a new pest

a new pest
Shmuel Silinsky (Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:08:28 PDT)

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

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. :-)

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