How to humanely deal with pests without using cruel traps or harmful chemicals

By Jessica Damiano

I’ve seen a rash of social media posts recommending the application of sticky-tape bands around tree trunks to prevent spotted lanternflies and other garden pests from accessing tree canopies and munching on foliage. But those bands also catch caterpillars, butterflies, bees and birds, which would be difficult to free without ripping off their limbs or breaking their wings.

Similarly, glue traps are cruel devices, holding hostage everything from basement cave crickets to terrified mice and rats until they starve to death.

Recently, after noticing a rustling sound coming from my attic, I discovered a family of squirrels had settled in, presumably after the pregnant mother gained access through an unscreened vent. At that point, securing the vent would have been easy, but would have trapped the critters indoors.

After monitoring the scampering above me for a few days, I surmised that after their early-morning dance parties, the squirrels would leave the