ah pests. ylu gotta love em. they can undo hundreds of man hours and ruin thousands of dollars worth of troduct and equipment in as short as 15 minuites. if growing outdoors deer and rabbits can strip a plant of all leaves in a hour.
raccoons love bud when its getting sticky. and they are a najor problem in many parts or north america. i know from first hand experience.
that said, its up to you to learn what the dope eating /destroying pests that share your area. take precautions so you dont have to deal with them damaging. fences, scarecrows, theres hundreds of ways to deter animals. dont use chemical shit on something if theres no problem.
and if you get a pest problem, quickly learn about the pest and kow to kill it. dont fuck around with pests. just kill em so they dont come back. im not saying to hurt a cat for entering your grow. a legit pest or vermin is another issue all together. but prevention is the best method. it wwill save you a ton of headaches and cash.
ps if you get a spider mite infection, there are mites and ladybirds and they eat spider mites. theres a natural predator for most pests.
get a zapper if you have a large grow and a issue with flying bugs. or a light with no hood. like a batwing. they fry all maner of flying bugs.
always think if you can get around dirty chemmies. my buds ash is bone white cause its all organic. i never have had to resort to using a single chemical in my grows. i raise my water ph with vinegar.
venus fly traps work for small flying bugs, bit dont leave em in direct light from hid lamps, and they are swamp plants, requiring high r.h. and special care. i use em in my house as soon as i have any bugs in my house, i go and buy about 30 trapps and set em all over the place. my current local is dry so they require extra attention, however i never bought a can of raid in my life.
use the mind as a weapon, and your enemy will never sucseed. all pests are enemys. if you can deal with them in a non leathel manner, its prefferable. but decide based on the situation. do what it takes