When you hear the term “pesticide,” what comes to mind? Do you understand what pesticides are and, more importantly, how to use them correctly?

A pesticide is any material (natural or synthetic) used to control, prevent, kill, suppress, or repel pests. “Pesticide” is a broad term that includes insecticides, herbicides (weed or plant killers), algaecides (algae and moss), fungicides (plant diseases), rodenticides, miticides (mite control), and molluscicides (snails and slugs). Even antimicrobial products (such as bleach and sanitary wipes) that kill bacteria on surfaces and chlorine added to pools are pesticides. If a product has a U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) Registration Number on...

[Article modified on April 13, 2019 to correct inaccuracies.]

New label changes will alter how fipronil is applied by pest management professionals (PMPs) in urban environments, particularly between November and February, during California's typical rainy season.

Concerns over continued detections in urban watersheds of fipronil, a broad-spectrum insecticide commonly used against ants and other pests, led to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) asking certain pesticide manufacturers to modify the labels of liquid formulations of fipronil to reduce negative impacts of this pesticide on the environment. These use restrictions apply to surface...

Online marketplace Amazon.com was recently fined $1.2 million by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for selling and distributing pesticides not registered for sale in the U.S. The EPA discovered nearly 4,000 violations dating back to 2013. The illegal products included misbranded or unregistered insecticide baits and pesticide products that can be mistaken for blackboard chalk.

Amazon immediately removed these illegal products from their marketplace, prohibited foreign sellers from selling pesticides, and increased monitoring for illegal products. The company contacted the affected customers to urge proper disposal of the illegal pesticides and reimbursed them for the purchases.

As part...

The Zika virus is spread to people mainly through the bite of an infected mosquito, mostly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. People can also get the Zika virus through sexual contact with an infected person, and the virus can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her developing fetus, which can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is currently no vaccine to prevent the disease or any drugs to treat it. The best way to prevent Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases, including West Nile virus, is to protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites. Aedes mosquitoes are considered day biters, so it's important to...