Difference Between Biological Control and Chemical Control

The key difference between biological control and chemical control is that the biological control uses a living organism to kill the pest while the chemical control uses different synthetic chemicals to kill pests.

Pests are small creatures that injure, harm or kill plants or domestic animals. Furthermore, they transmit diseases, cause economic loses, etc.  Pests attack different crops and cause huge losses in agriculture. Therefore, pest control is a difficult task, and it is controlled by using chemical methods. However, chemicals are not environmental friendly. They cause environmental problems as well as health problems. Therefore, scientists have developed biological pest control methods that are eco-friendly and sustainable. In biological control, a living organism or a group of organisms involved. Hence, their effects are less to the environment. Chemical control can harm the environment and can cause health problems.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Biological Control
3. What is Chemical Control
4. Similarities Between Biological Control and Chemical Control
5. Side by Side Comparison – Biological Control vs Chemical Control in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Biological Control?

Biological control is a method that uses a living organism to kill and control pests such as mites, insects, etc. It is a natural method. It does not harm or pose any threat to the environment and also to the people. Biological control methods mainly rely on natural relationships such as parasitism, predation, herbivory, competitions, etc. Since any chemical involvement does not occur, they do not contaminate the environment. Further, pests do not develop resistance against the biological controlling method. There are three biological control methods such as classical biological control, conservation biological control and augmentation biological control.

Although biological control is a safe method, it introduces another organism to the natural environment. It can cause new problems since this new organism involves the food webs and explore habitats etc. Another disadvantage of the biological control is that it is a slow method and it reduces the pest levels but not completely eliminate as the chemical control does.

What is Chemical Control?

Pest control can be done using different chemicals. It is the method of chemical control. It uses strong chemicals which kill pests in an easy way. These chemicals, known as pesticides, can cause a lot of problems including environmental pollution and diseases. Pesticides not only kill the target, but it also kills non-targeted important organisms in that particular area. Furthermore, when pesticides use in pest management in agriculture, these pesticides can accumulate in food chains and enter into our bodies as well. If we consume pesticide contaminated foods, it can lead to serious health problems such as chronic kidney disease, etc. Not only that, pests can develop resistance against pesticides with time.

However, chemical methods are rapid, and they are able to eliminate pests completely by killing them. Chemicals used in pest control are organophosphates, carbamates, organochlorines, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids. They may contain toxic chemicals as well as heavy metals which can cause health-related problems.

What are the Similarities Between Biological Control and Chemical Control?

• In both biological control and chemical control, effective pest control is done.
• At present, both methods in progress through the world.

What is the Difference Between Biological Control and Chemical Control?

The difference between biological control and chemical control mainly relies on the material uses. That is, the biological control uses another living organism to control pests while chemical control uses different chemicals. Therefore, this is the key difference between biological control and chemical control. Also, the above difference in material use leads to another important difference between biological control and chemical control; the biological control is a safe, eco-friendly method, which does not allow pests to develop resistance. In contrast, chemical control can harm the environment and people living in it while it is allowing pests to develop resistance.

The below infographic tabulates the difference between biological control and chemical control in more detail.

Summary – Biological Control vs Chemical Control

Biological control and chemical control are two popular methods of pest control. Biological control uses a living organism to kill pests while chemical control uses different strong chemicals to kill, prevent or repel pests. therefore, biological control is an eco-friendly method since it does not harm the environment and people while chemical control is not environmental friendly. Chemicals can pollute the environment as well as they can contaminate the harvest of agriculture. However, compared to the biological control, chemical control methods are fast and completely eliminate pests. This is the difference between biological control and chemical control.

Reference:

1.“Biological Pest Control.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2018. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.”Aleiodes indiscretus wasp parasitizing gypsy moth caterpillar” (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia 
2.”765968″ (CC0) via pxhere