Biological control is a non-chemical management technique that uses naturally-occurring host-specific insects, mites or pathogens to help control invasive species. Biological control can be very cost-effective, but this approach is limited to those weeds for which safe biological control agents have been identified, tested, and authorized, and does not result in full eradication. See the Overview of Biological Control for background on the technique, definitions for commonly-used terms, and explanation of the safeguards used to make sure control agents are safe.