Death of a Garden Pest: A Gardening Mystery - Softcover

"A good lighthearted diversion from summer weeding and deadheading."
--The Plain Dealer, Cleveland

"[This] hybrid of traditional whodunit and up-to-the-minute gardening guide is certain to appeal to mystery readers with a green thumb."
--The Denver Post

"Tantalizing."
--Booklist

"Gardening and murder make a fascinating combination in Death of a Garden Pest. Gardener sleuth Louise Eldridge offers an enchanting view of gardens while facing down dauntingly evil opponents."
--Carolyn G. Hart

"Gripping."
--Publishers Weekly

"Informative and fun."
--Kirkus Reviews

The response of others to her first gardening program could have turned her head, had she not been so busy nursing Bill.  Her closest human companion was held in a codeine dream, fighting the pain in his leg, and could hardly focus on the show, much less comment on it.  But neighbors and friends called all weekend with their congratulations, and when she returned to work on Monday, Marty and the rest of the Channel Five staff were ecstatic.

The producer gave her a bear hug that nearly toppled her.  But he immediately released her: "Sorry--I gotta quit doin' that.  These days they call a friendly hug 'harassment.'  But Louise, geez!"  His big brown eyes shone with excitement.  "We've really tapped into something here--you are a fantastic success!"  He scooped up a sheaf of papers from his desk.  "Look at these overnights!  We've got something to sell to the whole PBS system."

She looked at him and couldn't help smiling.  Again she forgave him his excesses.  The man knew how to create shows the public liked: His industry-wide reputation was proof of that.  Good thing, because his effusive character occasionally raised eyebrows in the quiet, intellectual atmosphere of WTBA-TV.

Everybody at the station seemed to have watched the program, even Jack Lederle, the renowned anchor of the station's hour-long evening news show, who worked with his staff in splendid semi-isolation in his own separate studio.  He passed her in the hall, smiled, and said archly, "Good job."  Funny, what a friendly small town Channel Five was turning out to be.  Rachel was pleased because Louise's success meant hers.

Feeling as if she had a little more clout to do so, she now brought up the subject of John Batchelder with her producer.  "It's the one thing that concerns me about the show, Marty.  I admit, something good comes out of it. It doesn't matter whether he shortens his lines or lengthens them--it forces me to improvise.  So at least I'm learning to think on my feet."

Marty agreed John was a problem.  "Don't know what's goin' on with the guy, but he's gotta fish or cut bait."  His tone was grim.  "He's not going to ruin this show--it's a damned good show!"

Madeleine Doering struck the only sour note, and Louise should have predicted it.  She barged into their story conference and congratulated them all.  "I hear you have a little hit on your hands."  Louise could see from her eyes and the sag of her mouth that she was near tears.

"Marty," she said, in a voice just short of a whimper, "I just hope since I have gone from gardening to--geezers!--that you still will have a little time left over for me."

Then she looked down at Louise, and Louise could see the fine lines under all that makeup, and was reminded of the cracked glaze of antique china.

"See if you'd like it, Louise," she complained.  "You know what's next on the Best Years program?  The five identifying signs of Alzheimer's disease! So just don't think I'm happy."  She turned and flounced out of the room.

Marty looked stunned and resentful.  This woman was dragging him down, day by day.

After a moment, the producer seemed to recover himself.  He shrugged his big shoulders.  Those warm, brown eyes were cold now.  He growled, "So she's not happy.  Let's get back to work.  It isn't as if we don't have another show to do."

*  *  *

There's More Than One Way to Get Rid of a Pest

Gardeners need a different attitude toward garden pests.  Pests are not permanent: They arrive in the garden, they propagate, and even if you do nothing to kill them, they ebb away and disappear.  So instead of freaking out and reaching for a can of pesticide, reach for your magnifying glass.  Go out to the garden and check out the size of the problem.  What you find magnified there might even give you a different slant on pests: They can be quite beautiful, and at the very least entertaining, as they eat your plants and each other.

But it's easy to understand why we panic when big, horned worms suddenly appear on our healthy tomato plants and we see sky through the holes in the leaves, or when aphids swarm over our rosebuds.  Insects make us itchy; it's no wonder we look for a chemical weapon to destroy them.  But the truth is that if we demolish all those pests, we disturb nature's balance and create worse problems.  Or, to put it another way, the "good" bugs will fly off to your neighbor's yard if we don't leave some of the "bad" bugs in place for their food supply.  Spray for caterpillars, and we will demolish the natural enemies of spider mites, and that will be our next pest epidemic.

We home gardeners are heavy-handed: We use more pesticides and insecticides than farmers.  In the process, we damage nature's balancing act and contaminate the country's well water.  Fortunately, a practice called "integrated pest management" (IPM) has been adopted by most cities and counties and many farmers, in an attempt to reduce the amount of pesticides in the environment. IPM calls for using that magnifying glass and traps for monitoring pest problems before just settling for the poison spray.  Farmers who have adopted these techniques find they have cut their use of pesticides in half.  Backyard gardeners can do it, too.  Follow these guidelines:

* Select only plants and trees resistant to disease.

* Soil creates more disease problems than any other factor.  Develop and maintain a healthy one.

* Have clean garden habits.  Fight the spread of germs by keeping tools clean, pruning and trimming correctly, and removing wastes, especially diseased leaves or plants.

*  Measure the size of the problem by using pheromone or other traps. This is one of the fun parts of gardening, because you are matching wits with pesky little insects whose survival record is much longer than that of humans.

* Encourage beneficial insect predators such as green lacewings, syrphid flies and lady beetles.  You can buy lady beetles in bulk, and they're cute, but don't count on them not to fly away.  The best way to encourage these so-called good insects is by using a variety of plants; this provides them with a constant source of alternative hosts on which to feed.  Also, divert pests. For instance, plant rose mallow near your precious raspberry bushes, and they'll leave the raspberries for you to eat.

* Get rid of insects the old-fashioned way, by removing them by hand. Children will love the challenge of picking off rose beetles or tomato worms: Pay them a bounty for each bug.  Set out traps, such as a pie plate of beer, to catch slugs.  A simple spray with a hose will remove many insects, and a spray with household detergent and water will demolish stubborn ones.

* If the above measures don't work and the problem is serious, use oil sprays or other organic pesticides.  Bacillus thuringiensis, pyrethrum, and neem tree products are among the most popular.  The best news is that more safe pesticides come on the market each year.  Chemical cures may soon become obsolete.

After you start looking differently at pests, you might want to encourage one entertaining fellow, the parsleyworm.  Attract it by providing its favorite foods: parsley, dill, fennel and carrots.  It is a handsome thing, with white, yellow and black stripes.  When disturbed, it has a cunning defense weapon: It pulls up a Y-shaped horn from behind its head that emanates a rancid butter smell and discourages its enemy's approach.  This worm turns into the beautiful swallowtail butterfly.  Children will love it and thank you for attracting it to your garden.