Tolerate a few pests to maintain a healthy ecosystem – otherwise what will their natural predators have to eat?
• Attract birds to the garden with water, fruit and nesting places – flickers, wrens, chickadees and warblers are all desirable birds which nest in cavities or shrubs • Ladybugs and their larvae, dragonflies, ground beetles and lacewing larvae are all useful predators in the garden • Parasites, nematodes and micro-organisms can be purchased and unleashed against certain pests; there are specific ones for each pest and their residues break down quickly making them relatively safe. Do your research – yes, you may actually have to learn something to be a gardener! Know your enemies • Inspect the garden regularly before pests become an overwhelming problem • When you discover damage to plants, identify the pest and consider its life cycle before deciding whether it needs to be dealt with. If you catch it early, you can probably just physically remove the pest (wash or pick it off.) • A strong spray of water repeated several days in a row can knock down aphid populations • Slugs love damp p
