Garden Pests and What You Can Do About Them

 No matter what the season or where you are, those nasty garden pests will find you. Call them stalkers, call them the bane of your existence, call them (insert swear words), garden pests affect us all in some way. We take a look at the most common pests and share some tips on managing their presence, i.e., how to get rid of them!

6 Common Garden Pests & Their Removal Treatment

These six garden pests are ones I am always on the hunt for:

1. Snails and slugs – slimy trails are one thing but eaten seedlings and holes in plants are unwelcome. You can treat with snail bait but be aware this is toxic to pets. I’ve about the heard the drown the snail in ginger beer trick but am not sure how successful it would be.
   
   
2. Codling moths – if you have apple trees, you’ll understand the pain of having codling moths eat their way into your fruit. There are commercial pheromone traps available, others wrap corrugated cardboard around the trunks to trap the moths.
   
   
3. White butterfly – these white winged creatures lay all these nasty eggs which quickly turn into hungry caterpillars. Other than catching them, the best option is usually an insecticide.
   
   
4. Aphids – small little green, black, red or translucent insects that suck sap from your plants, leaving a sticky reside behind. This often leads to blackspot on roses. There are natural sprays available, or you can just use a general insect spray.
   
   
5. Whiteflies – small little moth like bugs with a wingspan of 3mm, these sap suckers prefer mostly vegetables and can cause sooty mould to form. Spray pyrethrum is usually successful at removing all traces of whiteflies.
   
   
6. Passionvine hoppers – these little brown triangular shaped moths feed on the sap of plants and are happy to eat all sorts of plants. Best treatment is to act fast and remove any egg infested foliage and use a pyrethrum spray.

Of course, the best protection is prevention, but that can be easier said than done. Avoid plant overcrowding, rotate your crops, encourage healthy soil and companion plant can help to avoid those unwanted garden pests!