ABSTRACT
Following World War II, the widespread introduction of synthetic organic insecticides led to major advances in the control of insect pests and disease vectors. DDT and the new generations of organic insecticides that followed were so effective, reliable, easy to use, and inexpensive that we came to rely almost totally on those products for insect control. Unfortunately, the obvious benefits from the use of these materials were so spectacular that some of the problems associated with their use were slow to be recognized. However, problems with pesticide resistance, outbreaks of secondary pests due to the reduction of predators and parasites, toxicity to pollinators and wildlife, as well as environmental and health hazards, eventually became all too apparent. Fortunately, the growing awareness of these problems resulted in a continuing trend toward "safer" insecticides. Modern insecticides, for example, pyrethroids, tend to be substantially safer to mammals than were the earlier carbamate and organic phosphate pesticides. This is not only demonstrated by the reduced toxicity of these compounds to mammals but also by lower use rates resulting in less chemical load in the environment (Fig. 1) [1].
