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Monday 11 April 2011

Killing Your Dinner Guests, and Other Pest Control Solutions

Getting rid of pests in gardens is a tough subject. Its never easy watching bugs or other 'pests' eat their way through your beautiful garden. Especially when you've put in all that hard work, or spent all that money.
I left this little guy to eat what he wanted from my plants
But as with so many of the problems that we face in life, we resort to a knee-jerk reaction, or we respond emotionally. We don't stop to think things through properly. Sometimes it requires an unemotional look at, and a better understanding of the problem to decide what to do.
To put things in perspective, I look at pesticides (maybe we should more honestly call them naturecides because of the damage they do) in as serious a way as chemotherapy drugs. They should only be used in very serious situations, and when all other options have been examined and weighed.

Here's some questions to ask yourself before resorting to poisoning your garden with pesticides:

1. How serious is the problem?
Will the 'pest' kill the plant that it is eating, or will it just perform a natural function of cutting back, which gives space for new growth? Get some advice if you're not sure.
In most cases, its just a natural cycle, and the garden/plant will recover on its own without needing our intervention.

2. Is there a bigger problem behind this infestation?
Sometimes there are other reasons for a sudden increase in insect activity, but we end up treating the symptoms and not the cause. These reasons can be anything from a change in the plants ideal environment (too much sun, or shade), or even the over-use of chemicals in the past which has removed the pests natural predators or weakened the plant. Usually 'pests' increase when plants are weak and can't defend themselves.

3. Have I planted the right plant?
If we choose the right plant for the right place, it usually needs less attention. The right plant is usually less prone to attack from insects. Choose indigenous plants over exotics. Indigenous plants are normally more resistant to attacks.

4. Have I planted too much of the same plant?
Mono-cultures (a single type of plant spread over a wide area) are like an eat-all-you-want buffet. They're basically an invitation for insects and animals to come in take a load off, and eat to their hearts content. Most lawns are mono-cultures, and are usually the source of most problems.

5. Is this normal?
There is often a natural and harmonious balance between plant and insect that shouldn't be interfered with. Some plants actually need insects to eat them, to stay healthy. By spraying pesticides and herbicides, we're getting in the way, and could end up killing a lot more plants and animals than we intended.

6. Are you killing your dinner-guests?
This is really a follow up to the previous question. Most plants put "Open For Business" signs up in the way of fruit and flowers and juicy leaves. These attract insects for a reason, but these insects may sample other plants on their way in and out. If you plant a Butterfly Bush, it follows that you're going to see more caterpillars coming into the garden. Either get used to your visitors, or take the plant out.

7. Can I deal with them in other ways?
If at all possible, rather kill them by hand (or foot). If you're squeamish, there are plenty natural solutions out there; from beer, and grapefruit to chilli and flour. A little research usually yields a better solution (literally).

If none of these questions give you reason to resist the chemical route, then ask yourself one final question:

8. Is a little bit of chaos and mess not a good thing to have?
The need to have everything perfectly neat and tidy is sometimes a reflection of other issues that we are not dealing with, or other areas in our lives that are not under control. I believe that sometimes the challenges we face are there for us to confront the things we would rather not face.

If you still decide to go down the naturecide route, do it carefully and in a restrained way. But come back to these questions every now and then, and re-evaluate your garden as things change.

8 comments:

Diana Studer said...

You could hook this post in to Jan Thanks for Today, who has a Sustainablility meme going.

stoneware70 said...

Thanks Diana, I've never read Jan's blog before, but its great to see so many gardeners trying to make a difference!

stoneware70 said...

P.S. Here's the link to Jan's blog, with links to gardeners making a difference:
http://thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/2011/03/gardeners-sustainable-living-2011-win.html

Anonymous said...

Bravo! Apt and articulate - and amusingly titled! I might not do indigenous with great conviction, but I am passionate about keeping the poisons out. Nice to see you around again, Ross! (Not that I've been around many other blogs myself of late...) Jack

stoneware70 said...

Thanks Jack! Yes, it's been hard to find the time to blog over the last few months, but looking forward to getting stuck in again...

Jan said...

Hi Ross, thanks for joining my project. You name some great reasons for going pesticide-free. Nature pretty much has a method to her madness! I have learned a lot about being more sustainable in the past couple of years...through garden blogging. Reading posts like yours is very inspiring. Happy Earth Day to you;-)

garden girl in SA said...

This is such a well written post. I just hope the message get's through to those that still use pesticides. I dream of the day when our nursery shelves have no little bottles of poison and only stock indigenous plants.

Horse medication said...

There are millions of pests killing product out in the market now but honestly 80% of them are not good for both our health and for the environment. It's not only about killing those pests...it also about taking care of our health as well as the environment.

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