Pesticide can be used synonymously with pesticide.
Pesticide is an adjective that is used to name something that allows us to fight a pest . The term is also used as a noun to refer to the chemical compound that is applied to a surface with the intention of repelling or eliminating harmful or unwanted organisms.
In this sense, pesticide is usually used as a synonym for insecticide since, in rural areas, insects are usually the pests that are intended to be kept away from crops due to the damage they cause to plants. When a pest settles in a field , the economic losses can be millionaires.
Beyond insects, there are other animals (even mammals) that can be considered pests, as well as microbes or certain plant species. Pesticides, therefore, can act on various agents that are capable of damaging crops or transmitting diseases .
Classification of pesticides
It must be established that there are various proposals to carry out the classification of pesticides, also called pesticides :
- According to their action: insecticides, rodenticides, acaricides, herbicides, fungicides...
- According to their chemical composition: organochlorines, arsenicals, carbamates...
- Depending on the place where they are going to be applied: livestock, environmental, industrial, phytosanitary, domestic...
- Depending on its application method: aerosols, solids, gases, solids, liquids...
In the same way, we cannot forget that pesticides can also be classified according to how dangerous they are for human beings. In this sense there are four large groups in this regard:
- Very toxic. Under this name are all those that can cause very serious consequences. In this case it would be serious damage to the person as well as death, both by inhalation, ingestion or even contact with the skin.
- Harmful. This classification includes those pesticides that pose serious risks.
- Toxic. This is the term used to define those others who also have a risk but this is already more limited, compared to the previous groups.
- Low danger. These are those that, in principle, are considered not to entail any appreciable danger to humans.
The use of pesticides usually carries certain risks.
Advantages and disadvantages of use
It is common for the chemicals used as pesticides to be poisonous , although applied in the right amount, they should not cause problems for human beings . However, excessive use of pesticides can be toxic.
This means that pesticides have a double side. On the one hand, they are necessary to control the state of a crop, since they allow pests that can cause problems to be removed or eradicated. However, its inappropriate use can cause health problems in the population and the environment. For this reason, in recent years, voices have emerged against pesticides and in favor of other, more ecological methods of pest control.
Specifically, individuals who speak out against the use of pesticides establish that they cause significant damage to the environment such as the following: they significantly reduce biodiversity, they seriously endanger species that are already on the verge of extinction and They mean reducing what would be pollinators.