CONTROLLING THOSE CRITTERS
“The mode of action is extremely
can be answered
somewhere on
the label, but this
article will discuss some simple
aspects of pesticides that you can
discern just from looking at the front of
the bottle. We will also share some safety
advice and resources that will help you
learn more about what you are spraying
or what you should be spraying.
important to know if you are applying
pesticides repeatedly to a crop.”
P
esticides are broadly defined as any
material used with the intention
of controlling and managing a pest.
Annual global pesticide sales are in the
billions of dollars, and the number of
different pesticides available at garden
centers can be overwhelming. The
assortment of brightly colored bottles
and pictures of pests crawling off the
labels are eye-catching, but how do you
compare multiple products that claim
to kill the same thing? How do you
know how hazardous to human health
each product is? What does it really
kill? How long does it work? How long
after application should you wait to
harvest the plant? All of these questions
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Maximum Yield USA | December 2015
Types
The word pesticide can be used to
describe literally anything you intend
to use to kill something. This includes
materials such as rubbing alcohol,
hand soap, bleach and even a highpressure spray of water. Because of
this broad definition, we often refer to
pesticides by their target. For example,
pesticides that target insects are
insecticides, products that target weeds
are herbicides and materials that target
plant pathogens are fungicides, just to
name a few.
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