We have installed bat houses in order to combat mosquitoes, instead of relying on dangerous pesticides. I’m happy to say that I have not fired up the old fogger once so far this year. Did you know that a single bat can eat thousands of mosquitoes a day?

We have also installed our first honey bee hive at the farm, to help with pollination. (And to help the toast taste better!) I’m learning about how to care for these amazing insects. They are much more complex than I thought. (We have Italian bees – not very aggressive. They are not in the puppy areas, but on the opposite end of the farm).

Breeders have traditionally had a huge problem with flies. They transmit diseases by landing on infected material and then on the dog’s eyes, lips, or food. This is our second year of distributing predator flies to kill the common fly. Predator flies are tiny insects that have one mission in life – to find the pupae of the house fly and eat it. They do not land on food or dogs, and do not transmit disease. So far, we are pesticide free!