Organic Insecticides | Organic Pesticides | EcoSMART Bug Spray

The History of Pesticides

September 19th, 2008 Posted in Organic & Chemical Pesticides

Are these phrases familiar?

Stop bugging me! Dont rat me out! My little brother is such a pest!

None of those above names used to describe other people has a good connotationpeople dont like pests. That is why pesticides have been around for thousands of years. This article will cover:

What pesticides are The history of pesticides The future of pesticides: EcoSMART

What are pesticides?

Pesticides are created by humans to manage what humans define as pests. Pests are anything that stands in the way of human food, health, or comfortno, not your alarm clock!

There are several types of pesticides that include:

Acaricide: targets mites, ticks, and spiders Antimicrobial: targets bacteria, viruses and other microbes Attractant: attracts pests for monitoring or killing Avicide: targets birds Fungicide: targets fungi Herbicide: targets weeds Insecticide: targets insects Molluscide: targets snails and slugs Nematicide: targets nematodes Piscicide: targets fish Predacide: targets vertebrate predators Repellent: repels pests Rodenticide: targets rodents Synergist: improves performance of another pesticide

900, 000 farms and 70 million households use pesticides in the United States with agriculture using 75% of all pesticides. However, 85% of U.S. households have at least one type of pesticide, while 65% of U.S. households have 1-5 in storage. Pesticides are clearly popular; they work to help humans live more comfortably and have for thousands of years.

The History of Pesticides

The movie 10,000 B.C. unrealistically ends with the protagonist being handed seeds from a tribe he befriended along his journey. This movie starts with a group of hunters and exposes the start of agriculture for a reason: it is hard for people today to imagine a life without farms. In actuality, humans began farming in 8000 B.C.

Agriculture is a fantastic means of providing food to large populations, but pests get in the way. So, the first recorded use of insecticides was in 2500 B.C. by Sumarians, who used sulphur compounds to control insects and mites. Other methods arose as time went on, such as:

Controlling body lice in China with mercury and arsenical compounds in 1200 B.C. Burning sulfur to kill insects and using salt to control weeds in ancient Rome. Controlling ants with honey and arsenic in 1600.

It was not until after WWII that pesticide popularity soared with the discovery of the effects of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane), BHC, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, and 2,4-D. These products were effective and inexpensive with DDT being the most popular, because of its broadspectrum activity. DDT was easy to use, appeared to have low toxicity to mammals, and reduced insect-born diseases, like malaria, yellow fever, and typhus; consequently, in 1949, Dr. Paul Muller won the Nobel Peace Prize in medicine for discovering the insecticidal properties of DDT. Unfortunately, in 1946, the first report of insect resistance to DDT in houseflies occurred in Sweden. Soon after, in the 1950s and 1960s, widespread resistance to DDT and other pesticides was documented. Public debate arose after Rachel Carsons book, Silent Spring, was released in 1962. The book described how DDT entered the food chain, remained toxic in the environment even after it was diluted by rainwater, and caused cancer and genetic damage after accumulating in fatty tissues of animals. Carsons conclusion that DDT and other pesticides had contaminated the entire world food supply sparked concern about pesticides and shortly after, in 1970, President Nixon formed the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

On December 2, 1970, the EPA opened and had inherited from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) its staff and the function of pesticide registration. In 1972, William D. Ruckelshaus, the first EPA Agency Administrator, banned DDT since EPA studies reported DDT posed carcinogenic risk to humans. In the next two decades, alternatives to synthetic pesticides developed, which included:

More targeted synthetic insecticides Baits

Low dose insecticides Pheromones Insect Growth Regulators Bio-pesticides (natural materials)

Concerns still remained in 1996 and the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) was passed in order to change the way the EPA approves and regulates pesticides. The act mandated the implementation of minimum risk and reduced risk pesticide categories and removed chlorpryrifos and diazinon, two types of synthetic pesticides, from the market. A decade later, on August 3, 2006, the EPA recommended restrictions on thousands of uses of pesticides after a study was conducted. Jim Jones, the director of the agencys pesticide office, revealed plans for the EPA to review all the pesticide chemicals and their uses in a similar way in 15 years.

The Future of Pesticides

If pesticides were banned in the U.S., it is estimated that 132,000 people would lose jobs, U.S. food aid programs to poor countries would slow, and worldwide hunger would increase. Additionally, a ban could hurt the environment in that farmers would need more farmland, thus in turn would ruin habitats; plus, other countries with less strict or fewer regulations may increase pesticide usage to take advantage of the reduction of U.S. exports. Perhaps most importantly, pesticides have helped control diseases caused by pests, so banning pesticides would endanger public health. The future of pesticide usage is uncertain. Many people, organizations and companies are working toward being more environmentally-friendly; however, a committee on the Future Role of Pesticides in US Agriculture concluded that chemical pesticides will continue to play a role in pest management for the foreseeable future, in part because environmental compatibility of products is increasingparticularly with the growing proportion of reduced-risk pesticides being registered with the EPA, and in part because competitive alternatives are not universally available.

This does not mean environmentally-friendly options arent available. Even for your household, there are organic insecticides, such as EcoSMART products, that use natural plant oils as the active ingredient and food-grade inert ingredients that are safe for the environment as well as safe to use around children and pets, yet proven effective by university and field testing.

1. 9 Comments | The First 1,000 to Comment (Starting 12/21/2009) Will Become EcoSMART Product Testers!
2. By Abi Ralls on Aug 15, 2009 Really great to find some info about safe garden products. I have put lots of pots of vegetables and flowers in our previously neglected back yard this year and am now having to deal with black spot on roses while considering the needs of two very curious cats. Hope this is available in the UK!

3. By Saif Ullah Khan on Nov 30, 2010 Excellent! 4. By sara on Dec 7, 2010 This is a very good idea for the future pesticides. As well all the information about the past helped me a lot. Awesome idea! 5. By Tahmid on Aug 11, 2011 Great concept to save both Mother earth & Human beings. 6. By Syed Hashim Raza on Sep 5, 2011 It is very informative article and guide the reseacher about the brief history of Pesticids Good Efforts Syed Hashim Raza 7. By Nina on Sep 21, 2011 Awesome article

1. 3 Trackback(s)
2. Sep 16, 2009: Non-toxic Homes and Environmental Illness 3. Sep 18, 2009: Chinas organic farming: Agriculture goes green 4. Dec 14, 2010: HISTORY OF PESTICIDE USE
Submit
515

Search