Slugs and bugs

As the warmer spring weather gets underway it’s not just your plants that start to wake up it’s also all the garden pests set to feast on your prized garden plants. 

The good news is with some simple preparations and planning ahead many of the slugs and bugs problems you garden plants face can be avoided 

The GardenAdvice top tips on avoiding garden pests this season 

Feed your plants – a good place to start with the prevention of pest damage to your plants is to feed them with a plant food high in potash such as liquid tomato feed which will harden the cell walls on the leaves and stems making them harder for aphids and slugs to damage.

Slugs – It’s been a hard winter with lots of frosts so this season slugs should not be too much of a problem but planning ahead will help prevent slug damage to your plants. Setting beer traps and ordering some slug nematodes More 

Capsid bugs – damage is often seen as holes in your shrub’s leaves such as viburnum during early spring. Although capsid does not cause the plant too much damage it can be unsightly. Using a simple companion planting method is the key to limiting the damage.

Aphids – Learning to tolerate a few aphids on your plants is part of becoming a good gardener. However, if aphids on your plants become a problem using a soft soap spray that is organic will help control them. It’s important not to use systemic chemical sprays because they will become part of the food chain with bees and garden birds such as blue tits. Another interesting method of the control of aphids is to encourage garden birds to visit your infected plants by placing bird feeders around these plants.

Vine weevil – The unseen killer of pot plants, a small brown head maggot that lives in the compost eating your plant’s roots. They are best controlled with a biological control method such as vine weevil nematode

For more advice on slugs and bug problems in your garden visit our online gardening advice service or ask your Gardenadvice MyGardenTeam expert gardener 

Gardening courses for beginners - new to gardening a GardenAdvice course is a great place to start

One day gardening courses especially created for beginners and novices run in your own garden throughout the UK by the GardenAdvice expert gardeners - Great as a  gardening gift for the gardener in your life. Become a gardener with the GardenAdvice Gardening Course If you are new to gardening it can all seem a bit complicated at first with all the Latin names and the gardening terminology. GardenAdvice.co.uk have developed a especially designed short one day course to be able to teach you all the basic skills of gardening to get you started. The courses in your own garden cover such basic skills as pruning, correct digging methods, growing your own shrubs and creating the perfect lawn. See some of our clients our gardening course and our MyGardenTeam service on our websites client section on the GardenAdvice website For further information visit or gardening courses section or for further information email us at admin@gardenadvice.co.uk or telephone us on 01225 637218