insecticide vs pesticide

[keannu]

Is "insecticide" a wider concept than "pesticide" or are the two just interchangeable?
kk72

 

[SoothingDave]

Pesticide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pesticide is wider. Not all pests are insects.

. A pesticide is generally a

chemical or biological agent (such as a virus, bacterium, antimicrobial or disinfectant) that through its effect deters, incapacitates, kills or otherwise discourages pests. Target pests can include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes that destroy property, cause nuisance, spread disease or are vectors for disease.

 

[keannu]

This might be a trivial subject to deal with, but my feeling is that pest are badly influencing, destrying insects that are a part of the general insects. So I feel "pest" is a smaller concept than "insect", hence "pesticide" to "insecticide"

 

[SoothingDave]

You can believe what you want, but I showed you that "pesticides" can target all kinds of "pests," not just insects.

Pest | Define Pest at Dictionary.com

Definition 1 shows a pest is any annoying person, animal or thing.

Definition 2 shows that a pest is a type of annoying insect or small animal.

Not all insects are pests, but not all pests are insects either. "Pest" is a wider concept than "insect." Pesticide is a wider concept than "insecticide."

 

[Tdol]

I have just moved into a new flat in the tropics and we had it sprayed to kills insects- termites, cockroaches and ants. That's an insecticide. I don't know what effect it has on bacteria and fungus, but we weren't targeting them, so I agree with SoothingDave that pesticide is a wider category and includes any pests you kill because of the harm or damage they cause- flora, fauna, and fungus covers far more than a group of six-legged animals.