Customer Reviews

Texas Bug Book: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Texas Bug Book is a glossary of the most common pests and beneficials around the garden. For each critter, they explain its life cycle, favorite foods, benefits and detriments. There is plenty of information on how to attract the beneficials and how to discourage the pests organically. Most of these bugs are not limited to Texas, so this book would benefit any organic gardener.

When my two and four year olds starting bringing me bugs from outside, I decided it was time to determine if they were harmful. This book had excellent photographs that helped me identify the bugs. I used it as an educational tool for my two little bug hunters. I am happy to report we have had no dangerous bugs gathered.

I never knew bugs could abe so interesting. The authors combine factual information on insects with entertaining stories of buggy encounters. This book reaches my kids on a level they can understand (they are 8 - 12 years old), yet provides me with plenty of good factual information that helps with gardening. The kids were thrilled to discover that the funny things they had seen "growing" on the fence were actually lacewing eggs. We are eagerly anticipaing their hatching. I also appreciated the recipes for home-made, natural insecticides.

It is important to know what bugs are beneficial and which are harmful. This book does just that! Not only does this book include many great photos, it also provides wonderful recommendations on how to manage the ones that are pests.
As for the only spiders one should be weary of in North America: the Brown Recluse and the Black Widow, this book has great photos for proper identification. Furthermore, valuable information is included on the nature of these two spiders and has great suggestions on what to do should you happen to encounter one.

I love this book. It has been really helpful in identifying several types of bugs that live in my yard. I use it on an almost weekly basis to help identify this bug or that. I think it's a must have for any Texas gardener.

This is a must for fans of Howard Garrett. He and Malcolm share their experiences with bugs in Texas. They show great respect for nature. This book has given me a new appreciation for the world of insects. Many fascinating details and stories are included. Of course, for the bad and the ugly, they tell us how to rid ourselves of them in a way that is safe for our environment. A great accomplishment from 2 wonderful organic experts.

I've been an organic gardener for years and this book is one of my "Bibles". You cannot maintain an organic garden or landscape without knowing the beneficial bugs from the harmful ones. My husband and I really enjoy being able to identify what's in our landscape and seeing them in action. The world around us is a remarkable, complex place and sometimes you have to look at bugs to have it really hit home. This is a great book, along with all of Howard Garrett's others.

I have a copy and gave one to our school library. The librarian says she can't keep it on the shelf it's so popular. Great pictures and even better information.

While this book includes common arachnids that are not truly "bugs" along with the insects, it is the one book I would want to have if I could have only one for use by non-scientists. It is engaging, good science that is written and illustrated in a way that the layman can understand, use and enjoy. A key strength, in my opinion, is that color illustrations are included on the same page as the text, making it easy to identify and associate a particular type of insect with a discussion of it. A second strength is that the multiple common names of Texas insects are included and indexed, which makes the book very easy to use.

The authors focus heavily on a completely organic approach to Texas wildlife and gardening, with a substantial amount of information about organic methods of pest management. This may be useful to the reader; however, for the reader not ready to go organic, this information does not in any way detract from the value of the book as an extremely useful guide to Texas insects.

This is about the 5th copy of this book that I have purchased & passed on to friends.
It is full of useful information & easy ways to find the "bugs" that are causing problems.