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Many gardeners assume that biological and botanical controls are always the best choice.
Some growers would go so far as to sacrifice an entire crop or lose a choice ornamental before reaching for a chemical control method. But when you are working with rare, endangered, long-lived or especially valuable plants, the choice of control methods becomes more complex. As a result, my goal is to maximize the use of biological controls and reduce pesticide use without sacrificing the health of my plants. The high value of my collection also makes a difference in the effort and expense IUm willing to accept to prevent insect damage. The higher cost of some biological control agents is more than justified in this situation.