Pest Control Stops Pests Eating Crops Flashcards
What do pests include?
Microorganisms, insects and mammals
How are pests that feed on various crops killed by?
Various methods of pest control
How does pest control increase crop yield?
Less plants are damaged or destroyed
What are pesticides?
A form of chemical pest control
Why must we be careful with pesticides?
They’re poisonous to humans, so they must be used carefully to keep the amount of pesticide in food below a safe level
Some pesticides also harm….
Other wildlife
What is an alternative to using pesticides?
Biological control
What does biological control mean?
Using other organisms to reduce the numbers of pests, either by encouraging wild organisms or adding new ones
What could the helpful organisms be?
- Predators (ladybirds eat aphids)
- Parasites (flies lay eggs on slugs, eventually killing them)
- Disease - causing (bacteria affecting caterpillars)
Biological control can have a …. ….. ….. than spraying pesticides
Longer-lasting effect
Which is more harmful, pesticides or biological control?
Pesticides
What’s the problem with introducing new organisms (biological control)
They can become the pest themselves or may not work
