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| George Shaw, Zoological Lectures (1809), NYPL |
"With respect to caterpillars, snails, and slugs, they can only be gathered by hand, and the way to do this effectually is to begin as soon as they appear, employing women or children to look them over daily early in the morning. Poultry, and especially ducks and sea-gulls, are sometimes of use in keeping these and other insects under; a hen and chickens will devour caterpillars and aphides greedily, but are apt to scratch the soil afterwards, if not timely removed; turkey fowls are better."
John Claudius Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening
For pest control, try keeping a flock of women and children in your garden this year.
No garden is free of pests and disease. Fungal infections, caterpillars, beetles, dogs, deer -- the list of potential problems is seemingly endless. Fortunately, you can fight back against these predators without risking your health or spending a fortune. In many cases, simply by changing the way you garden, you can head off problems before they arise. I have written one essay related to this, go through with them.
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