A pesticide may be a chemical substance or biological agent (such as a virus or bacteria) used against pests including insects, plant pathogens, weeds, mollusks, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes, and microbes. These organisms may compete with humans for food, invade lawns and gardens, destroy wood in houses, spread disease, or just be a general nuisance in our everyday lives. Pesticides are usually, but not always, poisonous to humans.
There are 5 major types of pesticides you will encounter: insecticides (insect killers), herbidicides (weed killers), fungicides (fungus killers), nematocides (roundworm killers), and rodenticides (rat and mouse killers). Be aware that although the 5 are listed here, there are many others (e.g. algicides, miticides).
Your school librarian, Mrs. Hatcher, recommends the following information resources that will be helpful.
- Health Reference Center: Contains full-text nursing and allied health journal articles, and reliable health information. Search in multiple languages by subject, keyword or by specific publication title.
- eLibrary Science: Science content, tools, video, links to manipulative, interactive activities, science news, famous scientists, science history, clickable periodic table, hundreds of educator-approved websites.
- Science Online: A comprehensive overview of all sciences includes biology, chemistry, computer, earth, environmental, forensic, and marine sciences, mathematics, physics, space, astronomy, weather and climate. Timelines, videos, animations, diagrams, experiments, essays, definitions, biographies, conversion calculators, scientific dictionary, and links content to state and national standards including Common Core.
- eBook and print resources available by searching the WMHS library catalog in Destiny
