Pest Control workshop by Terra Perma at Duncraig Edible Garden

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Summary:
Figure out what nature does.

Humans have come up with the term pest and it’s personal. Same with weeds (insert link).

If we weren’t there these ‘pests’ would be doing things like growth control, composting, pollinating/spreading seed, cycling life, working with nature.

To control these pests we need predators and nature will bring them naturally. Too many aphids (one can produce 50,000 in a go!!!), ladybugs show up. Too many caterpillars, paper wasps show up.

The praying mantis eat anything that moves, dragonflies do a good job in the air and their larvae do a good job in the water. Wattlebirds are great for pests and to improve the area to attract them you could plant more grevillia and bottlebrush.

There has to be room for nature. Just a handful of bullrush from a local pond in a bucket with water and you’ve provided water and an environment for more life to come. Charles says a pond is his top pick to attract predators. Also water on the ground to attract reptiles.

Mulch is another one and best to get a thick layer of the local one you find. You’re replicating the understory of a forest. Logs, branches, etc. are good. Make holes with varying depths in the logs for insects and place some on the ground and some on trees (insect hotels). Do what you can to create as much habitat you can for the predators.

Remember predators always come after the pests so be careful not to use things that keep predators away like poisons and wrong chemicals. Not all chemicals are bad also. It’s a good idea to keep a pest calendar and observe when they come and go. You should be growing some of your food too so keep that in mind.

Be careful which forums you use for advice. In this day and age it’s easy to say kill it or throw it out without knowing everything. Permaculture principles are that all life has value. Some people see snails as pests while others see them as escargot.

The idea is to use life to control life.

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Living in Australia our plants are very different and when we moved in our cats and dogs killed off the marsupials in the area. We want to try and bring back nature and even planting native too. Watch ‘natures colosseum’ as Charles puts it. It’s going through the same battles we are or even worse.

Rats and aphids can reproduce faster than we can kill them to best to try reduce them where you can. Use barriers like netting and traps. If you don’t deal with the cause then the symptom will continue to occur.