The Gardener’s Bug Book

The Gardener’s Bug Book, by Barbara Pleasant, is one of the most beneficial books for natural gardeners.

The sight of holes in the leaves, or a wilting tomato plant can bring a gardener close to tears.  Especially, after a season of work to coax the plant into production.  Potentially one of the most beneficial aspects of The Gardeners Bug Book is that it gives plenty of information about when to be worried about “bug bites” in your plants, and when to let the bites go, chocking them up to the natural cycle of life in the garden.  Pleasant also gives tricks for watching insects that you haven’t yet identified, or are unfamiliar with, for long enough to be able to identify and respond.  You can observe insects in their natural habitats, during almost every phase of their life cycles.  These observations will help a gardener develop an appropriate response to insect damage and control.

Response, not Treatment

Sometimes, insects will cause enough damage to warrant treatment, but first, before developing any plan of action, the first action, reminds Pleasant, is to observe.  In order to know which pest you are working with, you need to correctly identify the pest.  Pleasant uses the word “response,” throughout the book, which is a good rule of thumb for any gardener.  Your response might be to simply wait out the pest and do nothing.  Your response might be to treat the plant or use a method to remove the pest.

Gardening Detective Work

Once Pleasant has drilled it into readers’ heads that they should stop, look, and think before responding to a pest problem, she details ways to identify pests.  Helpful diagrams detailing the life cycles of pests are accompanied by explanations of each life cycle stage of complete and incomplete metamorphosis, and how to identify and remove pests during each stage.

Pleasant also details ways to use environmental cues, and the plants themselves, for identifying pests or insects present.  She reminds us that insects are fairly specific about what they prefer to eat, and much pest identification can be done by starting with a list of pests that commonly affect the specific plant being attacked.  All of this information leads to an understanding that broad-spectrum defenses (sprays, poisons, etc.) are not the way to go for a healthy and balanced garden ecosystem.  Instead, the book includes a list of natural or earth-friendlier alternatives and solutions.

Common Crops, Common Pest Problems

Following basic information about insect life cycles, and the types of damage that insects commonly inflict, is a list of most commonly grown food crops, and the insects that often afflict them.  The next chapter is an alphabetical list of pests, including line diagrams of the larval and adult forms of each insect.  The pest list gives tips for identification and eradication, and notes whether it is worth trying to control the pest problem, or let it resolve on its own.  The book ends with natural or earth-friendly remedies for responding to pest issues.

Pleasant does remind us that “environmentally-friendly” does not necessarily mean “safe,” and it is always important to read the label on an store-bought pesticide (organic or synthetic) before using it.  This book is a must-have for any natural gardener.