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Tiny Game Hunting: Environmentally Healthy Ways to Trap and Kill the Pests in Your House and Garden New Edition
Every year Americans use a staggering five hundred million pounds of toxic pesticides in and around their homes, schools, parks, and roads―a growing health risk for people and the environment. But are these poisons really necessary? This book, appealing to the hunter in us all, shows how to triumph in combat with pests without losing the war to toxic chemicals. Tiny Game Hunting, written in a lively and entertaining style and illustrated with detailed drawings, gives more than two hundred tried-and-true ways to control or kill common household and garden pests without using toxic pesticides.
268 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 1, 2022
This book starts with a wonderful title (hunting tiny game of pests) and goes upward from there with a lucid explanation of all the little critters one must face in garden and house, along with safe, non-chemical solutions to dealing with them. It’s also printed in landscape rather than portrait format, something I learned to appreciate when I was holding it and reading while trying to identify a garden nuisance.
Delusory parasitosis is a genuine condition. People who have it fervently insist that microscopic insects of some sort or other are biting them without mercy.
The authors begin the book by arguing for the case against toxic chemicals. It’s an excellent justification, particularly as I just don’t see chemicals as a long-term solution. I have several neighbors who subscribe to monthly pest company applications. They can never understand why nothing seems to work. I explained about the way life acclimates to previous harmful sprays, so that over time the insects adjust to the toxic use. But humans don’t adjust, so my neighbors are also exposing themselves to the same chemicals each month. None have trees or foliage, so they don’t attract the birds or the lizards who could do the insect roundups for them. Lesson #1: You don’t use any weapon to kill the pests that could possibly kill you, too.
Next, they devote a chapter to helping a garden get healthy, such as earthworms, compost, mulch, and companion planting. Even fertilizers should be organic. This is so important. It makes life easier for the plants by giving them a healthy nurturing process to tackle the daily grind. Gardens must endure wind and rain and heat and things that want to eat the crops, so any help you can provide them is very much appreciated. It also allows for the use of less water, which for me is very important (I’ve lived with drought restrictions and rationing my entire life, across three different countries).
The next chapter tackles the how-to ways to get those destroyers of greenery. Handpicking is something most people don’t make time to do, but I find it helps me get a head start on any voracious leaf eaters. This also allows me to slow my life down and focus upon the details of my plants, as I have to find each insect manually. It’s not the only method I use, but it’s good to make it the first step in a springtime war game, because war it happens to be. There is also an explanation of horticultural oils, dusts, and repellants. This brings me back to the reason I like the landscape format of the volume, as I discovered my Chinese Elm was turning sooty and sticky. Yuck. Ants suddenly appeared and it turned out, as the book explained, they were mining the fluids of the nasty insects on the leaves. The book told me to fill a spray bottle with dish soap and water, along with crushed garlic and vinegar. I cheated and added Tabasco sauce instead to the soap water and did the spraying by hand as my left hand held the book so I could follow along. Worked like a charm! I don’t enjoy killing anything, even insects, but my little tree needed my help. The insects did not like my New Orleans Spray and left the premises. When they left, the ants left. Thanks, handy dandy book!
Some people say that the cockroach will take over the world. We disagree. If any insect is going to take over, we bet on the lowly ant. After all, the cockroach abandons ship the minute light shines on its activity. But turn on the kitchen light in the middle of the night, and the ants swarming all over the counters don’t even pause to glance up.
Then, the book spends time explaining what each pest (insect and mammal) does and the specific ways to combat them. I loved the explanation about ants, including the way the ancient Chinese used ants to tame citrus pests. I agree. In the arid Southwest of the United States, ants will destroy termite colonies, so if they don’t bother me, I don’t bother them. I even save them from the local community pool when I see them floating. Of course, my efforts for that usually ends with a bite, but I fear termites more than I fear ants. And speaking of termites, orange oil is much hated by the wood-eating pests, which makes it a much safer alternative to the horrible chemicals used inside homes that are tented for termite infestation.
There is also a chapter on the allies we should appreciate in our safari of Tiny Game Hunting. Lizards. Snakes. Toads. Bats. Birds. I can vouch for all of them. When spring arrives with the hungry grasshoppers, I watch as those hungry locusts start stripping my fresh citrus leaves. But I don’t have to watch for long. That’s because the local Roadrunners will line up along the row of tangerines, tangelos, limequats, and kumquats to expertly time their jumps to catch and eat the grasshoppers. Problem solved. When my Bougainvillea and Tecoma get inundated by thrips, I know the local finches will come along and happily devour them, like a luxurious dessert. Lizards, especially, are such a huge help, I should probably put them on the payroll. In return, I try to keep fallen leaves around a bit longer than usual, so they have shade and a hiding place away from their own predators.
All in all, I heartily enjoyed this book. The set-up, the outline, the wonderful respect for nature all played a role in its success. Let’s enjoy nature without destroying ourselves in the process. Earth needs our help more than ever.
Book Season = Year Round (Observe, Outwit, Outlast)
Delusory parasitosis is a genuine condition. People who have it fervently insist that microscopic insects of some sort or other are biting them without mercy.
The authors begin the book by arguing for the case against toxic chemicals. It’s an excellent justification, particularly as I just don’t see chemicals as a long-term solution. I have several neighbors who subscribe to monthly pest company applications. They can never understand why nothing seems to work. I explained about the way life acclimates to previous harmful sprays, so that over time the insects adjust to the toxic use. But humans don’t adjust, so my neighbors are also exposing themselves to the same chemicals each month. None have trees or foliage, so they don’t attract the birds or the lizards who could do the insect roundups for them. Lesson #1: You don’t use any weapon to kill the pests that could possibly kill you, too.
Next, they devote a chapter to helping a garden get healthy, such as earthworms, compost, mulch, and companion planting. Even fertilizers should be organic. This is so important. It makes life easier for the plants by giving them a healthy nurturing process to tackle the daily grind. Gardens must endure wind and rain and heat and things that want to eat the crops, so any help you can provide them is very much appreciated. It also allows for the use of less water, which for me is very important (I’ve lived with drought restrictions and rationing my entire life, across three different countries).
The next chapter tackles the how-to ways to get those destroyers of greenery. Handpicking is something most people don’t make time to do, but I find it helps me get a head start on any voracious leaf eaters. This also allows me to slow my life down and focus upon the details of my plants, as I have to find each insect manually. It’s not the only method I use, but it’s good to make it the first step in a springtime war game, because war it happens to be. There is also an explanation of horticultural oils, dusts, and repellants. This brings me back to the reason I like the landscape format of the volume, as I discovered my Chinese Elm was turning sooty and sticky. Yuck. Ants suddenly appeared and it turned out, as the book explained, they were mining the fluids of the nasty insects on the leaves. The book told me to fill a spray bottle with dish soap and water, along with crushed garlic and vinegar. I cheated and added Tabasco sauce instead to the soap water and did the spraying by hand as my left hand held the book so I could follow along. Worked like a charm! I don’t enjoy killing anything, even insects, but my little tree needed my help. The insects did not like my New Orleans Spray and left the premises. When they left, the ants left. Thanks, handy dandy book!
Some people say that the cockroach will take over the world. We disagree. If any insect is going to take over, we bet on the lowly ant. After all, the cockroach abandons ship the minute light shines on its activity. But turn on the kitchen light in the middle of the night, and the ants swarming all over the counters don’t even pause to glance up.
Then, the book spends time explaining what each pest (insect and mammal) does and the specific ways to combat them. I loved the explanation about ants, including the way the ancient Chinese used ants to tame citrus pests. I agree. In the arid Southwest of the United States, ants will destroy termite colonies, so if they don’t bother me, I don’t bother them. I even save them from the local community pool when I see them floating. Of course, my efforts for that usually ends with a bite, but I fear termites more than I fear ants. And speaking of termites, orange oil is much hated by the wood-eating pests, which makes it a much safer alternative to the horrible chemicals used inside homes that are tented for termite infestation.
There is also a chapter on the allies we should appreciate in our safari of Tiny Game Hunting. Lizards. Snakes. Toads. Bats. Birds. I can vouch for all of them. When spring arrives with the hungry grasshoppers, I watch as those hungry locusts start stripping my fresh citrus leaves. But I don’t have to watch for long. That’s because the local Roadrunners will line up along the row of tangerines, tangelos, limequats, and kumquats to expertly time their jumps to catch and eat the grasshoppers. Problem solved. When my Bougainvillea and Tecoma get inundated by thrips, I know the local finches will come along and happily devour them, like a luxurious dessert. Lizards, especially, are such a huge help, I should probably put them on the payroll. In return, I try to keep fallen leaves around a bit longer than usual, so they have shade and a hiding place away from their own predators.
All in all, I heartily enjoyed this book. The set-up, the outline, the wonderful respect for nature all played a role in its success. Let’s enjoy nature without destroying ourselves in the process. Earth needs our help more than ever.
Book Season = Year Round (Observe, Outwit, Outlast)
July 12, 2018
Pests have been creating a situation of chaos and giving a troublesome experience to the homes and gardeners. The situation gets really bad when it comes to infestation on food materials and their storage. Some pests like spiders, tend to nest near the food materials and thereby aggravating the risk of contamination from those toxicants that are present in the web. These toxic germs or fungus may aggravate on the epidermis of the food and when consumed may result in diseases like dysentery and gastritis. These pests need to survive by taking in nutrition from plants and releasing bacterial fluids that may affect the hygiene system of the house and locality. They tend to survive easily in different circumstances are known to be more agile and strong. Some pests have ability to sting or bite, with the sting containing acidic proportions which may result in fever or tumor formation.
This book by Sir Adrian M. Wenner is a detailed illustrative compilation of various techniques that can be implemented or experimented with to get rid of pests with least botheration. It also tells us that how loads of money is wasted in the process of using pesticides and other various means which tend to succeed rarely or none at all. It elaborates on the contrast of being resourceful and being instrumental in achieving the desired results for elimination or removal of pests from your locality. The pests are always on the prowl for mostly shelter development or hunting instincts. They look for lightened up environments, for internal metabolism and also for creating breeding environment. Some spiders necessarily develop habits or web nests near damp localities where those intervention from different situations or circumstances will be nominal or zero. Their removal lies in cumulative action on their habitats and environments that are suitable for their survival and favors the same. Their dependence on various hunting instincts can also be restricted by overall regular cleanliness and sophistication of hygiene maintenance. Lumps of food my attract ants which are the hunting victims of the spiders and the environment will thereby become prone to spiders.
Some spiders are very usual to see and need not necessarily have any typical reason to follow up to an environment for. This happens basically for the reason that they are prone to one and only one type of environment. Their survival is based on that and therefore they rely on the very same reason and are simply hesitant to migrate from their native environment to anywhere else. Their overall dependence of food and hunting is immaterial in this case.
This book by Sir Adrian M. Wenner is a detailed illustrative compilation of various techniques that can be implemented or experimented with to get rid of pests with least botheration. It also tells us that how loads of money is wasted in the process of using pesticides and other various means which tend to succeed rarely or none at all. It elaborates on the contrast of being resourceful and being instrumental in achieving the desired results for elimination or removal of pests from your locality. The pests are always on the prowl for mostly shelter development or hunting instincts. They look for lightened up environments, for internal metabolism and also for creating breeding environment. Some spiders necessarily develop habits or web nests near damp localities where those intervention from different situations or circumstances will be nominal or zero. Their removal lies in cumulative action on their habitats and environments that are suitable for their survival and favors the same. Their dependence on various hunting instincts can also be restricted by overall regular cleanliness and sophistication of hygiene maintenance. Lumps of food my attract ants which are the hunting victims of the spiders and the environment will thereby become prone to spiders.
Some spiders are very usual to see and need not necessarily have any typical reason to follow up to an environment for. This happens basically for the reason that they are prone to one and only one type of environment. Their survival is based on that and therefore they rely on the very same reason and are simply hesitant to migrate from their native environment to anywhere else. Their overall dependence of food and hunting is immaterial in this case.
September 14, 2023
Terrific book on safe control of pests in the garden and home. This is a serious book and it's complete too. It is the best alternative to poisens out there. It has great solutions to all your pests from bed bugs to silverfish, termites, rats and the list goes on and on. It'll tell you what to do!
September 2, 2021
Good advice. I wish it had more pictures.
November 2, 2013
Boy, am I itchy after reading this book! Even though most of the descriptions aren't particularly gross or offensive, my senses were on high alert while reading about the various creepy crawlies that can infest our homes and gardens.
The book starts by explaining why we might want to avoid using toxic chemicals to control pests. It makes a convincing argument. It makes sense to me to try to avoid anything that has the word "dangerous" written on the container, if at all possible. This book makes it sound possible.
Much of it is common sense. Seal up your home and use screens to prevent certain pests from entering. Practice good hygiene and keep your food contained. Vacuum often and use soapy water to deter common household pests.
The book goes into more depth about specific insects and animals in an exhaustive list, with instructions on how to keep them under control. Friendly insects are also identified, so we don't kill indiscriminately.
There was even a section on good garden practice, with advice about composting, vermicomposting and mulching.
The best part of the book was the humour. The matter of fact descriptions and recipes for all natural deterrents were offset by bits of trivia that were bizarre and hilarious. I share some examples at the bottom of this review.
I think that this is a good book to have if you are bothered by pests and would like a natural solution to keep them at bay. Most likely all the information can be found online somewhere, but it's nice to have it all together in a guide like this.
The book starts by explaining why we might want to avoid using toxic chemicals to control pests. It makes a convincing argument. It makes sense to me to try to avoid anything that has the word "dangerous" written on the container, if at all possible. This book makes it sound possible.
Much of it is common sense. Seal up your home and use screens to prevent certain pests from entering. Practice good hygiene and keep your food contained. Vacuum often and use soapy water to deter common household pests.
The book goes into more depth about specific insects and animals in an exhaustive list, with instructions on how to keep them under control. Friendly insects are also identified, so we don't kill indiscriminately.
There was even a section on good garden practice, with advice about composting, vermicomposting and mulching.
The best part of the book was the humour. The matter of fact descriptions and recipes for all natural deterrents were offset by bits of trivia that were bizarre and hilarious. I share some examples at the bottom of this review.
I think that this is a good book to have if you are bothered by pests and would like a natural solution to keep them at bay. Most likely all the information can be found online somewhere, but it's nice to have it all together in a guide like this.
A book published in 1885 advised holding up a looking glass in front of a roach. “He will be so frightened as to leave the premises,” the author promised.
“The cockroach is always wrong when arguing with a chicken,” says an old Spanish proverb.
Flea remedies were as common as the fleas themselves. The Egyptians used to smear a slave with the milk of asses and make him stand in the room as a human flea trap.
When you see fly specks, the dark ones are excrement; the light spots are regurgitated food and saliva. This information always makes a good conversation starter.
One of the favorite methods we have come across for keeping pests out of stored food dates back to classical times. Before a storage room was filled with grain, a toad was tied by the leg to the door, where it apparently stood sentinel against encroaching bugs.
One mite species lives exclusively in the ears of moths.
May 2, 2012
SO CREEPED OUT.
But educated. Some extremely informative stuff in here, though a lot of it is terribly confusing. I'd like to own this book as a reference guide. Well worth the cost.
Still doesn't stop the being creeped out part. I mean, just hearing the word 'scabies' can make me shudder involuntarily now. And while I have always appreciated the spiders that come into my house and catch the flies and mosquitos that squirm their way in, I dislike the pressure of knowing there are insects who are "good" and shouldn't be killed.
"OHMYGODITSCREEPINGTOWARDMEKILLITKILLITNOWAITISTHATONETHATKILLSTHEOTHERONESQUICKGETMEWIKIPEDIA!"
But educated. Some extremely informative stuff in here, though a lot of it is terribly confusing. I'd like to own this book as a reference guide. Well worth the cost.
Still doesn't stop the being creeped out part. I mean, just hearing the word 'scabies' can make me shudder involuntarily now. And while I have always appreciated the spiders that come into my house and catch the flies and mosquitos that squirm their way in, I dislike the pressure of knowing there are insects who are "good" and shouldn't be killed.
"OHMYGODITSCREEPINGTOWARDMEKILLITKILLITNOWAITISTHATONETHATKILLSTHEOTHERONESQUICKGETMEWIKIPEDIA!"
October 5, 2011
Great resource for anyone who lives in a dwelling or has a garden! Offers a variety of remedies, all environmentally conscious (i.e. not a can of RAID), so they won't endanger you, your loved ones, or the environment!
February 25, 2012
skimmed; seems sound and well researched
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews