By Kirstee Schutte, Nebraska Extension Master Gardener
The ability of a pest to tolerate a pesticide that once controlled it – is known as pesticide resistance. Resistance develops from intensive use. It can spread through a pest population that has many generations a year and many offspring per generation. Prevent resistance by using new or altered pesticides or applying pesticides over limited areas to reduce the proportion of total pest population exposed. This tactic delays resistance allowing susceptible individuals to interbreed with resistant ones, thus diluting the resistance in the population.