LESSON 2
PESTICIDE APPLICATION TECHNIQUES
Section I. BASIC TYPES OF PESTICIDES
2-1. GENERAL
a. The use of chemicals is a major effort on the part of humans to destroy or
control arthropods. Arthropod pests not only endanger our health, they destroy crops
and stored products. There is a tendency to regard chemicals as a cure-all, which is a
serious and expensive mistake. Without routine measures of maintenance and
sanitation, used in conjunction with chemical control efforts, the result will be, at best,
only temporary and limited.
b. Chemical control encompasses a large array of chemicals and dispersal
methods of a highly specialized degree. Today, there are many effective materials from
which to choose. The problem is to choose the chemical most efficient against the
arthropod being destroyed or controlled. It is important to know that a certain chemical
or chemical formulation will rapidly kill one species while another species will not be
bothered by it at all. Chemicals used are broken up into types according to their
intended uses. Examples of these types are:
(1)
Poisons.
(2)
Repellents.
(3)
Attractants.
(4)
Supplementary materials.
2-2. POISONS
There are three types of insecticides when classified according to the mode of
entry into the arthropod's body.
a. Stomach Poisons. Stomach poisons must be swallowed in order to kill the
insect. They are used against insects with chewing, sponging, or lapping mouthparts.
These insecticides are usually applied in the form of dusts or sprays to vegetation or
other natural foods eaten by the target insect. The insect consumes the insecticide
when it eats the foliage or when it cleans appendages to which the insecticide has
adhered through contact with treated surfaces. Stomach poisons may also be mixed
with baits that are more attractive to the insects than natural foods. A satisfactory
stomach poison must be quick acting, inexpensive, and available in large quantities. It
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