Biological control is the deliberate use of introduced and native natural enemies -predators, parasites, pathogens and competitors to suppress and maintain populations of a target pest species (arthropod, weed, plant pathogen or other pest organism).

The common strategies for biological can be described as:

• Conservation biological control: practices that  encourage the presence, reproduction, survival and effectiveness of existing natural enemies of pests.
  
• Classical biological control: the introduction of a pest's natural enemies to a new location where they do not naturally occur. 
• Augmentative biological control: the supplemental release of natural enemies to increase their numbers and effectiveness against a pest.