Pesticides and Pest Control

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Pesticides and Pest Control
By Brian Kaestner with thanks to Miller and
Clements
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What is a pesticide?
What are the different types of pesticides?

• Broad-spectrum agents

• Narrow-spectrum agents

• Target species

• Nontarget species

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In your groups come up with 3 characteristics
of a ideal pesticide.
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Characteristics of an Ideal Pesticide?

• Kill only target pests

• Harm no other species

• Break down quickly

• Not cause genetic resistance

• Be more cost-effective than doing nothing

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Add to your listPresent a case for using
pesticides
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The Case for Pesticides

• Save human lives

• Increase supplies and lower cost of food

• Work better and faster than alternatives

• Health risks may be insignificant compared to
  benefits

• Newer pesticides are becoming safer

• New pesticides are used at lower rates

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Now come up with a list against pesticides
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The Case Against Pesticides

• Genetic resistance

• Can kill nontarget/natural control species

• Can cause an increase in other pest species

• pesticide treadmill

• Pesticides do not stay

• Bioaccumulation/biomagnification

• Potential human health threats

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Pesticide Regulation in the United States ?

• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
  Act (FIFRA) 1947

• Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)
• 1996

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What is IPM ?

• Ecological system approach

• Reduce pest populations to economic threshold

• Field monitoring of pest populations

• Use of biological agents

• Chemical pesticides are last resort

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Effects of IPM