Herbal insecticides are mainly used to control pests that infest cultivated plants and crops or to eliminate disease- carrying insects in specific areas. Herbal insecticides are natural, such as Karanjin, Annonin, Rotenone, Pyrethrins, and Nicotine. Insecticides may affect the nervous system, inhibit essential enzymes, or prevent larvae from maturing (e.g., juvenile hormone).

Insecticides are classified according to type of action as stomach poisons, contact poisons, residual poisons, systemic poisons, fumigants, repellents, attractants, insect growth regulators, or pheromones. Many act in more than one way. Stomach poisons are applied to plants so that they will be ingested as insects chew the leaves. Contact poisons are applied in a manner to contact insects directly, and are used principally to control species which obtain food by piercing leaf surfaces and withdrawing liquids. Residual insecticides are applied to surfaces so that insects touching them will pick up lethal dosages. Systemic insecticides are applied to plants or animals and are absorbed and translocated to all parts of the organisms, so that insects feeding upon them will obtain lethal doses. Fumigants are applied as gases, or in a form which will vaporize to a gas, so that they can enter the insects’ respiratory systems. Repellents prevent insects from closely approaching their hosts. Attractants induce insects to come to specific locations in preference to normal food sources. Insect growth regulators are generally considered to act through disruption of biochemical systems or processes associated with growth or development, such as control of metamorphosis by the juvenile hormones, regulation of molting by the steroid molting hormones, or regulation of enzymes responsible for synthesis or deposition of chitin. Pheromones are chemicals which are emitted by one sex, usually the female, for perception by the other, and function to enhance mate location and identification; pheromones are generally highly species-specific.

Proper timing of insecticide applications is important in obtaining satisfactory control. Whatever the technique used, the application of insecticides should be correlated with the occurrence of the most susceptible or accessible stage in the life cycle of the pest involved.