Biological control tools and their use in insect management in Egypt [electronic resource].
- p.1249-1295.
Includes references.
The use of biological control is a fundamental tactic for pest suppression within an effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Biological control refers to the use of natural enemies against a pest population to reduce the pest's density and damage to a level lower than would occur in their absence (McCoy, 1987; Mahr and Ridgeway, and Lee et al. 2001). Biological control has the advantage of being self perpetuating once established and usually does not harm non-target organisms found in the environment. In addition, it is not polluting or as disruptive to the environment as chemical pesticides, nor does it leave residues on food, a concern to many people today. However, the use of biological control does require detailed knowledge of the pest's biology and population dynamics, as well as the natural enemies associated with the pest and their impact. Control is usually not complete with this IPM method since a residual population of the pest is often necessary for the natural enemies to remain in the environment, so some non-economic population levels of pests must be acceptable or tolerated.