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Unwanted or harmful species can have a major impact on natural vegetation and fauna. Chemicals such as pesticides or poisons can be used to get rid of these species, but are often harmful to the environment or affect other species. Alternatives such as capturing, cleaning or eradication are time consuming and can only have a minor effect on pests. Biological control or biological control is the control of the numbers of a harmful or unwanted organism using another organism or natural enemy. It is an alternative to using broad-spectrum pesticides that kill beneficial insects as well as harmful organisms. A successful biological control program reduces or eliminates the need for other controls. In order to select a successful biological control program, the pest population must be defined together with their levels and infestation conditions. The introduction of a new organism into an environment should be done after careful consideration to ensure that risks to the environment or other species are minimal.

Biological control is the use of natural predators to control pest populations to minimize their impact on economic and environmental practices. Living organisms such as natural predators, parasites and pathogens are used to control pests that damage horticultural crops. These include organisms such as lady beetles and wasps that prey on harmful insects but do not harm plants.

Opossums or marsupials have detrimental effects on the environment, such as consuming forests, spreading disease and hunting certain birds. The numbers of these rats are controlled by a combination of poisonous drugs and capture. Scientists are currently investigating effective and humane alternatives to controlling marsupial rat numbers. One biocontrol strategy under investigation is the development of immuno-contraceptives using baits, bacteria, viruses or parasitic worms. These immuno-contraceptives prevent opossums from producing offspring by sterilizing them.

Advantages of Biological Control
Insects, weeds, or other pests can be annoying. More than that, beyond What is Biological Control, they can destroy the world's ecosystem and agriculture by disrupting the delicate balance provided by the natural diversity of organisms. All these pests can be controlled biologically.
Biological control is a very specific strategy: It is an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical or mechanical control methods that will control the pest population. For example, weed-killing chemicals can also destroy fruit-bearing plants, while biological control destroys weeds and does not damage fruit. Natural enemies left to the environment can often sustain their own lineage by reducing the pest populations they have to manage. This means that once they enter the environment, little effort is required to keep the system running smoothly. It also means that biological control can be kept in place longer than other pest control methods.

Biological control is extremely effective: Whatever the pest population to be controlled is taken under control. Pest populations are often seen to decline, as the predator brought into the environment will naturally tend to target pests.
Reduces safety concerns: Unlike chemical pesticides, biological control agents, also called biological agents, do not leave long-term residues in the environment, leak into groundwater, or form resistant insect species. Biological control minimizes environmental, legal and public safety concerns. Integrated pest control uses biological measures in conjunction with other measures

Disadvantages of Biological Control
If a pest is to be eradicated completely, biological control is not the right choice. Some of the disadvantages of biological control are:
Biological control can be unstable: The natural enemy unleashed in an ecosystem may not be controlled. Bringing a new species to the environment has the risk of disrupting the natural food chain. While it must manage a pest, there is always the possibility that predators (natural enemies used for biocontrol) will switch to a different target, for example they may eat crops instead of insects that invade fields.
Multicolored Asian lady beetles were brought to the United States 30 to 35 years ago for the control of aphids and released to nature, but have become an unexpected pest that invades homes to spend the winter. Another example is Indian gray weasels or gray mongoose brought to Hawaii to control snakes and rats in sugarcane fields. These creatures also hunt native Hawaiian birds, amphibians, reptiles, and poultry. About $ 50 million annually in damage in Hawaii and Puerto Rico is due to damage inflicted by Indian ferrets. Modern methods greatly reduce the likelihood of the emergence of harmful species.
It is a slow process: It takes a lot of time and patience for biological agents to act on the pest population. Other methods, such as pesticides, give immediate results, but the effect of biological control is long-term.