How to use biological controls to battle pests in your Northeast Ohio garden

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Past columns have looked at both mechanical and chemical methods to manage weeds and pests in Northeast Ohio gardens, but a third option is biological control.

Mechanical control is a fancy term for weeding or any other physical action to stop pests, like handpicking beetles, tilling soil, or putting row covers over plants. Chemical control involves using pesticides and herbicides (and carefully following label instructions, of course).

Biological control uses living organisms to suppress pests. A common term for this method is “beneficial insects,” although the phrase is not technically accurate, because some of these helpers are mites, nematodes, or even microorganisms.

Cuyahoga County Master Gardener Carolyn Huffman recently contacted me with an enthusiastic rep