Wisconsin Master Gardener Practice Exam

Pesticides are categorized by where their active ingredients come from. When a pesticide is made through chemical synthesis in a lab, it’s called a synthetic pesticide. This distinguishes it from botanical pesticides, which are derived from plants (like pyrethrins) and inorganic pesticides, which are mineral-based (such as copper compounds).

The term synthetic specifically highlights that the chemical has been manufactured rather than harvested from a natural plant source. While “organic” is sometimes used in broader language, in pesticide naming it doesn’t consistently denote “made from chemicals,” so it’s not the standard label for these products.