pest control

Many gardeners want to control garden pests, but in a way that’s not going to harm the environment or beneficial insects. Here are some environmentally friendly pest control tips to minimise impact on beneficials in the garden and product recommendations that are safe to use in the garden. There are now many organic options for pest control, which include biological...

Lace bug is a serious pest in gardens, attacking the leaves of azaleas and rhododendrons. The damage it causes is seen as bronzing or silvering on the top of the leaves (see image above), but the pest itself is active underneath the leaf. If you look on the underside of a damaged leaf, the tiny pest along with frass (insect...

Before you squash that insect – are you sure it’s a pest? Many insects are beneficial to have in the garden and repay their accommodation by eating the real pests, or otherwise being food for birds and other animals. If you are unfamiliar with an insect, watch it for a few minutes and it may reveal whether it is a...

Many new gardeners are amazed to discover that pests can seek out and attack plants growing indoors, or even out on a balcony of a high-rise building. One way or another, pests find plants - even when they are inside and away from the natural environment. They may already have been present when you purchased the plant, or hitched a...

If you love playing in the dirt, you know all about the important role bees play in pollinating and maintaining earth’s balance. Without bees there would be no flowers or food for us to eat. But if you can’t accommodate bees as your garden guests due to allergies, there are plenty of easy, natural solutions that won't harm bees or the...

From baking soda to beer, everything you need to keep pests (and chemicals) out of your garden, is at your fingertips. Ants Mix ¼ cup of icing sugar with one tablespoon of borax and sprinkle where ants hang out. The worker ants will take the powder back to the nest and the nest will be eliminated. Keep the borax away from children and...

During warm weather aphids thrive, building up their numbers in preparation for an all-out assault on your tender new growth.

We can’t think of a more rewarding fruit or vegie to grow than tomatoes. They can take up a relatively small space, growing happily in a pot, and produce plump, juicy fruit for months on end.