No, it was found in the deep woods for many years but made its way out to more populated areas ever since they stopped spraying DDT to kill mosquitoes.
As a kid growing up, I remember the low flying DC-3’s that were used for mosquito control.
I also remember the large truck mounted fans with sprayers attached the city would use to spray the trees along the street. It was similar to this: https://chinabesttruck.com/2018/04/22/china-pesticide-spraying-vehicle/amp/
But was bigger and mounted on an old military truck.
I remember those trucks and the smell too. What did they spray?