I'm the same. A couple of years ago we had a wasps' nest right over our front door porch and every arrival or departure was a running of the gauntlet. We had no option but to call in the local pest man. He got rid of our wasps, after two goes, and told us how much he hated killing things and was going to retire. He gave me four mole traps.

I have a half-acre garden in the middle of "unsympathetic farm-land." When we moved here 35 years ago it was just an open field. There were two beech trees, a couple of poplars (which we rapidly had removed) and a large apple tree. The beeches and apple are still there, but I've created a very diverse haven for both people and varmints. There are flowery areas near the house and around our two sitting-out places, my big veg plot with two greenhouses, hedges and shelter belts (mainly native elm) all around and several wild areas around the outside left to brambles and nettles, the latter around the edges and judiciously hidden from view. I've made a mini-orchard area around the original apple trees. Other than trying to control slugs, and fighting black spot on my roses, I rarely need to resort to pesticides. That was not the case when we started out. I've concluded that as wide a diversity as you can manage, preferably embracing native species, will mean that you can garden without pesticides and attract all your local wildlife. And why not!