Pesticides: Don't Kill the Good Guys

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Pesticides: Dream Scenario or a Nightmare?

Imagine waking up one morning and discovering that all the insects and other pests in your garden have disappeared forever - no more slugs and snails, aphids, lily beetles, caterpillars and all those other creatures that chomp their way through your flowers, vegetables and fruit. It sounds like a dream come true, doesn't it?

Now comes the nightmare - the force that took out the pests has made all the other insects disappear too. Imagine your garden without bees, hoverflies, butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies and other beneficial or harmless creatures.

Would it really matter if we didn't have them in our gardens? Wouldn't the benefits of getting rid of slugs outweigh the loss of butterflies, beautiful as they might be?

What would the practical consequences be if we lost the beneficial insects as well as the pests?

Without nectar feeding bugs, we would lose numerous garden and wild flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Consequences of the Loss of Insects 

Certainly from the way that some of us use pesticides, it appears that there are people who feel that losing all insects, good and bad, would not matter. We might not have pesticides with a one hundred per cent kill rate, but those we do have can achieve a dangerously high body count given the right circumstances and this could have serious long term consequences, not only for our own gardens, but for the whole planet.

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Without bees and butterflies and other nectar feeding bugs that incidentally pollinate plants as they carry pollen on their bodies from one flower to another, we would lose numerous garden and wild flowers. Many types of fruit and vegetables would also disappear without this kind of pollination.

If we kill off beneficial insects and bugs, we could see an increase in the destructive kind. Ladybugs, hoverflies and lacewings prey on aphids and help to keep them under control. Reduce the numbers of these kinds of creatures and aphids have fewer natural predators. It isn't only aphids that are controlled naturally: parasitic wasps and damsel bugs prey on the larvae of many different pests, ground beetles eat slugs and grubs, while pirate bugs eat a whole range of pests and these are just a few examples.

The populations of beneficial insects are often smaller than that of their prey. You don't see swarms of ladybugs, but you do see large numbers of aphids on each affected plant. The number of aphids helps control the population of ladybugs - fewer aphids, not enough food to support a larger number of ladybugs. Unfortunately, if the number of ladybugs is drastically reduced, then the aphid population has a chance to explode.

The UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says on its website, "...evidence of impacts of pesticides on food chains grows. Pesticides can disrupt food webs, killing plants and insects that may be essential food for other wildlife."

Birds can be affected by the use of insecticides

Larger Animals Suffer Too 

Many species of birds depend on insects for food and, of course, they feed them to their young. Although the more immediately toxic pesticides have been banned and so fewer birds than in the past are suffering directly from pesticide poisoning, the aggressive use of pesticides reduces the number of insects available for food.

Some birds, frogs and toads help keep the slug and snail population under control. Chemical slug pellets can poison these creatures if they eat them after they have been killed by pellets.

Pesticides and Alternatives Links 

Birds Are at Risk from Garden Pesticides
Often we don't consider the risk that birds face when we use pesticides. This articles alerts us to the dangers.
Ontario bans lawn and garden pesticides
Did you know that lawn pesticides can be dangerous to children? If not, read this article from Canada's Globe & Mail dated April 2008.
Companion Planting
By putting some plants with others, you can deter pests. For example, carrot fly is attracted to the scent of the plants and others can mask their distinctive scent.
Biological Control of Pests
At its simplest, biological control can be just encouraging ladybugs (ladybirds) to prey on aphids. A more sophisticated method would be to buy nematodes to control pests in the greenhouse.

Are we really poisoning the streams around our homes?

Don't Forget Aquatic Species 

Are we really poisoning the streams around our homes?

We may not realize that when we spray our garden plants with pesticides, some residue stays in the soil. When there are heavy rainstorms, this can be washed into rivers and streams. The University of California says that this pollution disrupts the aquatic food pyramid by principally killing a tiny invertebrate called Ceriodaphnia which, in turn, has an impact all the way up the food chain.

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I would feel a great sense of loss if I could no longer watch birds, butterflies, ladybugs and the myriad of other animals and insects that currently use my garden.

Using Pesticides 

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If you have to use pesticides, the most important thing is to follow the instructions on the pack. Don't think that if it says mix one capful in one gallon of water, two or three capfuls will be better.

Never spray insecticides during the daytime. You should always do it in the evening when ladybugs, butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects are no longer flying.

Avoid using pesticides in dust form. The dust sticks to the hairs on the bodies of insects like bees and other colony living insects who then take it back to their nests and hives, causing further deaths.

Best of all, don't use pesticides.


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10 Simple Organic Methods of Pest Control 

Rose Aphid, UK
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1. Use water to rid your plants of infestations of aphids. Turn on your hose so you get a fierce jet of water (not so strong it breaks plants) and wash them off.

2. A solution of soap and water will also get rid of aphids.

3. Use a mixture of soap and water over plants that are being attacked by slugs. This should discourage them.

4. Use broken egg shells, sharp sand or gravel around tender plants to deter slugs and snails. They just don't like to crawl over this kind of thing.

5. If you have a problem with flea beetles on some plants, put onion or mint next to them. The flea beetles apparently don't like the smell.

6. If your plants are infested with red spider mite, use a stop the plants dehydrating by giving them a gentle spray of water in the evenings. A more moist atmosphere should get rid of this pest.

7. Plant garlic near anything suffering from red spider mite to deter the pests.

8. The herb borage planted near tomatoes and cabbages will deter <tomato hornworms and cabbage worms

9. Plant catnip to deter a whole range of pests including aphids, ants, squash beetles, weevils and flea beetles.

10. Use citrus fruit peel as a pesticide. Take the peel of one orange and pour 2 cups of boiling water over it. Leave it to soak for 24 hours then strain off the water and dispose of the peel. Spray the citrus water on to aphids also can be used on ants nests.

The Advantages of Organic Gardening 

There are so many reasons for not using pesticides. They range from worries over the long term effects on human health to the lack of biodiversity that result from their use.

Perhaps we should also consider why we want a garden. Even if we grow our own fruit and vegetables, most of us are not economically dependent on a big crop. Surely most of us enjoy our gardens because it puts us in touch with nature which we can enjoy in many ways, including the animals, birds and insects we see there. I know that I would feel a great sense of loss if I could no longer watch birds, butterflies, ladybugs and the myriad of other animals and insects that currently use my garden.

If we garden organically, without the use of pesticides, we know that our own fruit and vegetables are safe to eat with no noxious chemicals used to produce them.


Fruit and Vegetables from the Garden, Kent


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Organic Gardening 

Organic Gardening
A good overview of organic gardening.
Pros & Cons of Organic Gardening
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Organic Gardening Tips
Hundreds of tips about gardening organically.

Gardeners shouldn't use pesticides. - What Do You Think? 

Should gardeners use pesticides?

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Absolutely not - they poison the planet

KimGiancaterino says:

We don't use any in our garden and have lots of butterflies, bees, grasshoppers, and even hornets. We also like spiders!

Posted October 13, 2009

aj2008 says:

No way - there's plenty of other more natural ways to get rid of pests, including soapnut juice!

Posted March 19, 2009

burntchestnut says:

No, there are other ways to control weeds and bugs. We have to consider pesticides on food we eat now and also pesticides in the ground and water that will taint growing plants for many years in the future. Even commercially, if a company plans to stay in business for a long time, organic gardening will pay off.

Posted December 27, 2008

naturegirl7 says:

The effects of pesticides are far reaching and most home gardens can do without them. Once you revive the natural food chain that pesticides destroy, and get it working for you again, your pest problem will be solved.

Posted October 30, 2008

chemrat says:

Not all natural compounds are harmless, but many man-made pesticides are very harmful. For example, extremely tiny amounts of certain man-mad pesticides are fatal to salmon in US rivers. These amounts are so low that they couldn't even be measured 20 years ago. The discovery of this toxicity led to legal requirements for labeling of the pesticides and forbidding their use in crop spraying near rivers, etc. However, the Bush Administration has effectively prevented these (mild) measures from being enforced, even in the face of a Federal court order. See greenchemistry.wordpress.com for more.

So, to me, a pesticide is a pesticide, whether obtained from natural sources (including plants or insects that make their own pesticides) or man-made sources. I say learn about what you are working with, from places like this lens, and then make your choices. I can't answer the question with a simple yes or no, in general, but I will say no to harmful pesticides, no matter what the source!

Posted August 03, 2008

Of course we should - we have hungry mouths to feed.

bbug says:

Commercially, it is unavoidable. The amounts and types should be modified but I do believe they are necessary in moderation. There are pesticides that could cause less damage to the planet

Posted September 08, 2008

 

Organic Gardening Products 

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Vote for your favourite environmental book 

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is the first book I remember reading that warned about the dangers to our environment caused by pesticides, insecticides and other agricultural and gardening practices. What is your favourite book on the subject?

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Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silen more...2 points

Choose your favourite relevant pictures on Flickr 

One of my favourite pictures is the one of the thrush. When I was a child, I used to see so many thrushes and now I only see them very rarely in spite of living in the country. Of course, I appreciate them more now because of that.

What's your favourite wildlife or gardening picture?

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Thrush

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Frog

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Tadpoles

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NEWS: The Dirty Dozen of Fruit & Vegetables 

Wednesday, March 19, 2009
This week the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has published its list of the most contaminated fruit and vegetables. EWG's research shows that consumers can reduce their consumption of pesticides by 80% by avoiding the top twelve fruit and vegetables that are most contaminated by pesticides.

The top 12 are:

  • Peach

  • Apple

  • Sweet Bell Pepper

  • Celery

  • Nectarine

  • Strawberries

  • Cherries

  • Kale

  • Lettuce

  • Grapes - Imported into USA

  • Carrot

  • Pear

Read the full story on the Environmental Working Group's website.

Picture from Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.

News About Organic Gardening 

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Lensmaster Stazjia has been a member since September 26 2006, has rated 1,341 lenses, favorited 791, and has created 130 lenses from scratch. Carol Fisher donates their royalties to Dolphin Communication Project. This member's top-ranked page is "Classic Funny Poems for Kids". See all my lenses

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