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You are here: NPIC Home Page Pesticides and the Environment Plants and Pesticides

Plants and Pesticides

We depend on plants for food and other consumer products. Millions of dollars are spent every year to buy, grow, and harvest plants. To maintain healthy plants and to increase yield, many people use pesticides to control weeds, insects, and plant diseases. While pesticides can be important tools, using an integrated approach can be helpful in achieving long-term control of the pest. That means using your knowledge of the pest, understanding of the environmental conditions, and monitoring plant health.

Keep these tips in mind:

• Identify the specific pest problem before taking steps to control it.
• Follow the label directions, taking care to deliver pesticides to the soil, water or leaves as directed.
• Avoid using pesticides that have been in storage too long. Ask the product manufacturer about the shelf-life of any product.
• Most of the time, specific plants are listed on pesticide product labels, indicating that you can use the pesticide on that plant species.

For more information, visit:

• Plant Pesticide Interaction
• Plant Herbicide Symptoms
• Soil and Pesticides

If you have questions about plants and pesticides, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Additional Resources

• Diagnosing Sick Plants - Ohio State University Extension Service
• House Plants Help Clean Indoor Air - University of Minnesota Extension Service
• Kids and Plants - Kansas State University
• USDA Ag Census - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• GreenScaping - The Easy Way to a Greener, Healthier Yard - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• What Gardeners Should Know about Pesticides - Purdue Extension

Related Topics:

What are pests?

What are pesticides?

Disponible en español

Please read our disclaimer | Contact us | About NPIC | En español

NPIC provides objective, science-based information about pesticides and pesticide-related topics to enable people to make informed decisions. NPIC is a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (cooperative agreement #X8-83560101). The information in this publication does not in any way replace or supersede the restrictions, precautions, directions, or other information on the pesticide label or any other regulatory requirements, nor does it necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. EPA.