Household Hazardous Waste
Lawn & Garden - Pesticides

Uses:
A pesticide is any substance used to control pests through killing, preventing, repelling, or mitigating them. The targets of pesticides include insects, weeds, fungi, and rodents. Pesticides, based on these target organisms, are broken into subcategories such as; insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and rodenticides.

Insecticides, such as diazinon, are used to control insects, spiders, and ticks. Other insecticides are used in the garden to control pests, around the house to control insects (such as bees and carpenter ants) and are applied to lawns to keep grubs under control.

These insecticides come in many forms including liquids, powders, granules, and aerosols.

Herbicides, such as Roundup, are used to kill unwanted plants, such as dandelions and crab grass. They are found in many forms, but are commonly found in a liquid spray bottle.

Fungicides, such as Azoxystrobin, are used to kill fungi. They come in many forms including powders and liquids. They are used mostly in the garden to control plant fungus, which can cause rust, blights, and molds.

Rodenticides are used to kill rodents. Warfarin is an example of a commonly used rodenticide. They are most commonly found in a pellet or block form. They are used around the house and garden, to control pests that eat crops and transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, the Hanta virus and Bubonic plague.

Hazards:

Many pesticides can be extremely harmful to human health and the environment if misused. Pesticides are acutely toxic; they can cause headaches, nausea, nerve damage, and even death. Some pesticides are also carcinogenic (cancer causing). In the environment, these pesticides can persist and bioaccumulate in fish and wildlife.

Storage and Disposal: