Application of insecticides and their ecotoxic effects

Insecticides have historically played, and still play, a very significant role in protecting humans and animals from numerous pests. This role consists not only of protection from the effects of the disturbance caused by numerous insects to animals and humans but also of controlling infectious diseases that these pests can transmit. In addition to public hygiene and veterinary medicine, these agents have found their application in agriculture, where they are intended to protect crops from numerous pests. It has been shown that agricultural yields are significantly higher when these agents are used. The importance of insecticides and their application for the mentioned purposes is best demonstrated by the fact that today approximately 40% of the world's population lives in areas with a high risk of malaria infection, and it is known that about 4 million people die from this disease annually, with hundreds of millions falling seriously ill. In addition to malaria, Dengue fever, which is also transmitted by mosquitoes, should be mentioned, affecting 35-50 million people annually (according to other authors, 50-100 million) and significant A large number unfortunately die. Here, one should also mention the so-called 'River Blindness', a disease that affects people in the Amazon River valley, as it is caused by a certain fly, after it bites the eyelid. To date, several tens of thousands of chemical substances have been introduced into practice, which are used to control insects in agriculture. In order to increase crop yields, as well as the production of larger quantities of meat, today several million tons of various pesticides are introduced into the environment worldwide each year, a significant portion of which are insecticides. Although these substances, as already mentioned, have a very important positive role, it should be emphasized that their (often irrational) use can also have negative consequences, which are reflected in the development of resistance in insects, the occurrence of residues in food, drinking water, soil, and air, direct or indirect toxic effects on humans and animals, as well as harmful effects on the environment and numerous organisms living in it.