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Insecticides are the chemical substances that are used to control insects in agriculture. It is used to protect crops and other food materials from insects that affect our food. We plant and grow crops to get food. But the same food is consumed by the insects. They feed on the plants that grow and produce grains used by humans as their food. It is also used to kill the insects that are present in animal bodies. Insecticides usually contain two chemicals, ovicides and larvicides. The major function of ovicide is to kill the eggs of the insects and larvicide is responsible for killing the larvae of insects. It is not only used in agriculture but also used in homes and industrial buildings.

It is really beneficial to farmers as it reduces the damage on leaves and other parts of the plant. It helps plants to stay healthy and productive. It also allows farmers to harvest more products. More harvest means more sales and more income for the diligent farmers who spend their whole lives working to produce food for other people. The insects usually carry a lot of diseases that affect the productivity and appearance of the crops. When a lot of crops of the same species are planted in the same area, it takes no time for all the crops to get infected and damaged due to the disease present in one single crop. Getting rid of insects causes the product and plant to look healthier that helps the farmer to sell it at a high price. If the insecticides are not used, the number of harmful insects might increase rapidly. The more insects the more damage to crops. It saves the time of the farmers. Spraying the medicine is a more effective and faster method to remove insects than using ancient methods like picking the insects and throwing them. It causes minimal impact on the environment.

Even though Insecticides are really beneficial and useful chemicals, it causes huge impacts on the environment. Not all the insects cause a negative impact on the environment. Some bring positive effects and are required for the environment. The best examples are of bees. They do not damage the crops, indeed they help the crops to be more productive by pollination. They transfer the pollen grains that help the plant to bear fruit. Lack of pollination means the lack of food and an imbalance of the ecosystem. Not only bees, it also kills other insects like ladybugs, dragonflies and predatory beetles that are responsible for controlling the number of pests. During rainfall and irrigation the insecticides get mixed into the water sources like rivers, lakes, ponds and underground water. It damages the water ecosystem. The water animals lose their lives. Water is the most important abiotic factor for living organisms. It is the only thing that keeps an organism active and alive. When the chemicals get mixed with the water it harms all the organisms found on the earth. We need water for drinking, bathing, washing and many other daily life activities. Nowadays the water that we use contains high amounts of insecticide. Most of the chemicals are getting used to the water and forming a new ecosystem. Some soil organisms like earthworms make the soil fertile for plants to grow. Insecticides kill those organisms making the soil less fertile and disturbs the nutrient cycles. It also creates contaminated soil. It also releases toxic gases to the atmosphere causing damage to the nearby plantation. It causes long term damage to the environment and causes global warming due to the high rise of temperature on the earth. When the toxic chemical gets absorbed into the environment it affects other organisms as well. The toxic chemicals on the insects and plants are consumed by birds, amphibians and mammals. They have no other choice but to eat food containing chemicals to survive. It also gets absorbed by our body through breathing and skin. It causes illness and many reproductive issues. It has also been the reason for the death of many creatures living on this earth.

Even though insecticides help to protect our crops from getting consumed by the insects, it causes some negative effects to the environment. So it is really important for us to use these toxic chemicals in the correct manner without affecting the environment and damaging the ecosystem.