Did you take your poison today?

What types of pesticide are used in Thailand?

More than 300 chemicals are used to control pests in Thailand. These are sold under more than 2,000 brand names.

Different types of pesticide are used to control different types of pest:

	Insecticides are used to kill flies, beetles, caterpillars, termites and other insects.
	Herbicides are used to kill grass, shrubs and other weeds.
	Rodenticides are used to kill rats and mice.
	Fungicides are used to kill moulds and fungus.

For each type of pesticide, there are many different chemicals on sale. Each chemical has a common name and a brand name. The pesticide label must mention the brand name and the common name. Sometimes the label also includes a complicated scientific name; for example, the scientific name of Paraquat is: “1,1’-dimethyl-4, 4’bipyridium”.

There is usually more than one brand name for each chemical (and some chemicals have hundreds of brand names). For example:

Type Common name Brand names

Insecticide
Methyl parathion

Folidol, Paramet, Parathion methyl

Malathion
Malaphos, Malathion

Propoxur
Baygon, Raid

Methamidophos
Monitor, Methamidophos, Tamaron 600 SL

Herbicide Paraquat
Gramoxone, Paraquat

Glyphosate
Roundup, Touchdown, Glyphosate 48

Label of an insecticide. The label shows the trade name, the common name (Dicrotophos), the scientific name, and warning signs about the toxicity of the product.