The Guide to Humane Critter Control

I love the idea of Human Critter control. It really is better for everyone and everything NOT to sprinkle poison about our food supply.

This guide helps identify troublesome pests and plan a course of action using organic products and other non-lethal methods. 

An approachable book, great illustrations, appropriate for all ages, with a great message and practical advice.

I was skeptical about another guide to pest control, wondering how it could be unique enough for me to consider purchasing it.  Theresa Rooney's book is a keeper!  Her conversational tone helps the novice gardener to pick up the basics of sustainable gardening practices without being preachy or boring.  The delightful sketches help to break up the reading, and the tables are well-planned with lots of useful information.  As a professor of sustainable horticulture, even I learned a few new ideas for managing pests.  I can say without reservation that this book would be useful to any gardener, experienced or novice.  It takes a holistic approach that is so essential in managing our landscapes.

Cool Springs Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Guide to Humane Critter Control: Protect Your Yard and Garden from Deer, Rabbits, Woodchucks, Rodents, Invasive Insects, and Other Pests.  I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

In this publication, the author set out to encourage readers to find alternative and natural solutions to combating the issue of unwanted visitors in their yards and gardens.  To this end, Theresa Rooney did exactly what she detailed in her introduction.  With an eye toward embracing the environment and providing a diverse haven for all critters, big and small, the author gives information on a variety of topics.  These include how to identify the source of garden and yard issues, organic pest control, selecting effective products, creating a healthy garden, and attracting beneficial insects and animals.

In Guide to Humane Critter Control, the author stresses working within the confines of nature and providing a haven for those critters who live in your area.  The biggest lesson that the book teaches is to let go of unrealistic expectations and grow what will work within your particular environment.  There are strategies that the author tries to impart on readers, especially in regards to gardening in areas where creatures such as deer, rabbits, and small rodents are plentiful.  I thought that the author did not go quite far enough, though, as I would have liked more instructional details.  Guide to Humane Critter Control is a book that I would recommend to readers who are looking for more natural solutions to yard and garden issues, but with the understanding that I have not personally tried very many of the methods that are explained within its pages.

A calm approach to dealing with a wide variety of garden pests, from insects and animals to pets and even people. Starting from the premise that for the home gardener, “even a ‘bad’ pest problem is usually not a life-and-death situation,” the author espouses that “we can actually coexist pretty easily with most of what we consider to be pests.” Learn to identify pest situations and find the best methods and products. A boon to  a gardener whose yard is a certified wildlife habitat!

I am all for Theresa Rooney's approach of dealing with pests in our own backyards without using toxic chemicals. A very important point Theresa makes is that not all critters we encounter in our gardens are really pests. Some of them either cause only little damage or are actually beneficial for our gardens and all we need is a little adjustment of our attitudes toward them. For all pests that are actually bothersome she suggests different strategies to deter them and keep them away from the plants we would like to protect. Among those strategies are improving the yard's general health to better withstand pests, inviting beneficial critters into the yard,  installing simple physical barriers, using sound and scent deterrents, and clever plant arrangements. Every method targets a specific problem with the least negative environmental impact possible. I cannot wait to put some of the methods in this book into action in my own backyard.

The Guide to Humane Critter Control is your complete guide to handling and preventing all manner of critters from our property and gardens including insects, animals, and even people. Lots of great tips and techniques to deal with pesky critters while still maintaining a heathy and environmentally friendly habitat for all the beneficial critters we need to keep our yards and gardens thriving. Equally useful for a patio gardener in the city or a large property owner in a rural area!

This is a very informative book. I have not yet tried any of the recipes for critter control. But I will definitely be tring a few of them. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.