Using insecticides to kill insect pests

Australian cotton farmers spend upwards of $250 million each year on insecticides to protect their cotton and that figure is expected to grow each year as control becomes more difficult.

This use of insecticides raises a number of concerns:

  • Insects can rapidly become resistant to insecticides.
  • Insecticides can kill other types of insects as well as the pest species.
  • Insecticides often kill other beneficial insects that prey on the pest species, thus destroying a natural way of controlling the pest.
  • Birds that eat insects killed by the chemicals can become sick, possibly causing some bird species to become endangered.
  • Some insecticides are dangerous to people living and working in the cotton growing areas.
  • Nearby waterways can be contaminated by insecticide run-off.
  • Although today's chemical insecticides are much safer than in the past, they can still cause problems for human health.