Getting rid of pests

Ryuuko

Ryuuko

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Namaste everyone,

Here's a simple question, but perhaps a simple answer does not accompany it. I have a bunch of grasshoppers in my garden that have decided to destroy the plants and have a buffet. Since I know that buddhism honors all life, what do I do with those nasty grasshoppers that are taking over my garden?
 
Allow nature to take it's course. The population of the grasshoppers will rise, the garden will wither, the garden will not be able to support the grasshoppers, the grasshoppers will wither. Be not attached to the idea of a bug-free garden. This is an unnatural state anyway.

If you can't like that suggestion, you could shoo all the bugs off your property and have a zen garden put in. :)
 
Right, but in the meantime, the wonderful plants that I carefully planted are being eaten away. I don't want to be looking at a barren garden! Bugs are important in the ecosystem of the garden, and I do realize that I won't get a pristine, bug-free garden. I'm not expecting that. I just don't want the plants to die because the bugs ate all the leaves and now the plant is left with no means of renewing itself--it'll just wither.

A zen garden sounds great, but it doesn't smell as nice. :D
 
LOL Good thread. Luckily, I hate manicured things so I can revel in my indifference. But good luck with your path.
 
Didn't mean for my response to seem uncaring. I'm just happy I don't have this problem. Its a quandary
 
Namaste Mus Zibii,

Don't worry--no offense taken. You're right, it's a bit of a quandary. I'm anxious to see what others have to say.
 
Greetings!

I'm a gardener too, although I tend to just put things in and let nature take its course. Slugs eat my plants, mostly the leaves. It isn't terribly pretty sometimes, but I try to remember that they have a right to live and eat too. My favorite technique is to overplant so that not all the plants are decimated in one year. (The rabbits like this too because it gives them great places to nest.) I also put in really hardy things like black-eyed susans, daylilies, salvia ... the stuff that won't die no matter what you do.

My grandfather used to surround his new plants with plants that feeders don't like. (For instance, you can plant marigolds around new plants to give them time to establish before the rabbits find them.)

Another option is to pick the grasshoppers off the plants and drive them to a field and drop them off there. But this probably isn't terribly practical. More would just come back.

Have you thought about dedicating a portion of your garden to just grasshopper plants to draw them away from the rest of your beds? It sounds crazy, but it might work.

I'm curious what the Buddhists do about weeding. I used to just pull them out and toss them into my compost pile. But maybe that isn't compassionate?

With metta,
Zenda
 
Namaste Zenda,

Those are all worthwhile suggestions. I guess what you're saying that applying an organic pesticide to control the grasshoppers isn't a viable solution... I understand that grasshoppers have a right to live and eat too, but so do the plants--and with the ton of grasshoppers that are flying around, the plants are dying. There's an imbalance.

I see this situation pretty much the same to a virus attacking our bodies. Are we supposed to let the virus take its course (which can sometimes make our bodies very sick) or control the virus with medication?
 
Namaste all,


thank you for an interesting topic, Ryuuko.

i think that there are several means that you can use to try to deal with the situation.. with probably the most practicle being a live and let live attitude.

however, there are several home remedies, as it were, that you can use to control the insect population in your garden.

ideally, the solution would be to find a few inscets that happen to find grasshopper palatable. this, then, is a very balanced solution to the situation.

you can try things like Zenda has mentioned... her grandfathers advice is fantastic. there are several plant types that, though attractive, don't make for a good meal, thus, if you use them as a barrier, you can usually protect your plants.

i had this issue this year with the cicadids. they burrowed into nearly all of my new tree plantings.. and really did a job on them. they are pretty sickly looking right now :)

oh.. another thing i was thinking about... you can spray the plants with natural insect repellent, like citronella oil, though some plants don't react too well with this.

here's a neat link with plenty of ideas for natual pest control in your garden:

http://eartheasy.com/grow_nat_pest_cntrl.htm


now... i just thought i should touch on something that was briefly mentioned so that there is no misunderstand.

it is true that Buddhists value all life and the environment quite bit, however, not all life is sentient. it is sentient life that is reborn... this was in reference to bacteria and the body. i can go into more detail in this should it be desired.
 
Namaste Vajradhara,

Thank you for your suggestions, and for the information. If you wouldn't mind, yes, I would like more information about sentient beings and their rebirth.
 
Vajra: Will your trees bounce back next year from the cicadas? It's amazing, but we've hardly had any in Pennsylvania yet. Yet, my friends in Baltimore told me they had to shovel them off their porches.

Ryuuko: Good luck!

With metta,
ZW
 
Zenda71 said:
Vajra: Will your trees bounce back next year from the cicadas? It's amazing, but we've hardly had any in Pennsylvania yet. Yet, my friends in Baltimore told me they had to shovel them off their porches.

Ryuuko: Good luck!

With metta,
ZW
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Namaste Zenda,

from what i hear, the brood in Maryland was the largest single brood of inscets to ever hatch at one. billions of the little new foliage munchers were born.. they actually brought a news truck (lorrie for my Brit friends ;)) to my neighbors house to show all the cicadids in his yard. it was pretty amusing.

mostly, they are gone now, so i've pruned all the dead branches, which leaves some of them pretty darn bare. i suspect that they will recover well enough as the trunks weren't damaged, though, i won't really know until next year.
 
Namaste Ryuuko,

thank you for the post.

Ryuuko said:
Namaste Vajradhara,

Thank you for your suggestions, and for the information. If you wouldn't mind, yes, I would like more information about sentient beings and their rebirth.
Click to expand...
i am happy to expound on this to the limit of my understanding. however, prior to do that, i think that it may be of some value for you to visit this thread:
http://www.comparative-religion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=259

and read the information presented therein as i think that this will provide you with both good information and a wealth of areas in which to derive questions ;)

let me know once you've read that and we can discuss anything in particular that you'd like.
 
Namaste Vajradhara,

Thank you for the information; I'll read it a bit later, since there's uhhh.. quite a bit to read there and absorb. I'll post my questions a bit later relating to the issue.

Mind you, it's a bit difficult for me to rationalize having pests destroy plants. Such as in the case with your cicadas--I would be terribly upset if a swarm of cicadas came and munched on the trees like they did. My first instinct would be to destroy the ones I can (sorry, but I'm just being honest :D). If only one or two showed up, the plant can survive that, but a swarm? I just have a hard time seeing a wonderful plant being destroyed by pests. Oh, the woes of a gardener. ;)

If I can present a similar situation, I also have a family of ants that decided to move into the house some time over the winter. At first, there were only a couple. I'd see them go around, and remembered the Buddha's principle that I should honor all life and not kill the ants. So I let them stay, and went on with my life. No big deal, right? Since then, they've grown in population, and I come back from work at night sometimes and I see that they've built themselves a highway on my kitchen counter. Not only is this unclean, but it's kind of embarrasing when I have company over and they see ants all over the place. The ants are thriving--they're getting food from somewhere and a nice climate, so why wouldn't they? If I don't do anything about it, I may soon have ants all over the house, and have much bigger problems. So what can I do? I put an ant trap, and figure, if they go eat the stuff out of their own free will, then I'm not killing them, or am I?

Yes, the garden IS a wealth of knowledge...
 
Kindest Regards, Ryukko! I don't believe we've met, welcome!
Ryuuko said:
Namaste everyone,

Here's a simple question, but perhaps a simple answer does not accompany it. I have a bunch of grasshoppers in my garden that have decided to destroy the plants and have a buffet. Since I know that buddhism honors all life, what do I do with those nasty grasshoppers that are taking over my garden?
Click to expand...
Chinese gardening techniques amaze me. I love the way natural methods and schedules are incorporated into the scheme of doing things. It seems to me the solution to your problem would be in getting a few ducks to take care of your problem for you. Chickens might work, provided you keep them away from tomatoes (chickens love tomatoes).

By chance, are you familiar with the method of terraced gardening I have heard referred to as "teaching water?" I am having difficulty finding information about it. Thanks, and again, welcome!
 
Namaste Ryuuko,

yes, the garden is a wealth of knowledge and opportunities to practice :)

Ryuuko said:
Namaste Vajradhara,

Thank you for the information; I'll read it a bit later, since there's uhhh.. quite a bit to read there and absorb. I'll post my questions a bit later relating to the issue.
Click to expand...
indeed :) take your time.. i'm here all week. don't forget to tip your waitresses and try the soy veal!

Mind you, it's a bit difficult for me to rationalize having pests destroy plants. Such as in the case with your cicadas--I would be terribly upset if a swarm of cicadas came and munched on the trees like they did. My first instinct would be to destroy the ones I can (sorry, but I'm just being honest :D). If only one or two showed up, the plant can survive that, but a swarm? I just have a hard time seeing a wonderful plant being destroyed by pests. Oh, the woes of a gardener. ;)
Click to expand...
LOL. don't get me wrong, it's not as if i'm happy that all the new growth on the trees is lying in plastic bags now since they just fallen off. however, these things only happen once every 17 years... eh... i'll simply be amazed at the explosion of life :)

If I can present a similar situation, I also have a family of ants that decided to move into the house some time over the winter. At first, there were only a couple. I'd see them go around, and remembered the Buddha's principle that I should honor all life and not kill the ants. So I let them stay, and went on with my life. No big deal, right? Since then, they've grown in population, and I come back from work at night sometimes and I see that they've built themselves a highway on my kitchen counter. Not only is this unclean, but it's kind of embarrasing when I have company over and they see ants all over the place. The ants are thriving--they're getting food from somewhere and a nice climate, so why wouldn't they? If I don't do anything about it, I may soon have ants all over the house, and have much bigger problems. So what can I do? I put an ant trap, and figure, if they go eat the stuff out of their own free will, then I'm not killing them, or am I?

Yes, the garden IS a wealth of knowledge...
Click to expand...
this is a tough one, to be sure. the question i have for you is have you ascertained if they are living in the house or are coming in from outside? if they are living in the house, there is really only two choices that you have.. if they are coming in from outside, you've got a lot of flexibility.

if they are inside, you'll have to find the nest and move the queen, or kill them. if they are outside, well... you can put a barrier down... which is exactly what i did.

i had moved into a house in the inner city of Baltimore during the fall. the next spring, much to my surprise, there was, seemingly, a highway of ants that were coming into the house from the backyard. we created a barrier of dried peppermint and paprika powder to block their access to the house and it worked like a charm.

here's a quick check list of things to do to help resolve the ant issue:

[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]1. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Determine why they are entering your property and eliminate the food, water and/or housing that they need to survive.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1][/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]2. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Promptly clean after meals and take all trash out of your home.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1][/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]3. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Move outdoor trash and recycling bins as far from your home as possible.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1][/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]4. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Tightly wrap and store food set out on kitchen counters.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1][/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]5. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Refrigerate all perishable food, especially in the summer, when fruits and vegetables may spoil quickly. [/size][/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]6. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Remove pools of standing water. Ants get thirsty too.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1][/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]7. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Seal up cracks. The least toxic method is 100 percent silicon caulk.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1][/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]8. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Sprinkle powdered red chili pepper, paprika, dried peppermint or borax on ant trails, in cracks and near entryways to deter them from moving in.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1][/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]9. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Rid your garden of aphids, whiteflies and mealybugs. These sap-feeding insects excrete "honeydew," a sugary favorite of ants. [/size][/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]10. [/size][/font][font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][size=-1]Spray or paint sticky barriers made out of tanglefoot products on plants and trees. These barriers prevent ants from climbing up stems and trunks to feed. [/size][/font]

http://www.ehow.com/how_3791_rid-ants-naturally.html
 
Namaste Juantoo3!

No, we haven't met, since I'm new to these forums. Thank you for the warm welcome, and I look forward to hearing from you again.

I haven't heard of Chinese gardening techniques before. They seem very interesting and in harmony with the natural cycles of nature. Is there a website you know of that has more information about this? Chickens would love it, since it'd literally be a banquet for them, but I'm not sure if my neighbors would like it as much, given that I live in a townhouse! :D Who knows though, they might like the occasional free egg! :D :D

No, I haven't heard of "teaching water", but it sounds incredibly interesting. What's it about?

Thank you!
 
Namaste Vajradhara,

What a wealth of information you are! Anything from Aphids to Zen. :D Thank you though for all these suggestions. When I came back from work one night, when I saw the highway of ants on the kitchen counter, I decided to follow their trail, and they happen to have settled inside the patio door somehow--a place I can't reach. I think they came in with a small tree I had put outside for the summer, and to prevent from it freezing, I took it inside for the winter. That's when everything started...

So I guess my only choice is to kill them... but what are the karmic repercussions? In any case, what makes it ok for me to kill the ants but not for you to kill the cicadas?

They don't seem to be as prolific since I put the ant bait, but I was getting worried for a while about what seemed to be their installation of a traffic light on their "highway". ;) lol!
 
Kindest Regards, and thank you for the thoughtful reply!
Ryuuko said:
I haven't heard of Chinese gardening techniques before. They seem very interesting and in harmony with the natural cycles of nature. Is there a website you know of that has more information about this? Chickens would love it, since it'd literally be a banquet for them, but I'm not sure if my neighbors would like it as much, given that I live in a townhouse! :D Who knows though, they might like the occasional free egg! :D :D

No, I haven't heard of "teaching water", but it sounds incredibly interesting. What's it about?
Click to expand...
I am not familiar with any specific sites to direct you to, I have found only bits and pieces here and there. One that stands out in my mind recently was a rice project in SE Asia somewhere, that had been using natural methods for centuries. Some Americans came in with grand visions of teaching the poor peasants how to do things better, and the project failed miserably. The peasants returned to their time honored methods and order was restored.

I forget the details, cheifly because I do not grow rice. But the fields were flooded in timing with the seasonal rains, and drained after harvest and the ceasing of the rains. While the fields were being prepared, farmyard fowl (mostly ducks) were allowed to eat all of the bugs that otherwise would explode in population the following year if left unchecked. The bird guano was an added bonus. It all seemed very natural and organic, but the timing was crucial and geared to the observations of the local Buddhist Monks who kept track of the weather and seasons for centuries.

"Teaching water," according to my geography text from a few semesters back, is a method of terraced farming that reclaims hillsides and makes them arable. The hillside is cut into terraces that are levelled. In one instance I saw where a biennial crop was planted every other terrace and the seed was allowed to flow onto the level beneath it, creating a continuous crop. Where a hill typically sheds water (as it runs downhill), terracing retards the runoff to the farmer's advantage. I have been looking for some time to learn of the details in the terrace construction, such as whether or not retaining walls are required, etc. I am in a very modest way beginning to terrace my yard because of the slope to the property. Since I am not familiar with the details, I am leaving myself some wiggle room at this stage. And I can't afford to have truckloads of soil brought in, so most of it to this point is recycled yard waste, basically an overgrown mulch pile that I am attempting to give some structure.

I wish you well in your endeavors. I look forward to seeing more of your posts! :)
 
Namaste Juantoo!

Thank you for your very informative post. When I was reading it, I couldn't help but think of the rice patties in Japan, where you see fields of "layers". I thought it was really nice to see these in the countryside, which is very different than from our flat Canadian fields.

I wish you well in your endeavors as well! It sounds like you have quite an ambitious one, but it sounds like it's going to be beautiful. You should post some pictures!
 
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