A ‘pest’ can be defined as an animal that is detrimental to humans or human concerns. In the vegetable garden, the most common ones are slugs and snails, aphids (blackfly and greenfly being the most prolific) and the caterpillars of large, white and small, white butterflies (often collectively called cabbage white butterflies). In the spring, in some areas, wood pigeons can also be a nuisance — eating young brassica plants in particular. Fruits can also be devoured by a number of different birds and some rodents.
The good news for vegans is that there is no need to kill any of these animals. Next month, we will look at barriers to keep pests away from your crops, and relocation (removing pests from your plot), but first, and by far the most important, is to create high biodiversity so that the pests are kept in check naturally.
The problem with chemical pesticides is that they kill the beneficial predators as well as the pests (upon which they prey). Classic examples include the larvae of ladybirds, hoverflies and lacewings, which devour aphids, yet are equally as susceptible to most pesticides as the aphids themselves. Without these predators in our landscape, pests like aphids, which breed very rapidly, can quickly get a hold and damage crops. With a healthy ecosystem there will always be a balance, however with predators keeping their prey under control.