Overview

Insecticides are pesticides used against insects. Most modern insecticides act by poisoning the nervous system with a dose large enough (relative to the insects' size) to be lethal. The most prominent classes of insecticides are organochlorines, Pyrethroids, organophosphates, and carbamates. Insecticides can be developed to target any stage of insect development and can neutralize on contact or have a delayed effect following exposure. 

Due to similarities between the nervous systems of insects, animals, and humans, insecticides often have harmful effects on non-pest organisms. For example, symptoms of acute human exposure to organophosphate pesticides (such as Diazinon, malathion, and chlorpyrifos) include muscle twitching, tremors, incoordination, dizziness, nausea, and respiratory problems.

Classes

• Organophosphates
• Carbamates
• Organochlorines
• Pyrethroids

External Links

• European Union - Chemical and Pesticide Information . (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• World Health Organization - WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES)\ . (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• U.S. National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Enviro-Health Links - Pesticide Exposure . (Accessed 21 May 2006).
• USDA - National Agricultural Statistics Service - Agricultural Chemical Use (Accessed 16 May 2005).
• Ontario College of Family Physicians Pesticides Paper (accessed: 16 June 2004). An extensive review of the health effects of pesticides.
• Health Canada - Pesticide Information (accessed: 9 April 2003).
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Office of Pesticides Programs (OPP). (accessed: 19 June 2004).
• U.S. Geological Survey - National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• California Department of Pesticide Regulation (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• En espanol (Spanish Language) - Almacenar y Desechar - Pesticidas: Regulación de Pesticidas - (Storage and Disposal of Pesticides) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (accessed: 19 June 2004).
• Washington State University
• Scorecard
• Food News
• Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)
• Pesticide Action Network International (PANI)
• Pesticide Database site
• National Pesticide Telecommunications Network (NPTN). (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• Beyond Pesticides
• EXTOXNET InfoBase Online. (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC). (accessed: 4 April 2003).
• The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP)
• Monsanto Company (accessed: 4 April 2003)
• [Integrated Pest Management (IPM)|http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/pestpestmintegratedpestmanagementip.html]
• University of Minnesota's electronic textbook of Integrated Pest Management
  
• The Consortium for International Crop Protection (CICP)
• The NSF Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM) - North Carolina Pest Management Information.
• [King County, Washington State, IPM program and information | http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/interagency/ipm/index.cfm\]

Current Events

San Francisco citizens and officials voice concern over California Department of Food and Agriculture plan to use of pheromones to eliminate invasive moth species. See full San Francisco Bay Guardian article.

References

Kamel F and Hoppin JA. Association of pesticide exposure with neurologic dysfunction and disease. Environ Health Perspect. 2004 Jun;112(9):950-8. Available online at EHPonline. (accessed: 30 June 2004).

MMWR (1999). Farm worker illness following exposure to carbofuran and other pesticides - Fresno County, California, 1998. February 19, 1999, 48(6), 113-116. (accessed: 5 July 2003).

Dean, S. R., & Meola, R. W. (2002). Effect of diet composition on weight gain, sperm transfer, and insemination in the cat flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). J Med Entomol, 39(2), 370-375.

Dryden, M. W., & Gaafar, S. M. (1991). Blood consumption by the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)