Pesticides are substances meant for attracting, seducing, destroying, or mitigating any pest.
They are a class of biocide. The most common use of pesticides is as plant protection products , which in general protect plants from damaging influences such as weeds, plant diseases or insects. This use of pesticides is so common that the term pesticide is often treated as synonymous with plant protection product, although it is in fact a broader term, as pesticides are also used for non-agricultural purposes.
The term pesticide includes all of the following: herbicide, insecticide, insect growth regulator, nematicide, termiticide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, predacide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, antimicrobial, fungicide, disinfectant , and sanitizer.
