Which Garden Pest?

Which Pest?
You can see that your plants are suffering from attacks by pests but how do you know which ones? Consult the table below to find out how to identify and treat some of the common ones.

Please remember that if you use insecticides to destroy pests, you should do so in the evening to avoid killing beneficial creatures like bees. Also avoid killing ladybirds (ladybugs) because they prey on aphids.

Pest	Symptoms	Treatment
Aphids	A sticky substance on leaves & buds, sooty moulds	Use tar oil wash in winter, when aphids are present use insecticide like pirimicarb or spray with soapy water.
Asparagus beetle	Eaten leaves, stripped stems	If the infestation is light, pick off the beetles, if heavy spray with something like derris
Capsid bugs	Distorted leaves & tips with many tiny holes	Look out for larvae and spray with something like pyrethrum
Caterpillars	Gross damage to most plants, in severe attacks, some plants can be completely stripped	Pick off by hand if possible otherwise spray with pirimiphosmethyl
Earwigs	Young leaves eaten	Stuff upturned flowerpots with stray and place on canes near infestation. Remove and destroy earwigs before dusk. Otherwise spray with permethrin, etc
Eelworms	Look for browny black patches between the veins of leaves	Destroy the infected leaves or, if badly infected, the whole plant
Flea beetle	Look at the top surface of leaves for small holes on seedlings	Sow seeds in warm soil and water regularly to promote rapid growth, dust seedlings, as they emerge with derris, etc
Leaf Miner	Irregular yellowy brown patches on leaves	Destroy affected leaves or spray with insecticide like dimethoate
Lily beetle	Look for bright red beetle or reddish brown larvae on lilies	Pick off by hand or spray with permethrin
Red spider mite	A fine mottling appears on leaves and they die and fall early. You may see fine webs.	These tend to be insecticide resistant. In glasshouses, keep the humidity high and spray water on affected outdoor plants as often as possible.
Slugs & snails	Look for the silver slime trail, you will certainly notice the damage caused to leaves and soft stems on many plants.	Use beer traps or organic slug pellets. Non-organic slug pellets are dangerous to dogs and cats and can poison toads and birds that eat affected slugs & snails.


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