The first recorded incidence of the use of insecticides goes back to 2500 BC, when the Sumerians supposedly used sulfur compounds to restrict the spread of insects and mites. China, too, had developed botanical insecticides for seeds, and mercury and arsenic compounds had been formulated to counter body lice by 1200 BC. From then on, the field of pest management has taken great strides.

It was with agriculture and its growth that pest control also developed. To maximize food production, pest control became necessary, and the use of conventional as well as chemical or biological methods was devised to fight against pests. Breeding pest-resistant crops, mixed cropping, and crop rotation are all conventional methods of getting pests under control.

Chemical pest control dates back a long time, but has rapidly become the dominant kind of pest control in the market following the industrial revolution. Synthetic insecticides such as DDT and others only helped the increase, which had first been spurred by the insecticides pyrethrum and derris. The adverse long-term effects of such chemical pest control methods have led many to switch back to conventional methods or to adopt biological pest control in modern times. The biological approach works on the biodiversity principle and the food chain so that instead of killing pests, their natural predators are encouraged to do the work of chemical pesticides, thus maintaining nature’s balance. Natural garden predators include ladybugs, hoverflies, dragonflies, and parasitic wasps including Ichneumon flies, Braconid wasps and the Chalcid wasps.

Believe it or not, there are many other ways to safeguard your garden. If you choose to grow a variety of plants in your garden, this regulates pests because some may act as trap plants luring pests away from crops, provide an alternative habitat, or produce odors that lead to confusion among pests. Pesticides can be injurious to an individual?s health if proper care is not taken during manufacture, and transport or when it is being used. Besides endangering human health, pesticides are also known to be toxic to the environment. With long-term use, it has been found that pests can eventually grow resistance to pesticides, nullifying their use.

Research on pesticides that are effective and non-toxic to human beings and the environment is a continuing endeavor. Breakthroughs are essential for man and nature to live together in harmony without the intrusion of the harmful effects of chemicals.