Are Botanicals Safer?

In Joe Schwartz’s book, The Fly in the Ointment, he states that William Withering, the person responsible for the cure of dropsy, would be shocked if he had heard the slogan “botanicals are safer.” Well, are botanicals really safer and better than the synthetic stuff?

Well, take for example botanical and synthetic insecticides. Botanical insecticides are natural and made from plant extracts, with no synthetics added whatsoever. When these plant extracts are processed, these insecticides are very similar to other synthetic insecticides. Examples of botanical insecticides are nicotine sulfate, which may be more harmful to mammals than they are to insects, and pyrethrum, which would only be effective to cockroaches if a synergist is added to enhance the activity of the pyrethrum or the paralysis that it would cause is only temporary.

There have been many synthetic insecticides that have been synthesized in the lab. One of example of this is synthetic pyrethroids. Not only does this insecticide knock down cockroaches fast, but it also has low mammal toxicity. However, it is harmful to fish and people with respiratory problems, such as asthma. Scientists have made these synthetic compounds more stable and natural than botanical insecticides.

Find out more on insecticides by going here.