Abstract
Among the plants and animals inhabiting the earth, there are very few taxonomic categories that do not contain some organisms capable of producing human sickness or of causing economic loss, or that simply may be classified as nuisances, i.e., a “pest.” Control of undesirable pests (i.e., certain plants, insects, animals, and microbes) includes both the management of the pest occurrence (e.g., the rodent) as well as any vector organisms that may carry a pathogen (e.g., a malaria-carrying mosquito). Such control or management of the occurrence of pests is addressed by both environmental approaches and that of pesticides. As a necessary precursor to the application of pesticides, successful strategies are employed in the environmental control of undesirable organisms through manipulation of the physical and ecological factors within the pest habitat. Together, this approach is regarded as Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Pesticide approaches encompass a wide arrange of organic and inorganic chemistries, which for many years have been developed to both great success and unintended damage to nontarget organisms, including humans. Specific pests and vectors are to be discussed within this chapter that highlight the economic impact of such agents on human health and agricultural productivity.
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Glossary
- Chemical pesticide
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It is a chemical substance used to kill harmful insects, small animals, wild plants, and other unwanted organisms: The pesticides that farmers spray on their crops kill pests, but they can also damage people’s health.
- Environmental control
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It is the degree to which individuals, groups, or business units can modify and adapt features of their physical workplace or living environment to enhance environmental or public health effectiveness.
- Pest
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It is a destructive insect or other animal that attacks crops, food, livestock, human, etc.
- Pollution
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The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.
- Risk
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It is a situation involving exposure to danger.
- Vector
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It is an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another.
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Clesceri, L.S., Clesceri, E.J. (2021). Environmental Control of Pests and Vectors. In: Wang, L.K., Wang, MH.S., Hung, YT., Shammas, N.K. (eds) Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering. Handbook of Environmental Engineering, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54626-7_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54626-7_10
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