The good the bad and the ugly.

Robust, healthy plants have an ability to shake off pests and diseases when they occur on a minor scale.

Large infestations are another matter. When these occur you may have to intervene with a chemical solution, but only as a last resort.

Gardens are full of creatures that eat plants but they also contain at least one very efficient predator - the gardener. Whenever you are in the garden, if you make it a habit to squash snails and grubs as you find them, rub aphids out when you see them and despatch grasshoppers if you catch them, you will have gone a long way towards controlling four major pests.

Another way to keep pests at bay is to ensure that your plants are healthy and not stressed by lack of food or water or by an unsuitable climate. Insects are drawn to sick or weak plants and if you have something that seems constantly under attack, try to improve its growing conditions.

If that doesn't work, is it worth persisting with a plant that brings pests into your garden? There are plenty of others that are rarely if ever troubled.

Of course, there are many efficient, natural predators. Birds and beneficial insects such as ladybird beetles devour huge numbers of aphids, mites, mealy bugs and scales. Stick insects, praying mantis (pictured above), hoverflies, dragon flies (pictured below), lacewings, parasitic wasps, spiders, assassin bugs and predatory mites are all munching on pests unless the gardener is heavy handed with chemicals.



If you must spray use the least toxic chemical for the job. Take along an example of the pest or the damage to the plant and ask for help at the nursery or hardware store.