Pesticide as medicine

Pesticides as medicine?

It's an apt metaphor.

• Antibiotics kill microbes in thhe body. Herbicides and insecticides kill plants and six-legged pests in the garden.
• We know there are always side effects from medication, inform ourselves and try to choose a chemical that will not also injure the patient. Wise gardeners do the same when deciding to use a pesticide.
• If we learn that a medicine or a pesticide will result in any collateral damage, we weigh that against the assistance the medicine or pesticide can give us.
• We resort to medicine or pesticide only after doing all we can to strengthen the patient's or plant's immune system through environmental improvement, diet change, etc.