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Garden Pests
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Pest Quotes
"Herein lies our problem. If we level that much land to grow rice and whatever, then no other animal could live there except for some insect pest species, which is very unfortunate."
"You can't be friends with a squirrel! A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit."
"Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes"
"The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbet; watch the roots."
"On every stem, on every leaf, and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part."
"We have descended into the garden and caught three hundred slugs. How I love the mixture of the beautiful and the squalid in gardening. It makes it so lifelike."
Dealing with Pests in Your Garden
Friend or Foe
There are some creatures that are almost universally considered to be a pest when they are found in the garden. A classic example might be slugs and snails.
On the other hand, there are creatures that some people consider to be pests, whilst others enjoy welcoming them as visitors to their gardens.
For example, some people enjoy seeing squirrels in their garden, whilst others view them as little more than rats with more attractive coats. Some even consider grey squirrels to be pests but not red squirrels.
Gardeners and garden owners must decide for themselves what they want to attract to their gardens and what they want to prevent.
The general principle seems to be that some creatures bring us pleasure by their appearance or antics, whilst others seem to be intent on destroying our prize plants or driving out other welcome visitors. It is the latter group that we consider to be pests and against which we declare war.
Choose Your Weapons
Methods for deterring or eradicating pests also vary from one person to another. Some are happy enough to use chemical pesticides, whereas others prefer to use the most natural and humane methods available.
It's worth bearing in mind, however, that garden plants are continually being attacked by all kinds of pests and diseases. Fortunately, plants tend to have their own natural defences that help them survive most attacks. Sometimes, however, the attack gets out of hand and that is when the gardener has to step in and lend a helping hand.
Further Reading
Tips for Dealing with Pests
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Rats and Mice Deterring rats and mice from making their home in your garden |
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Slugs and Snails Stop slugs and snails from invading your garden and destroying your prize plants |
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Rabbits What to do when rabbits invade your garden |
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Mistletoe The Christmas decoration that is a poisonous parasite |
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Garden Pests Dealing with a range of garden pests |
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Mosquitoes Trees and plants to help deter mosquitoes |
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Moles Humane control of moles in your garden |
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Foxes What to do about foxes in your garden |
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Squirrels Humane control of squirrels |
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Weed Control Techniques for effective weed control |
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Weeds Identify common garden weeds |