Locusts occur in nearly every continent.
Control by spreading poisoned food among the bands is very effective, but it is cheapest to spray concentrated insecticide solutions from aircraft over the insects or the vegetation on which they feed. A biological pesticide to control locusts was being trialled across Africa by a multinational team in 1997. Dried fungal spores sprayed in breeding areas pierce the locust exoskeleton on germination and invade the body cavity causing death.