If you are looking for the answers to your questions about biodiversity, ecology, native and invasive plants, and pest control, look no further than entomologist Doug Tallamy’s latest book.

“Change is afoot!”, the University of Delaware TA Baker Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources wrote in “How Can I Help?: Saving Nature with Your Yard”. “The cultural change from an adversarial relationship with nature to a collaborative one is starting to happen, and it gives me hope about the future of diversity and thus our own future.” 

The UD College of Agriculture and Natural Resources faculty member wrote “How Can I Help” to tackle questions he’s received over email and during talks he has given around the U.S.

“I get the same questions over and over again,” Tallamy said. “They fall into easily arranged categories: Questions about oaks, questions about ecology, questions about invasive plants. The book almost wrote itself in that sense.” 

Some of those common questions include:

• Why should I care about the food web? 

• How should I choose the right native plants for my property? 

• What is the greatest threat to oaks? 

• How do we prioritize which invasive species to get rid of? 

• Are bug zappers hurting insect populations? 

• Is it better to have fewer plants of lots of species or more plants of fewer species?

• Is it good to feed the birds? 

Tallamy has taught a lot of these questions and concepts to Blue Hens through UD’s insect ecology and conservation major, but he has an even wider public influence as a three-time New York Times bestselling author. His latest book aims to address the global biodiversity crisis — the interconnected decline of the variety of animals, insects and plants — by sharing how people can help nature right at home. 

Some solutions include using yellow light bulbs to deter insects, to stop hiring a mosquito controller that will inadvertently kill other insects, removing invasive species, and installing a pollinator garden. Tallamy said each of these efforts can improve insect communities on one person’s own property. 

Tallamy calls special attention to chapter four, on oaks. While common advice may be to not plant more oak trees if any diseases are present, Tallamy advises the opposite: plant more.

That’s because oaks are too important to eliminate from the landscape. They provide food and shelter to caterpillars nationwide, which in turn are food for birds. 

“Plant more oaks than ever so we can find the ones that are resistant,” Tallamy said. “There is resistance to all of these diseases, and we’ve got to replace the susceptible ones with the resistant ones.” 

In his quest to save the world one yard at a time, Tallamy hopes his new book will empower people to make a difference. 

“One person can do a lot to their little piece of the Earth,” Tallamy said. 

“How Can I Help?: Saving Nature with Your Yard” is available April 8 in stores and on Amazon.