Chapter 23

Question 1

pest

Answer 1

is any species that competes with us for food, invades lawns and gardens, destroys wood in houses, spreads disease, invades ecosystems, or is simply a nuisance.

Question 2

natural enemy

Answer 2

(predators, parasites, and disease organisms) control the populations of about 98% of the potential pest species as part of the earth’s free ecological services and thus help keep any one species form taking over for very long.

Question 3

pesticides

Answer 3

chemicals to kill or control populations of organisms we consider undesirable.

Question 4

insecticides

Answer 4

chemicals that kill insects by blocking reproduction, clogging their airways, or disrupting their nervous system

Question 5

herbicides

Answer 5

chemicals that kill weeds by disrupting their metabolism and growth

Question 6

fungicides

Answer 6

fungus killers

Question 7

rodenticides

Answer 7

rat and mouse killers

Question 8

biocide

Answer 8

is a more accurate name for these chemicals because most pesticides kill other organisms as well as their pest targets.

Question 9

second generation pesticides

Answer 9

they are composed of synthetic organic compounds.

Question 10

DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)

Answer 10

a synthetic organic used as an insecticide. Tends to persist in the environment and become concentrated in animals at the head of the food chain.

Question 11

broad-spectrum agents

Answer 11

pesticides that are toxic to many species

Question 12

selective or narrow spectrum agents

Answer 12

are effective against a narrowly defined group organisms.

Question 13

persistence

Answer 13

the length of time they remain deadly in the environment

Question 14

pesticide treadmill

Answer 14

whereby farmers pay more and more for a pest control program that often becomes less and less effective.

Question 15

circle of poison

Answer 15

residues of some of these banned or unapproved chemicals exported to other countries can return to the exporting countries on imported food

Question 16

Silent Spring

Answer 16

which warned of the dangers of DDT and other broad-spectrum and persistent pesticides.

Question 17

dirty dozen

Answer 17

list of chemicals that includes DDT and eight other chlorine-containing persistent pesticides.

Question 18

economic threshold

Answer 18

the point at which the economic losses caused by pest damage outweigh the cost of applying a pesticide.

Question 19

cosmetic spraying

Answer 19

extra pesticides are used because most consumers often buy only the best-looking fruits and vegetables even though there is nothing wrong with blemished ones.

Question 20

food irrigation

Answer 20

extends food shelf life and kills insects and parasitic worms (such as trichinae in pork). It also kills harmful bacteria.

Question 21

integrated pest management (IPM)

Answer 21

combined use of biological, chemical, and cultivation methods in proper sequence and timing to keep the size of a pest population below the size that causes economically unacceptable loss of a crop or livestock animal.