The Effects of Insecticide

All pesticides -- chemical and organic -- affect the health of people exposed to them, but the harm doesn't stop there. Pesticide use starts a damaging chain of events that begins by disrupting local ecosystems and ends with tainting the produce you buy at the market. The first step in minimizing the risks associated with pesticides is identifying their effects.

Damage to the nervous system, abnormal hormone production, endocrine system disruption and the risk of cancer from carcinogen-containing chemicals can affect anyone exposed to pesticides, especially children, pregnant and nursing women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. The only way to eliminate the health risks associated with pesticides is to never use them. Since that isn't likely -- and because even if you don't use them and your neighbor does, overspray and prevailing winds can bring them to your doorstep -- you can minimize health risks by staying out of sprayed areas, using pesticides with the lowest toxicity and following pesticide-label instructions and warnings.

Your garden and landscape most likely have more beneficial insects that pollinate plants and prey on damaging pests than pest insects that cause damage. For example, two common targets of pesticides -- spiders and mini-wasps -- feed on insects that damage your garden. The eggs they lay inside damaging pests hatch, and the harmful insects become food. Unless you have a severe wasp or spider infestation -- a wasp hive on the back porch where your kids play or brown recluse sightings whenever you step outside -- hold off on pesticides and focus on environmental controls, such as plugging pest entryways to the home, implementing traps and squashing insects as you find them. If you have a severe infestations of garden pests, such as aphids, mites and chewing bugs, start with horticultural oils, such as summer oil, and specialized microbials, such as Bacillus thuringiensis, before moving on to synthetic options, which target numerous species of insects indiscriminately.

Pesticides contain an array of secondary chemicals, referred to as inert ingredients, which facilitate their application and increase their effectiveness. Despite the benign-sounding name, inert ingredients cause more damage to you and the environment than the active ingredients in the pesticides that contain them and usually comprise at least half of the pesticide's total ingredient content. Inert ingredients have been linked to long-term health issues, such as birth defects, central nervous system disorders, and kidney and liver damage, as well as immediate health concerns, such as eye, skin and mucous membrane irritation, dizziness and breathing difficulty.

A 100-percent exclusion of pesticides from your life isn't possible. To minimize the effects of pesticides, buy organic produce or grow your own whenever possible, and wash all vegetables and fruits before eating. Always wear safety equipment when using pesticides; gloves, goggles, long sleeves and pants are minimum. Don't allow people or pets in areas where pesticides were used for the time period prescribed on the pesticide label. You can also minimize pesticides introduced to the home by leaving shoes that come in contact with pesticides outside.