This review provides background information for discussing Desert Locust control strategies and tactics. The illustrated text describes the evolution of the control strategy from 1930 onwards, the spatial and temporal characteristics of outbreaks, upsurges and plagues and methods of assessing the threat this locust poses to agriculture in Africa, the Near East and southwest Asia. An early warning system has operated since the 1940s as part of the collaborative national, regional and international system to prevent Desert Locust plagues. Methods of assessing plague prevention preparedness are described as are factors currently limiting the sustainability of the system.