Pests & Diseases

Mealybugs look like small blobs of white cotton tucked into leaf joints and stems. They are stubborn, so here is the patient approach that clears them.

Scale insects sit still on stems and leaves like small fixed bumps, and the soft kinds drip honeydew that grows sooty mould. Here is how to clear them.

Thrips rasp at leaves and flowers, leaving silvery streaks and distorted growth, and some spread tomato spotted wilt virus. Here is how to manage them.

Slugs and snails feed at night and after rain, leaving ragged holes and silver slime trails. Here is how to protect seedlings and strawberries without anything harsh.

Armyworms are night-feeding caterpillars that march in groups and can strip sweet corn, lawns and leafy crops fast. Here is how to spot them and keep them in check.

Most garden ants are useful, but they turn into a problem when they farm aphids and scale for honeydew. Here is how to manage them, and when to report fire ants.

Whitefly rise in a cloud when you brush a plant and leave sticky honeydew behind. Here is how to control them without making the problem worse.

Spider mites speckle leaves and spin fine webbing in hot, dry weather. Here is how to spot them and why a general insecticide often makes it worse.

Root-knot nematodes gall the roots so plants wilt in the heat and carrots fork. Here is how to recognise the damage and run the population down.

Mosaic virus mottles leaves and warps fruit, and there is no cure. Here is how to recognise it, stop it spreading, and start clean next season.

Fruit fly can ruin homegrown fruit and fruiting vegetables. Here is how to keep the flies off, break the cycle, and dispose of affected fruit safely.

Not every earwig is a pest. Here is how to tell the helpful natives from the introduced European earwig, and how to protect seedlings if you need to.