves credit for bringing attention not just to his city’s bed bug problem but also for raising the issue about DDT. He was able to point out Canada’s ban on the insecticide that was backed by environmentalists gets in the way of using it as an option.