Garden Green
How to grow plants without the use of toxic chemicals
Endocrine Disruption
TEDX, the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, has a valuable page on pesticides and their dangers. You can find it here: http://endocrinedisruption.org/pesticides/introduction
From TEDX: "Our particular concern about pesticides is that they have been designed to disrupt biological systems, causing death to target organisms, such as insects or plants. Some actually work by acting on the hormone systems of insects and plants. The problem is that the biochemistry of most living things is similar enough that humans, wildlife and plants can also be adversely affected by pesticides."
Glossary of Terms, from TEDX
Attractant – attracts an organism, such as an insect
Acaricide – used to kill mites
Active ingredient –in a pesticide, the ingredient that kills or controls the pest.
Algicide – used to kill algae
Antifoulant – used to prevent barnacles and other organisms from colonizing ship hulls, etc.
Avicide – used to kill birds
Bactericide – used to kill bacteria
Chemosterilant – causes reproductive sterility in an organism
Growth regulator – acts as a plant or insect hormone that regulates growth
Herbicide – used to kill plants
Inert – in pesticides, a chemical whose primary function is other than that of an active ingredient
Insecticide – used to kill insects
Fungicide – used to kill fungi and mold
Molluscicide – used to kill mollusks (snails, slugs, mussels, etc.)
Nematicide – used to kill nematode worms
Pediculicide – used to kill lice
Pheromone – signals other organisms of the same species and affects their behavior
Piscicide – used to kill fish
Repellent – repels an organism, such as an insect
Rodenticide – used to kill rodents (rats and mice, etc.)
Safener – reduces the effects of a pesticide on non-target organisms
Synergist – makes the active ingredient more effective than it would be by itself
Virucide – used to kill viruses