Using Pesticides to Prevent Pest Infestations in Your Home

What are natural Pesticides?

Natural pesticides are the result from consumers’ demand for more environmentally-friendly and sustainable pest control products.

The materials used to make natural pesticides come from nature, such as minerals, plants and microorganisms. They don’t remain in the environment for long compared to synthetic pesticides. Natural pesticides are also less toxic and “greener” than synthetic ones.

There are many types of natural pesticides: Botanical Pesticides, Biochemical Pesticides and Microbial Pesticides.

Botanical Pesticides. These pesticides are made from plants or minerals. One example is neem, which is derived from the neem tree and is effective against termites, caterpillars and aphids. Another is pyrethrins, a compound found in some chrysanthemum flowers. It can treat pests like mosquitoes, flies, moths and fleas.

Biochemical Pesticides. The substances in biochemical pesticides, like plant hormones, interfere with mating and reproductive behaviours to prevent pests from breeding.

Microbial Pesticides. These pesticides have microorganisms, like fungus, viruses and bacteria, as active ingredients. Strafzins of Bacillus thuringiensis (bt), the most common microbial pesticides, kills the larvae of specific pests such as mosquitoes and flies.

What are the benefits of natural pesticides?

There are many benefits in using natural or organic pesticides. Going natural is kinder to the environment as you are not contributing to pollution and are not introducing new chemicals into the soil and plants.

Second is the health benefit. Because they are made from natural ingredients, you are not exposed to chemicals that may be harmful to your health or your pets.

What are synthetic pesticides?

Synthetic pesticides are manufactured from chemical alteration. They have received a bad rep over the years because of the supposedly toxic substances in them that harm people and the environment. However, the pesticides of today are formulated to target to specific pests. Thus, they pose little to no risk to non-target pests.

There are concerns that synthetic pesticides have active ingredients that are carcinogens, teratogen or mutagens. It is important to let people know that this is not true for all synthetic products.