🐛 Garden Pests
Calendar
Know what threats to expect each month and how to deal with them — without unnecessary pesticides. A healthy garden starts with early detection.
🌱 March – April
Aphids
Attacks: legumes, lettuce
- → Spray with 2% soap solution
- → Encourage ladybirds (plant daisies nearby)
Slugs
After rainy weather
- → Beer trap (sunken dish in soil)
- → Ash or crushed eggshell barrier
Damping-off (seedling mould)
From overfeeding or poor air circulation
- → Ventilate propagators regularly
- → Water at the base only, never overhead
🌿 May – June
Colorado Potato Beetle
Attacks: potatoes, tomatoes
- → Hand-pick larvae and egg clusters
- → Neem oil spray (natural insecticide)
- → Plant parsley as a deterrent near tomatoes
Thrips
Attacks: peppers, tomatoes
- → Yellow or blue sticky traps
- → Plant basil as a repellent nearby
Aphids on roses
Attacks: roses, legumes
- → Soap water or nettle liquid spray
- → Plant garlic under rose bushes
Cabbage White Caterpillars
Attacks: cabbage, kale, broccoli
- → Hand-pick eggs and young caterpillars
- → Cover with fine insect netting
☀️ July – August
Spider Mites
Fine webbing on leaves in dry weather
- → Increase air humidity (mist leaves)
- → Acaricide if infestation is severe
Potato & Tomato Blight
Phytophthora — in humid weather
- → Copper-based fungicide (Kuprikol)
- → Remove infected leaves immediately
- → Never water over leaves; avoid nitrogen-heavy feeds
Bean / Pea Weevils
Attacks: beans, peas
- → Hand-pick the red-and-black beetles
- → Pyrethrin spray if widespread
Bitter cucumbers
Stress from heat and drought
- → Regular, consistent watering
- → Light midday shading with fleece
🍂 September – October
Grey Mould (Botrytis)
Attacks: strawberries, tomatoes
- → Harvest immediately when ripe
- → Never wet the leaves; mulch with straw
Stem Flies
Late season poor germination
- → Crop rotation — never return the same crop
- → Cover beds with fleece after sowing
Mice & Voles
Storing food for winter
- → Snap traps in runways
- → Cats as natural predators
- → Wire mesh baskets around tree roots
🛡️ Year-round prevention
🔄 Crop rotation
Never return the same crop to the same spot for at least 3 years. This breaks the life cycle of soil-dwelling pests and diseases specific to each crop family.
🧪 Avoid over-fertilising with nitrogen
Too much nitrogen produces lush, soft growth that is highly attractive to aphids and other sap-sucking pests. Feed plants appropriately — not excessively.
🌅 Water in the morning
Leaves dry out through the day, reducing fungal disease risk. Evening watering keeps foliage wet overnight, creating perfect conditions for moulds and blights.
🌿 Use companion planting
Good plant neighbours naturally repel many pests. Basil deters aphids from tomatoes; garlic protects roses; marigolds keep whitefly away.
Keep a pest log in your garden diary
Record pest appearances, treatments and results. You'll know what worked and what to watch for next year.
Open garden diary →