How do Pesticides Kill Pests

The science of terminating bugs and other pests explained!

Pesticides are mixtures of chemicals and other substances that are used to tackle pests such as weeds. Thousands of different types are in use, and some are even living organisms, such as the bacterium bacillus thuringiensis which is used to control insects.

To alter, damage or destroy the life cycle of an unwanted visitor, pesticides interfere in a physical, chemical or biological manner.

The three primary methods of application are baiting, fumigating and spraying. Different pesticides have different forms of attack. Some, like tetramethrin (which is used to kill the household fly), are administered as a spray.

Others are absorbed into, say, a weed and remain with it, slowly killing it from the inside. In addition, insecticides are commonly administered to crops and, when a bug attempts to consume the plant, it will be dealt a lethal dose of the killer substance.

Similarly, baiting pesticides, such as rat poison, are also designed to be ingested and will only take effect once they have been absorbed into the bloodstream.