Biocides

Biocides are poisons, chemical substances used to kill or sterilize unwanted life-forms. Biocides are commonly used in medicine, agriculture, forestry, food-processing and industry. Biocides may be synthetic or naturally derived and concentrated.

Biocides are usually intended to control a specific ecosystem interaction or class of interactions yet they usually have unintended consequences by killing populations: outside the targeted species, outside the targeted area and outside the targeted timeframe. Sometimes these unintended consequences are acute and immediately devastating, sometimes they are sub-acute and go relatively unnoticed.

Philosophy of control(?)

Types of Biocide

A biocide can target:

• Fungi, mold or yeast: fungicides,
• Plants: herbicides, algicides,
• Insects: insecticides, miticides
• Mammals: rodenticides.
• Microbes: germicides, antibiotics, antibacterials, antimicrobials, antivirals, antifungals, antiprotozoals and antiparasites
• Cells: spermicide, anti-cancer drugs