Mark Brown: We have glow worms here in Israel, though I don't know if they are closely related. A great advantage - they eat snails!! Also, a favorite food of hedgehogs here is snails and slugs. We are plagued by imported escargot and I am glad there is some natural control, but still doesn't keep those monsters down. A new "pest" I've seen in my yard this year is rock hyrax!!! They are multiplying like crazy in the native are near me and, alas, there are no leopards around to keep their numbers down. Hopefully the eagles will get on the job. The hyrax have not bothered my bulbs, but they do go for fruit tree leaves etc and are quite good at climbing. A hidden plus: they chase feral cats out of my yard! But as you all say, that's the joy of an ecosystem. Shmuel Jerusalem, Israel On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 11:08 PM, Makiko Goto-Widerman < makikogotowiderman@me.com> wrote: > It reminded me the book "Nature War (?)" I lived in rural mountain by the > creek for a couple of years to > experience the rhythm of nature and explore California natives and > wildflowers. Nature was > so beautiful up in the mountain, and it was thrilling to observe the > seasons. > This summer our family moved to cosmopolitan neighborhood, Newport Coast > which is relatively newer development. > We are surrounded by large open land and hiking trails. A large shopping > malls and high rise office buildings > are less than 5 minutes away, but I feel I still live in the mountain, > enjoy country living. > > Makiko, Southern California > > > On Oct 30, 2013, at 10:14 PM, Colleen wrote: > > > I too enjoy a natural approach to landscaping and watching wildlife > having > > grown up in the rural mountains, but the downside of this trend of "wild" > > animals and humans living close together is zoonosis, the bird flu being > > only one. Humans are moving into the animal's territory and the > animals, as > > has been pointed out are adapting to ours. Zoonosis is a big problem in > > areas of the world with deforestation for plantations, ranching/farming, > and > > housing developments as the displaced animals still return to their > > traditional areas and the humans have no resistance to the diseases they > > carry. Populations of any type do not thrive in dense situations. > > > > Colleen NE Calif., USA > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto: > pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] > > On Behalf Of Giant Coreopsis > > Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 9:10 PM > > To: Pacific Bulb Society > > Subject: Re: [pbs] a new pest > > > > There has been a resurgence in recent years of wild life returning not > just > > to urban interface zones, but to metropolitan areas in North America. > There > > is a small community of mountain lions in the hills visible from my > house in > > central Los Angeles (see http://www.urbancarnivores.com/); coyotes and > bears > > come through my parents' property spitting distance from Washington, DC > and > > someone mentioned turkeys in view of Manhattan. I personally find it > > inspiring and hopeful - despite sprawl, highways and climate change, we > > still get to experience some of the natural world without a camping trip > to > > Yellowstone. Over the years I have had plenty of animals have their way > > with my plants and projects. It can be a challenge to outsmart them, or > > deter them, and I aim to treat this as a challenge and part of the > > adventure. I garden (nowadays with natives) primarily to experience a > > connection with the natural rhythms of my area. That brings birds, > > pollinators, soil fungi and some 'pests'. It's all part of the game. I > put > > my precious free time, my money and my creativity into my garden > projects. > > So I guess I rationalize shooting an pesky animal, and it would die, and > > perhaps the babies it's nursing would slowly starve somewhere out of > sight, > > and at some point (because this is the way nature works), another of its > > species will take its place and eat my plants again. But I won't. > Because > > the way I see it, that would be cruel and futile, and worst of all, it > would > > miss the point of why I garden. > > > > > > On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 5:10 PM, Kelly Irvin <kellso@irvincentral.com > >wrote: > > > >> Would make even a PETA member want to become a hunter! Aaargh!! Until > >> I got a crossbow, the deer were ruining me. No, I'm not a member of > >> PETA, and I was already a closet hunter. > >> > >> Mr. Kelly M. Irvin > >> 10850 Hodge Ln > >> Gravette, AR 72736 > >> USA > >> 479-787-9958 > >> USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 6a/b > >> > >> On 10/30/13 4:06 PM, Dennis Kramb wrote: > >>> I came home from work yesterday to discover the flower pots on my > >>> back porch were all knocked down, smashed, with plants uprooted, and > >>> disheveled. The culprit? A wild turkey. :-) > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> pbs mailing list > >> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > >> > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >