Pest Control

Don´t forget the basic prerequisites of thorough soil cultivation and reduction of weeds before resorting to insecticides. Pull up weeds and do not leave plant debris distributed about the place.

Take obvious safety precautions when applying insecticides, such as facial and hand protection. Make sure you only apply at the right times for edible produce; typically insecticides should not be applied close to harvest. Keep products well out of reach of children and animals. Also, keep containers well marked. Always, always, clean out thoroughly spray guns and receptacles if they are likely to be used for other purposes.

Please observe that BHC, frequently referred to below, is simply a shared use name for an organochloride pesticide generally containing DDT, dieldrin, heptachlor and chlordane. Check with your supplier that his or her product is genuinely BHC based, without any cancer concerns.

Apple Sucker

Attacks: apples

Signs: petals are withered

Solution: lightly spray with BHC style proprietary product, fenitrothion or dimethoate once petals have discarded

Bean Weevil

Attacks: beans

Signs: semi-circular notches in leaves

Solution: dust on BHC style proprietary product or spray on fenitrothion with younger plants

Blackfly

Attacks: nasturtiums, honeysuckle and bean plants

Signs: colonies infest new growth, leading to stunted growth and damaged buds

Solution: mist with primicarb or pyrethrum

Cabbage Root Fly

Attacks: more all less all brassicas

Signs: immature plants wilting and look for maggots consuming roots

Solution: probably start again but ensure that all new seedlings are well powdered with pirimiphos-methyl

Capsid Bugs

Attacks: trees and shrubs that fruit in addition as many herbaceous plants

Signs: holes in leaves and fruit

Solution: mist with sprayer using BHC style proprietary product or malathion

Carrot Fly

Attacks: this particularly bothersome pest targets carrots

Signs: the maggots of this pest erode the roots

Solution: utilize an insecticide seed-dressing before planting out

Caterpillars

Attacks: many flowers, vegetables, fruit shrubs and hedges

Signs: very easily spotted, these critters go to town on eating leaves

Solution: mist or dust with derris

Codling Moth

Attacks: pears and apples

Signs: grubs lurking in the fruit

Solution: wait until early to mid summer and then spray with fenitrothion, repeat after four weeks

Cutworms

Attacks: our favorite summer edibles: beetroot, brassicas, lettuce and flowers generally

Signs: stem attack

Solution: turn a good amount of BHC style proprietary product into soil surrounding affected plants

Earwigs

Attacks: dahlias and chrysanthemums

Signs: holes in both flowers and leaves

Solution: spray plants with BHC style proprietary product and dust surrounding soil with a BHC style proprietary product

Flea Beetles

Attacks: wallflowers and brassicas

Signs: tiny craters on the surface of leaves

Solution: sprinkle seedlings with BHC style proprietary product or derris powder

Greenfly

Attacks: vegetables, roses, flowers, trees and bushes producing fruit

Signs: colonies infest new sprouts

Solution: mist liberally with derris, malathion, pyrethrum or nicotine

Leaf Hoppers

Attacks: potatoes, roses and fruit trees

Signs: faded patches on leaves

Solution: spray regularly (once every two weeks) with BHC style proprietary product, malathion or nicotine

Leaf Miners

Attacks: shrubs and flowers

Signs: the larvae tunnel by the tissue of leaves and cobweb-like gossamer effects will be easily observable

Solution: pluck off all affected leaves closest and burn off, spray remaining plant with BHC style proprietary product

Leather Jackets

Attacks: grass, lawns in particular

Signs: obvious brown patches, pull them up and you will find gray grubs around the roots

Solution: saturate soil with pirimiphos-methyl

Mealy Bugs

Attacks: greenhouse plants

Signs: small creamy oval pests embalmed in wax and resting on leaves

Solution: drench with formothion or malathion

Onion Fly

Attacks: onions, shallots, garlic

Signs: grubs in bulbs, wilting leaves

Solution: liberally sprinkle calomel over soil just after sowing

Pea Moth

Attacks: peas

Signs: maggots in the pod

Solution: as flowers bloom, spray with fenitrothion

Raspberry Beetle

Attacks: raspberries, blackberries, loganberries

Signs: grubs eating the fruit

Solution: wait for fruit to half ripen, giving off a pinkish color, and spray with derris

Red Spider

Attacks: fruit trees and shrubs, tomatoes and vines, proliferating in greenhouses

Signs: red mites presenting themselves on undersides of leaves, top sides will often appear mottled

Solution: drench thoroughly with derris, dimethoate or malathion

Root Aphid

Attacks: asters, pot plants and lettuces

Signs: wilting leaves

Solution: dilute malathion and water well around roots

Sawfly

Attacks: apples and plums, rabidly when got a keep up

Signs: look for grubs in the fruit

Solution: allow petals to fall and then spray with BHC style proprietary product as soon as possible

extent Insects

Attacks: fruit trees, vines, shrubs

Signs: small, dark, flat insects thriving on underside of leaves and stems

Solution: mist well with malathion

Slugs and Snails

Attacks: pretty much everywhere and everything

Signs: seedlings destroyed and enormous damage to established plants

Solution: put down metaldehyde and/or methiocarb

Thrips

Attacks: love gladioli but other plants too

Signs: mottled, silvery leaves and flowers

Solution: spray with BHC style proprietary product, malathion, nicotine or derris

Tortrix Moth Caterpillars

Attacks: trees, shrubs and love apples and plums

Signs: punctured leaves stuck to each other with silver trails

Solution: flick them off or spray with BHC style proprietary product, derris or trichlorphon

Vine Weevil

Attacks: vines and greenhouse plants

Signs: nibbling around the edge of leaves

Solution: BHC style proprietary product spray

Whitefly

Attacks: numerous plants

Signs: infestation on new shoots

Solution: mist with BHC style proprietary product, malathion or pyrethrum

Winter Moth

Attacks: fruit trees

Signs: at caterpillar stage, eat leaves and fruit

Solution: wait for buds to open and spray with derris, trichlorphon or malathion

Wireworm

Attacks: vegetables and flowers

Signs: larvae tunnel into roots

Solution: apply BHC style proprietary product to soil

Woodlice

Attacks: a mass of plants

Signs: roots and leaves eaten in a fairly irregular manner

Solution: find nest and sprinkle with ant killer solution

Woolly Aphid

Attacks: apples

Signs: a creamy fluff on branches

Solution: get onto it quickly – spray on malathion or BHC style proprietary product

Look out for signs of pests and clarify them as soon as you can. Based on the identification of the pest, decide on the correct timing for treatment and select the correct solution.