climate. Hearty, native plants resist disease and infestation, and they often use
less water.
(2) Plant rotation and interplanting prevent the buildup and spread of pests in
one area or among specific plant types.
(3) Protect and encourage the presence of insect-feeding birds, bats, spiders,
praying mantises, ladybugs, predatory mites, parasitic flies, and wasps.
Beneficial insect species can often be purchased in volume.
(4) Pheromones are chemical signals produced by animals to communicate
with others of the same species. In insects, they consist of highly specific
perfumes, generally derivatives of natural fatty acids closely related to the
aromas of fruit. They are nontoxic. Pheromones may be used to attract
insects to traps or to deter insects from laying eggs. However, the most
widespread and effective application of pheromones is for mating
disruption.(c) Name and describe ONE U.S. federal law OR ONE international treaty that
focuses on the use of pesticides. (1 point for naming a correct U.S. federal law
or international treaty along with a correct description.) Note: Credit will be
awarded for choosing any applicable U.S. federal law or international treaty
that focuses on the use of pesticides (e.g., Clean Water Act; Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund); etc.) The U.S. federal government
first regulated pesticides when Congress passed the Insecticide Act of 1910. This
law was intended to protect farmers from adulterated or misbranded products.
Congress broadened the federal government’s control of pesticides by passing
the original Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) of
- FIFRA required the Department of Agriculture to register all pesticides
prior to their introduction in interstate commerce. A 1964 amendment authorized
the Secretary of Agriculture to refuse registration to pesticides that were unsafe
or ineffective and to remove them from the market. In 1970, Congress
transferred the administration of FIFRA to the newly created Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). This was the initiation of a shift in the focus of federal
policy from the control of pesticides for reasonably safe use in agricultural
production to the control of pesticides for reduction of unreasonable risks to
humans and the environment. This new policy focus was expanded by the
passage of the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972 (FEPCA)
that amended FIFRA by specifying methods and standards of control in greater