10 Facts About Pesticides

Pesticides can be classified based upon their biological mechanism function or application method.

Pesticides are used to control organisms that are considered to be harmful, or pernicious to their surroundings.

Pesticides can prevent sickness in humans that could be caused by moldy food or diseased produce.

Pesticides are used in grocery stores and food storage facilities to manage rodents and insects that infest food such as grain.

Pesticides can save farmers' money by preventing crop losses to insects and other pests; in the U S, farmers get an estimated fourfold return on money they spend on pesticides.

Pesticides are one of the causes of water pollution, and some pesticides are persistent organic pollutants and contribute to soil and flower contamination.

Pesticides are often referred to according to the type of pest they control.

Pesticides can be created that are targeted to a specific pest's lifecycle, which can be environmentally more friendly.

Pesticides produced before November 1984 continue to be reassessed in order to meet the current scientific and regulatory standards.

Pesticides are the most thoroughly tested chemicals after drugs in the United States; those used on food require more than 100 tests to determine a range of potential impacts.