Pesticides applied to the fields are therefore likely to affect wildlife. For example, researchers tested quail that had been killed by hunters and found that 60 percent of the quail had insecticides in their bodies. Wildlife that are directly exposed to toxic pesticides can get sick or die. Birds made sick by insecticides may neglect their young, abandon their nests, and become more susceptible to predators and disease. While direct poisoning from toxic pesticides is a concern, many pesticides that are not highly toxic can still be harmful to wildlife by reducing the food and cover that wildlife need in order to survive.
Insecticides reduce insect foods, and herbicides decrease plant cover.
Herbicide use can reduce gamebird populations on farms by disrupting habitats that chicks use to find insects and other foods. Similarly, pesticides can decrease the number of aquatic foods necessary to the survival of ducklings. Careful selection and use of pesticides, however, can lessen their impact upon wildlife. Insecticides Wildlife are exposed to insecticides when they eat granules or residues on plants and in insects. For instance, quail chicks feed on dead and dying insects following applications of insecticides.