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Hungry, voracious caterpillars can be found in a wide variety of colours and sizes. Some feed on fruits, roots and stems, but the likes of the cabbage white butterfly, hawk moth and winter moth feed on leaves. Although they may at first seem an attractive form of wildlife, large ...

Protected from predators and the risk of dehydration inside its moist ball of bubbles, the juvenile yellow-green froghopper (or spittle bug) is busy sucking plant sap. It's quite harmless unless it's attacking the shoot tips, which can result in distorted growth. The adult frogho...

to pets and wildlife than those with metaldehyde. In both cases, a light scattering usually does the trick. Bin the bodies in the morning.seedlings, bedding plants, herbaceous perennials, root crops, strawberriesall year roundMore advice on dealing

Snails, like slugs, cause a great deal of damage to plants. They feed mostly at night, seeking shelter during the day from the drying effects of the sun. However, the snail's shell allows it to move more freely than a slug over dry areas, such as paving. It too, leaves a tell-tal...

Turn over a leaf and you'll see 2mm long white flies. With a life cycle of just three weeks, whitefly breed very fast. Both adults and offspring are sap feeders and a severe attack will weaken a plant. They excrete the sticky excess, called honeydew, onto lower leaves where it en...

The culprit is the flea beetle, which, like its namesake, jumps away when disturbed. The small, shiny, black, brown or blue beetles emerge in April and May, after winter hibernation, ready to start feeding. Eggs laid near host plants hatch in late-summer. The beetles feed for a f...

The winding trails on leaves are caused by the larvae of a small, dark fly. During summer, the females make little nicks in the leaf surface to lay their eggs. A week later, these hatch into larvae, which tunnel along just under the leaf surface to feed. After 2-3 weeks, the larv...

with the biological control Steinernema carpcapse.With heavy infestations, use an insecticide based on pyrethrum (only use once a season on crops).brassicas and nasturtiumsearly spring to autumnCommon problems when growing vegetables