What's a Pest? (and Figuring Out If it Really is or Not)

As an outdoor enthusiast and someone who works at a nursery, I run across all sorts of insects, spiders and other arthropods on plants and in their natural habitats. I'm also one of those people that hates the thought of killing anything, realizing everything has a place (even if it happens to be on one of my plants). By definition a pest is an annoying person or thing; a nuisance; or an injurious plant or animal that is especially one harmful to humans.

While many people get queezy, scared or downright frustrated at the sign of any arthropod, people need to take a step back and realize that just because you're frightened of it doesn't necessarily give you the right to destroy that creature.


Take spiders for example. Spiders are among the most perfect predators on earth. With so many different characteristics in the order Araneae (spiders), it's amazing to me that people can't see these guys for what they are. From mosquitoes to flies, caterpillars to beetles, spiders help us control populations of creatures that truly do constitute a pest status in many cases.

Now wasps and bees. Wasps and bees are so very beneficial to our local and global ecosystems that it hurts me when people ask how to get rid of them. Simply have a wasp or hornet nest on your house does not constitute a dangerous situation. In fact, most wasp and hornet species are very tolerant of people. Only when their nest is disturbed do they feel the need to sting. Paper wasps are predators of caterpillars, which is ideal for many gardeners because caterpillars are number one pests of various crops. Mud daubers feed on spiders -- slightly contradictory but if you have a lot of spiders that make you squeamish, why try to kill the solitary mud daubers? Honeybees and bumblebees are excellent pollinators of our flowers, native plants and various other plants planted in or around our yards. Many wasps and hornets are also pollinators.

The term "garden pests" can include many things, but also does not include maybe the same number of creatures. Spiders, ladybugs, lacewings, assassin bugs, wasps, bees and many others are on the "Not-A-Garden-Pest" list. Butterflies and moths are typically not on the list as well, although their larvae (caterpillars) are avid munchers of many plants.

So before you jump to any conclusion about killing that creature you see, ask yourself if it really needs to be killed. It's a touchy situation, because some of even the most environmentally minded people out there get squeamish around different types of arthropods. But really the question to ask is "What does this creature do for the rest of the ecosystem?"

Answer yourself that and you may find yourself letting the creature live to do it's own thing (which in some small or big way probably will benefit you).