On the paradox of pesticides

TL;DR

This paper uses a mathematical model to analyze the paradoxical effect of pesticides, revealing that timing of application is crucial and that regular application can worsen pest outbreaks.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical explanation for the pesticide paradox and identifies optimal timing for pesticide application to prevent pest resurgence.

Findings

Timing of pesticide application is critical for pest control.

Regular pesticide use can lead to pest resurgence.

Applying pesticides when pest populations are high is most effective.

Abstract

The paradox of pesticides was observed experimentally, which says that pesticides may dramatically increase the population of a pest when the pest has a natural predator. Here we use a mathematical model to study the paradox. We find that the timing for the application of pesticides is crucial for the resurgence or non-resurgence of the pests. In particular, regularly applying pesticides is not a good idea as also observed in experiments. In fact, the best time to apply pesticides is when the pest population is reasonably high.