WHY ARE CALCULATIONS IMPORTANT? Using just the right amount of pesticide and fertilizer minimizes the potential for personal, property, or environmental damage and maximizes consumers’ return on the dollar. This page will assist you in selecting products and calculating application rates for pesticides and lawn and garden fertilizers commonly used around the home. (adapted from […]
pesticide
Pesticide Toxicity to Bees
As a general rule, insecticides are more toxic to honey bees than fungicides and herbicides, but most insecticides can be applied to crops with little or no hazard to bees. However, because honey bees are insects, they are highly sensitive to several types of insecticides and it is important to follow all label precautions. Most poisonings […]
Acknowledgments
Partial funding for this publication was made available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5. Support also was provided by the Branch of Extension and Publications, Office of Training and Education, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The senior author is extremely grateful to Richard Balcomb, Ciba Plant Protection, for his expertise and technical assistance; […]
Pesticide Impact on Wildlife Ecology
The term wildlife, as used here, shall include insects, spiders, mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and plants. Each species fills a certain niche, which includes its specific food, cover, water, space, and breeding site preferences. The location where a species can meet all of its living requirements becomes that species’ habitat. Wildlife habitats are not […]
Regulatory Review
Scientific Research and Regulatory Review of the Pesticide Label Each pesticide must receive an EPA registration before it can be sold, distributed, or used in the United States. EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs grants registration of a product only at the conclusion of a thorough evaluation process wherein toxicological, environmental, and product use information is […]
Wildlife Stewardship
Wildlife Stewardship and Pesticide Management Often there is more than one product or management practice available to control a particular pest. But, ideally, the decision to purchase a pesticide should be based on more than a comparison of cost and performance among product choices. An important consideration is a review of the various pesticide labels […]
Testing Requirements for Wildlife
Ultimately, in making decisions and adopting attitudes about pesticides, one should consider both the potential benefits and the potential risks of their use. Pesticides contribute many positives to our society: reduction of insect-vectored and waterborne diseases; production of an abundant food supply that takes only 10 percent of our disposable income; a positive impact on […]
Pesticides and Wildlife
Introduction The diversity of wildlife habitats throughout our country is surprising. In rural areas, fence rows, fields, pastures, ponds, wetlands, and woodlands comprise important habitats for many species of wildlife. Wild species also inhabit urban landscapes, finding food and shelter in lawns, cemeteries, golf courses, parks, etc. Collectively, these habitats (urban, rural, public forest, and […]
Preventing Resistance
Reversal of resistance can occur in some pest populations by allowing time between applications of a class of pesticide to permit resistant populations to become diluted by pesticide-susceptible individuals. However, no one can predict if or when resistant pests will change back to a susceptible population. The best practice is to reduce the chance of resistance developing in […]
Introduction to Pesticide Resistance
Pesticides are substances that control various types of pests, such as weeds, harmful insects, and disease-causing organisms like bacteria and fungi. Pesticides oftentimes are the most effective and efficient pest control tools available. Resistance to pesticides is a serious, and growing, problem. Worldwide, more than 600 species of pests have developed some level of pesticide […]