Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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Ever since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, pests have plagued us. The Book of Genesis explains, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee."
Add to the thorns and thistles myriad other weeds.
Then count the insects, the pathogenic diseases caused by different organisms, and those mishaps from the weather and other environmental problems.
Include rodents, birds and other animals, and it seems like we are lucky to get anything to grow in our gardens. The biblical curse gets somewhat personal when you're fighting pests. I admit I have a hard time feeling "blessed" when pests are destroying my plants.
Pests destroy about one-third of the world's food supply annually. They attack our homes, pets and domestic animals, clothing, forests and almost anything else around us. They spread serious diseases to people, other animals and our desirable plants.
Pests discourage gardeners. No one wants to spend all the time and money to grow a garden and then have pests destroy it. Since pests are so widespread, numerous and diverse, controlling them is never easy. Successful control requires understanding the problems and how and when to intervene.
Because of space limitations, this column will cover strategy, not pest controls for specific pests. The advice is to control common, destructive pests that attack edible crops (meaning vegetables), tree fruits and berries. Controlling these successfully adds food to your table and makes gardening more enjoyable. Getting started
Determining the best way to control pests is often difficult.
Start by diagnosing the problem correctly. It is confusing and difficult to tell what causes specific problems. If you do not know what the problem is, you cannot solve it.
There are great differences among garden pests. Controls for insects are very different from controls for diseases or nutritional problems. If you make the wrong diagnosis, you will spend considerable time and money treating the problem and, even worse, the plants might die because of an incorrect diagnosis.
Any diagnosis starts with identifying the plant. People call any tall evergreen a pine tree, but it could be a spruce, fir or juniper. These need different growing conditions and develop different problems.
If you took your pet into a veterinarian and were asked if it were a dog or cat, you would never let that person touch your pet. Yet plants are just as different as animals. If you cannot identify the plant, find out. You can never determine the way to solve the problem if you are treating the wrong type of plant.
Determine what is normal for that plant. Often gardeners think there is a problem but the plant is normal. Remember, most creatures in your garden are not causing problems, so determine if a problem exists before attempting control measures.
Finally, consider the economics of pest control. If pest problems are serious enough, rotate out of that plant until the pest subsides, change to a different crop or figure out a less expensive way of control. Chemicals are not the only answer. There are many biological, cultural, mechanical and other controls that will help reduce pest problems.
