How to Defend Your Garden from Pests, 1824

George Shaw, Zoological Lectures (1809),NYPL

With respect to caterpillars, snails, and slugs, they can only be gathered by hand, and the way to do this effectually is to begin as soon as they appear, employing women or children to look them over daily early in the morning. Poultry, and especially ducks and sea-gulls, are sometimes of use in keeping these and other insects under; a hen and chickens will devour caterpillars and aphides greedily, but are apt to scratch the soil afterwards, if not timely removed; turkey fowls are better.

John Claudius Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening

For pest control, try keeping a flock of women and children in your garden this year.