This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

The Balance of Nature

Even with the best intentions, humans often make matters worse when dealing with nature. Well, as they say, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.'

 Everything in nature has a purpose. We once sat around the campfire and tried to think of anything in nature, any animal, that was not important to the natural balance of the Earth. To the food chain. We could not think of anything.

Someone mentioned flies, and how they have no purpose. Then someone pointed out that flies lay their eggs on dead animals and their larva eat the decaying flesh, and help prevent disease. Also birds and spiders eat flies. Also there are other reasons the earth has them.

How about mosquitos? Well, mosquito larva in ponds are the beginning of a food chain. Tad polls and small fish eat their larva, then birds eat the fish and you know the rest.

Find out what's happening in Martinezwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

If any one thing is taken away, things go bad quick until something else takes it's place in that niche. Things get out of balance, and are sometimes replaced by another creature or plant that is not native, and causes even more trouble. And of course humans, even with the best intentions, always seem to make things worse. Well, not always, but even when we try to do good for the environment, we often cause unforeseen problems. The story of introducing frogs to take care of one pest comes to mind. Then you have to bring in snakes to stop the frogs, then something to control the snakes, then in the end you need the first thing again to stop the tiger, or however the story goes. And it is true in so many ways. Everything has a purpose, even if we cannot understand it.

With such a trend and need for "Organic" food, people are learning it is not always so easy to control the things that harm our plants, eat our food and cause diseases etc. But nature is there, if we stay out of it more. Also give it a little help now and then, replace missing parts that were once there.

Find out what's happening in Martinezwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One example I can think of is the lack of fence lizards, also called "Blue Belly's", from many areas in the Bay Area. House cats are one of the main causes for their decline, and loss of habitat is another. Without these lizards, the ant and spider populations rise, then in comes the exterminators with their pesticides and then you have another problem.

Fence lizards do make redwood fences home, but they need more. Rocks, branches, a place to winter, a place to sun and so on. And most importantly be safe from cats. Controlling the feral cat population helps, also keeping your cats indoors , although I admit our cats are inside/outside cats. This is not a popular thing on some of the cat message boards I have been to. We live off the main road a bit so I feel they are safe. But raccoons, and other dangers are all over for cats. And even ours play with and kill lizards sometimes. Luckily we have a lot of lizards, but still, I am on the fence about this debate, no pun intended.

Alligator lizards are different than Fence lizards. They like to crawl around in the ivy and brush and do not reply so much on the sun to survive. They are also safer from cats for the most part. The photo for this article is of an Alligator lizard here on the property. I was lucky enough to photograph it a few years ago. They both have one thing in common, they eat lots of insects. Spiders, ants, you name it, they are great for your yard, garden, home and environment.

If you search on Google, you can find natural ways to control insects. Also talking to other people about what has worked for them. People have written books on other uses for common household products. In fact our very own Anne Mobley, who also blogs on Martinez Patch, is a wealth of information on just about whatever and what you can use to cure it that you probably have laying around the house. She told me about putting a sheet of "Bounce" in your pocket to ward off yellow jackets. I have tested this and so far so good! And Becky's friend Diana is also a walking encyclopedia of, how should I say it, alternative solutions to everyday problems? Those two should really write a book. And check out Joey Green's Wacky Uses for brand name products at http://www.wackyuses.com/ . What a great sight!

I have used salt to stop ants from coming in the house. But be careful, just because something is natural does not mean it is necessarily safe or without it's drawbacks. However, something as simple as spraying water on your roses can wash off aphids. We do not need to use so many pesticides to control pests. And as I said before, even with the best intentions, we often seem to make matters worse. The deer population for example, way too many, and it is not good for us, the deer or the environment. I do miss my German Sheppard, and for many reasons, but I remember him keeping the deer away from my garden.

You can buy lady bugs at the nursery. Pray Mantis' are great for your garden as well. And of course, protect the lizards. They are actually fascinating animals, as are all of our wildlife.

Do a little research the next time you have a home or garden issue. You might be surprised at how easy some of these problems are to solve. Save some money maybe. Very hot water does kill some weeds. I am trying very hard to get away from using any pesticides or herbicides. Sometimes we have to, but this should always be a last resort, because the more we use nature to balance itself out, the more we help the earth and avoid creating new problems, sometimes even bigger than the original problem.

Please share your tips for using natural cures to everyday problems. It is true you learn something new everyday. And almost everyday I hear something I never heard before or thought of, and of course, Simple Green cleaning solution is the best thing on earth. And white vinegar. I know this is arguable. But this is my opinion.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?