Pests

How Humans Create Animal Villains

by Bethany Brookshire

English language

Published Dec. 5, 2022 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-309727-8

(6 reviews)

An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals “pests” and others not—from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons—and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions, as well as our place in the natural world

A squirrel in the garden. A rat in the wall. A pigeon on the street. Humans have spent so much of our history drawing a hard line between human spaces and wild places. When animals pop up where we don’t expect or want them, we respond with fear, rage, or simple annoyance. It’s no longer an animal. It’s a pest.

At the intersection of science, history, and narrative journalism, Pests is not a simple call to look closer at our urban ecosystem. It’s not a natural history of the animals we hate. Instead, this book is about us. It’s about what calling an animal a pest says about people, how we live, and what we want. It’s a story about human nature, and how we categorize the animals in our midst, including bears and coyotes, sparrows and snakes. Pet or pest? In many cases, it’s entirely a question of perspective.

Bethany Brookshire’s deeply researched and entirely entertaining book will show readers what there is to venerate in vermin, and help them appreciate how these animals have clawed their way to success as we did everything we could to ensure their failure. In the process, we will learn how the pests that annoy us tell us far more about humanity than they do about the animals themselves.

2 editions

mikerickson reviewed Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire

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3 stars

Maybe I'm just too used to reading nonfiction published from university presses and academia in general, but this felt more colloquial and less informative than I usually prefer. I get that there's a market for this kind of less intimidating pop sci nonfiction to bring in readers that normally wouldn't give it a shot, but I guess I just wanted something with a little more meat on the bones.

I appreciate that the introduction lays down the gauntlet that the book will only be dealing with vertebrates, because when I hear the word, "pest," my first thoughts point to any number of bugs: cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, termites, ants, centipedes, etc. None of those guys show up here, but we get a good variety of animals from the usual suspects (mice, rats), to the "yeah, I guess so" critters (deer, pigeons), and even to the "didn't know that was a problem" animals (elephants in Kenya, pythons in the Everglades). And while there are occasional discussions of ~what makes an animal a pest?~, for the most part this reads as a series of personal anecdotes where the author got a stipend from the publisher to travel the world and speak to experts in a narrow field. Again, nothing wrong with that kind of book, but not what I typically read.

I wish the conclusions (for each chapter but also for the overall book) were a little stronger and landed on something more substantial than, "maybe we can be nicer to the animals around us." This felt afraid to commit one way or the other: instead of arguing either in favor of a maximum conservationist, "all animals are sacred" approach or a, "fuck 'em, let's kill them all" power fantasy we landed somewhere in the middle. And I find myself maybe a little more informed, but not persuaded to change my attitude towards the wildlife around me.

But if you hate nonfiction books but want to read one just to say that you did, this is decently approachable.

Nano Book Review reviewed Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire

Fantastic Science Narrative

5 stars

What makes a pest? Is such a label even fair? A fantastic blend of narrative and science, this book looks at different animals across time and space and our relationship to them. Prepare to have your assumptions challenged, no matter what your current viewpoint.

Jack 💜 reviewed Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire

Review of 'Pests' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A really nice overview and anthropological examination of how and why we consider certain animals to be ‘pests’ and how that perception changes over time and by location. I really like the conclusion the author comes to as she goes through species, that mutual respect and cohabitation is what we should strive towards.

My one gripe is that her chapter on feral cats makes the claim that all animal welfare/rights groups are pro-TNR, and that just isn’t the case. Many are, certainly, but the majority often skew towards not endorsing it based on the inconclusive numbers.

(Listened to the audiobook narrated by Courtney Patterson, who did a fantastic job and really helped inject just the right amount of enthusiasm and energy Brookshire’s writing exudes)

Smoak reviewed Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire

Review of 'Pests' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Very readable volume on the ways humans interact with animals, positing that it's when they intrude on our homes, cities, and personal ideas of cleanliness that we call them "pests" and try to make them leave. Looks at a range of vertebrate species and ways we've attempted to save them, kill them, and coexist with them, drawing not only on scientific studies but also Indigenous and other non-Western perspectives.

Pam Phillips

rated it

March 23, 2023

mikerickson

rated it

August 27

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