**4. Conclusions**

We reviewed a wide range of alternative methods used to control the CPB. We listed, categorized, and highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of the methods, including in comparison to conventional insecticides. Next, we presented the current knowledge about the positive and negative effects of using alternative control methods and IPM of various control approaches. We also illustrated how alternative control methods, farmers, and environmental factors (e.g., biodiversity and ecosystem health) are strongly linked in a self-reinforcing cycle. The higher the acceptance of farmers for the use of alternative control methods, the healthier the ecosystem including pest's enemy biodiversity. The following decrease of pest abundance may increase the yield, profit, and acceptance of farmers to use less conventional and more alternative methods. There are still few studies that compare the actual yield and profit between fields controlled by using synthetic insecticides and some of the alternatives described here under the same environmental and anthropogenic conditions. The existing studies sugges<sup>t</sup> that implementing IPM methods and using alternatives to synthetic insecticides can produce nearly as high or even higher yields than conventional farming, especially regarding the high potential of improving sustainable methods over time and experience. Overall, we are trying to balance the positive and negative sides of alternative control methods and combine them with current knowledge about environmental impacts. In our view, this is a fundamental task for the future, especially in times of high global species loss and increasing demand for environmentally friendly agriculture and products. Many alternative methods that already exist are often at least as good or even more efficient than their conventional counterparts. Moreover, the effectiveness and reputation of the latter ones are constantly declining, so the only logical conclusion is to improve alternative control methods. Those are still far from being perfect alternatives, so more research is needed, also to improve the efficacy, yield, profit, and understandability of methods for farmers. Some methods are already widely accepted and in use, such as certain IPMs with ecologically friendly insecticides or physical or augmentative control, while the pure utilization of conservation biological methods did not convince many farmers yet, although all of these methods show potential. Much more research is needed as alternative methods and their success is much less investigated and much more complex than most conventional ones. Still, it is broadly acknowledged that alternative control methods contribute greatly to a healthier environment from which everybody can profit. This leads us to believe that alternative control methods already play an appropriate role in agriculture and hopefully, in the long-term, can completely replace or at least diminish as much as possible pest control methods based on conventional and often environmentally harmful synthetic insecticides.

**Author Contributions:** The authors contributed as followed to the specific parts of the work: Idea of the topic, B.G. and R.B.; Investigation (literature research), B.G.; Conceptualization, B.G. and R.B.; Validation, B.G., D.L. and R.B.; Writing, B.G., Review and editing, B.G., D.L., and R.B.; Visualization, B.G. and R.B.; Supervision, R.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation through the project MONPERES (2016-06-7458) "Monitoring of Insect Pest Resistance: Novel Approach for Detection, and Effective Resistance Management Strategies".

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.
