Kind of Pesticides

Pesticides are chemicals that are used to kill pests:
Insecticides target harmful or destructive insects
Herbicides target weeds
Fungicides target fungi
Rodenticides target rodents
Acaricides target acarose (mites)
Chemical structures differ within categories as well
as between categories. Thus toxicity to humans can
vary widely within each group.
Pesticide Use: An Old Practice
1000 BC Chinese used sulfur as a fumigant
1800s Europeans used sulfur as a fungicide to
control powdery mildew on fruit
2001 Sulfur still used in California today
16th century Japanese mixed poor quality whale oil
with vinegar to spray on rice paddies to
prevent development of insect larvae by
weakening the cuticle
17th century Water extracts of tobacco leaves were
sprayed on plants to kill insects
Nux vomica, the seed of Strychnos nuxmomica
(strychnine) used to kill rodents
Pesticide Use: An Old Practice
19th century
Insecticides isolated from plants included rotenone
from the root of Derris eliptica and pyrethrum
extracted from flowers of chrysanthemums
Arsenic trioxide used as a weed killer, esp. dandelions
Copper arsenite (Paris Green) used for control of
Colorado beetle
Bordeaux mixture (copper sulfate, lime and water)
used to combat vine downy mildew