Overview of pesticides and their use

What are pesticides?

Pesticides are used to control organisms that can cause damage or impairment to human health or property. The organisms to be controlled can be animals (for example insects or rodents), plants (weeds) or microorganisms (mould fungi, bacteria or viruses) that can cause damage e.g. by destroying crops and property or by spreading and causing disease. However, the use of pesticides is also associated with risks to the environment and health. For a pesticide to receive permission for sale and use in Sweden it must be approved by the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI). KemI assesses the risks it poses both to human health and the environment. The products assessed as being acceptable are approved for a maximum period of 10 years.

The feature shared by all pesticides is that they are products specially designed to affect (kill, inhibit growth or otherwise control the numbers of) living organisms that are perceived as pests. Photo: Jenny Rydh, SLU