In an era where we are encouraged to be more environmentally friendly, anyone with a garden has the opportunity to do their part for the environment - such as using less chemicals like herbicides, pesticides and man-made fertilisers.

Here are a few suggestions to control some of the more common pests in your garden.

Aphids

Aphids are small sap-sucking insects.
They attach themselves to the veins of young leaves and stems. With a sharp probe, they pierce the vein of the plant and suck the sap.
They also produce a sticky by-product, which is sometimes the first sign that an infestation is present.

Aphid control

There are several methods that can be used to control aphids.

1. Natural soap washing-up liquid - mixed with water and sprayed onto the aphids. Aphids breathe through their skin. Spraying with a solution of washing-up liquid blocks the pores of the skin and they suffocate.

2. Natural predators of aphids include lacewings and ladybirds.
If you have no lacewings or ladybirds in your garden, it's possible to buy packs of eggs via mail-order. The eggs are placed on the plant, near to where the infestation is. Both larvae and adults will consume many aphids in one day. By placing bug boxes around your garden, you are providing a winter shelter for lacewings and ladybirds

3. Another way to rid your plants of aphids is to run your thumb and forefinger along the stems and leaves of plants and brush the aphids off. Do this gently so as not to damage the plant.
Once the aphids have been brushed off, they will not climb back onto the plant. Use this method every 2 days for one week and the aphids will be gone.

4. Hoverflies¹ are always welcome visitors to the garden. Their larvae feed on many pests, primarily aphids and small caterpillars, and encouraging them to your garden is certainly worthwhile. Flowers which provide nectar and pollen will encourage these handy insects to breed. Hover flies like flat open flowers, such as feverfew and poached egg plant - Limanthes They also like flowers rich in nectar - like hebe's and golden rod - Solidago

Slugs

Slugs can destroy a whole plant overnight and wreak havoc
in the vegetable plot - during the day they hide in damp shady places and can be difficult to find. There are lots of methods to try and keep this pest from eating all of your crops and flowers.
Some are successful, others not quite so effective.

Slug control

1. Traps are quite effective, though they have their drawbacks.
An old jam jar, or the bottom of a plastic bottle, can be used as a trap. Sink the trap into the ground up to the rim of the container. Half fill the container with beer, lager or cider. Slugs will be drawn by the smell and slide into the trap, where they drown.
One drawback is that other beneficial insects will also be drawn to the traps and drown. Another drawback is that the traps have to be emptied and refilled regularly.

2. If you have pots or containers, copper tape can be used to help protect the plants. It is stuck around the container and gives the slug a small electric shock which deters them. It is only effective if the leaves of the plants do not trail down over the container, or are not accessable via another plant.

3. Gravel, crushed egg shell, small nut shells, orange peel and salt. All these methods have been used with little success. Salt should not be used around plants, as the build up of salt in the soil will eventually kill the plants.
Its worth remembering that a slug can crawl along the edge of a razor blade without harming itself.

4. Nematodes are an effective way to rid your garden of slugs. They are a microscopic parasite that feeds on slugs.
Nematodes can be bought by mail order. They come in a sachet which you add to water and then apply onto your garden. The treatment has to be repeated every 6 weeks between March and October - to keep you garden virtually slug free.

5. If you are lucky enough to have frogs, toads, hedgehogs or slow-worms living in your garden, you have the ideal slug eaters.
Encourage frogs into your garden by making a wildlife pond. Have a small pile of logs for them to hide under.
An open compost heap is an ideal habitat for slow-worms, where they can burrow and shelter. Hedgehogs will also benefit from a compost heap.
An old wooden crate, placed in a secluded, sheltered part of your garden, covered with dead leaves, will make and ideal shelter for a hedgehog.

Vine weevil

Both adult and grubs of the vine weevil eat plants - the adults eat leaves and shoots, leaving holes in leaves.

Vine weevil control

The grubs do the most damage. Found mostly in container and potted plants, the adult vine weevil lays its eggs into the soil. The grubs hatch and start eating the roots of any plant available.
They are a very destructive pest, killing plants very quickly. The grubs are easily recognised, almost white in colour, with a light brown head. The first sign of vine weevil grubs is a dead plant, with no roots.
There is only one organic control for this pest, a nematode that feeds on vine weevils. Watered into pots and containers, they will feed on the grubs. Nematodes are available by mail order and used between March to November.

Caterpillars

Caterpillars come in many sizes, from little green ones, hairy ones, to big fat ones. They are all designed for the same thing, to eat as much as possible, in a short time.

Caterpillar control

Caterpillars have many natural predators. Birds will take many to feed their chicks. Frogs and Toads will also eat them, if they are within reach.

Parasitic wasps will paralyse the caterpillar, then lay their eggs either inside, or around the grub.

The most effective way to deal with caterpillars on your plants, is to pick them of and dispose of them. Also look out for the eggs, which appear in small clusters, or individually on the underside of leaves.

The first sign of caterpillar damage is usually when the plants have been half eaten.

Another natural control for caterpillar is an organism called Bacillus thuringiensis, which destroys the caterpillar from the inside.

Companion planting

In some cases, companion planting can be an effective deterrent to many pests. They can often be distracted from their favourite food source by planting plants with strong smells and/or large blooms nearby; these will either repel the pests with their odour or simply make the smells so confusing they cannot locate your favourite plant properly! For example, marigolds not only look and smell nice, but will keep a whole range of bugs off your plants. planting several marigolds in a greenhouse, will help deter whitefly from your tomatoes and cucumbers. Onions or parsley planted near your carrots can likewise keep your crop bug-free.

It is well worth considering turning to organic methods of gardening. Not only will it benefit the environment, it will also bring lots of wildlife into your garden.

For more information about creating a wildlife garden you can visit here The Gardeners Guild