Pesticides ingredients
Pesticides are poisonous chemicals designed to kill cockroaches and ants (also known as insecticide).
Pesticides include the following ingredients:-
- Active ingredients intended to kill the target pest.
- Inert ingredients used as bulk carriers for active ingredients.
A “little secret” known in the chemical industry is that inert is not really “inert” at all; they are actually more toxic than the active ingredients. This inert information is usually not required to be displayed on the product label by the authorities.
Effects of pesticides on pests
Here are examples of how active ingredients destroy pests:
Cypermethrin is a common toxic chemical used as active ingredients to kill cockroaches and ants upon contact. When insects come into contact with Cypermethrin spray, the poisonous chemical paralyzes their central nervous system, causing them to die quickly.
Another poisonous chemical is Hydramethylnon. It is slow stomach poison chemical bait. It can kill cockroaches or ants via contact or ingestion. Hydrmethylnon disrupts energy production in the insects’ cells, causing them to become lethargic, stop eating and die after two days.
Pesticides are effective way to kill pests and they are so widely applied in the environment we live in.
It is no wonder we do not give much thought to how the toxicity of pesticide is affecting the health of non-targets health such as young children, pregnant mothers, and pets, let alone how it is affecting our ecosystem and environment.
Environmental effects
How widely usage of pesticide affects our environment?
Ground water contamination
Pesticides often stray from the point of targeted application area. According to the Clean Water
Action Council, Wisconsin, USA, the spraying of pesticides into our external space results in only 5% of the pesticide reaching the target pest. The rest runs off into water and dissipates in the air. The drift from landscaping can range from 12 feet to 14.5 miles. Wisconsin studies have found pesticides in several underground aquifers, leading to drinking water contamination.
Weakened ecosystem
Pesticides also weaken the ecosystem, damaging soil microbes and eliminating beneficial insects and predators.
Stronger pesticide resistant insects
Pests continually mutate to become pesticide resistant. In 1970, 24 out of the 25 most serious pests in California were secondary pests, produced because of pesticides; 73% were resistant to one or more pesticides.
Impact on fish
Pesticide is highly toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms according to the International Labor Organization.
Why are pesticides still widely used?
Pesticides profits
Chemical corporations are very profitable and have powerful incentives to promote pesticides despite the harm it creates. Most of their yearly turns over are in the billions of dollars.
Inadequate testing method
Many of us are falsely reassured by government pesticide regulations due to inadequate safety testing methods. They test toxic chemicals on healthy adults and animals (not on the sick and young) one at a time whereas we are exposed to many poisonous chemicals at once as part of our modern chemical lifestyle.
Uninformed consumers
Common end users like us were not well informed of the dangers of pesticides by the authority and chemical corporations.
Unaware of alternative solutions
We used toxic chemicals because we were unaware of alternative, safer pest solution products.
