biological control
nounDefinition of biological control
1
: the reduction in numbers or elimination of pest organisms by interference with their ecology (as by the introduction of parasites or diseases)
2
: an agent used in biological control
Examples of biological control in a Sentence
She practices biological control in her gardening.
She uses biological controls in her garden.
Recent Examples on the Web
But as the examples of the mongoose and cane toad illustrate, biological control can go awry. — Christina Nunez, National Geographic, "Invasive species, explained," 5 June 2019 Using biological controls is our best bet in keeping this entire group of trees on our landscape in the long term in North America. — Alyssa Lukpat, BostonGlobe.com, "Maine Forest Service releasing wasps to kill invasive forest beetles," 17 July 2019 Birds could learn to like it, and scientists may develop biological controls against it. — Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, "‘This is going to be a bad one’: A new pest is causing quarantines in Va. and Pa.," 26 June 2019 Another concept, biological control, involves researching and cultivating natural enemies for invasive species. — Christina Nunez, National Geographic, "Invasive species, explained," 5 June 2019 Several species of parasitic wasps are under consideration as a method of biological control, though this strategy typically only becomes practical once an invasive species becomes established. — Zach Montague, New York Times, "Lanternflies Eat Everything in Sight. The U.S. Is Looking Delicious.," 21 May 2018 But in both cases biological controls—where a natural enemy organism is introduced to counter the invader—turned out to be a useful tool, and the war between human and insect ended in stalemate. — Connie Bruck, The New Yorker, "The Mail," 14 Mar. 2018 Efforts to control the plants using herbicides and biological controls such as weevils that eat only the target plant have limited success. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Boaters key to slowing invasive species," 3 Mar. 2018 To Jentsch, the biological control is the lesser of two evils. — Steven Strogatz, The New Yorker, "When Twenty-Six Thousand Stinkbugs Invade Your Home," 8 Aug. 2011These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'biological control.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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