What did they used to blanket spray in the past, was it corn fields with an airplane? I'm just curious.
About anything and everything Username.
What a lot of younger people don't realise now, is the history of widespread pesticide use is actually pretty recent, and the learning curve has been steep. The one that is now the poster child for misuse, DDT, was not even much used till after the second world war. It was at first considered like a wonder drug. Crop productivity per acre doubled or tripled, and armies of diligent housewives who carpet sprayed their houses with it completely exterminated bed bugs in the USA, which had formerly been endemic and uncontrollable. It's only the last few years that (now) resistant bed bugs have re invaded with returning travelers.
Following the success of DDT, a host of other pesticides were developed. At first there was little to no understanding of health risks and dangers to the environment. It took time to discover that some of them were carcinogens, and all kinds of other bad things. As safer and safer pesticides are developed, the older, dangerous ones are gradually retired.
My bees are a lot safer now, than when I started beekeeping around 50 years ago.
To see how things were blanket sprayed, how ignorant people were, why bees suffered, and how much things have changed for the better, check this video, shot in the 1960's.
I'll stick with sensible use of neonicitinoids thanks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dDy0o3IIpk