A National Research Council report (70) on strategies and tactics for pesticide resistance management described insecticide susceptibility as a resource….

Source: Brogdon & McAllister (1998), Insecticide Resistance and Vector Control, EID.

Those crazy 80s, right?

But it’s fascinating:

Pest-control actions can resemble the depletion of any “commons.” Here the commonly held resource is the susceptibility of pests to available pesticides. Individuals acting independently can deplete this resource to the detriment of all, while the benefits of conserving susceptibility may or may not exceed the cost for any individual. Thus, reliance on individual users’ decisions may harm all users.

Pg. 423, Integration of Policy for Resistance Management, in Pesticide Resistance: Strategies and Tactics for Management (1986)