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vulnerable to attack, so protect them by waiting until they're a good size before planting out. Exploit the beetles' habit of jumping and catch them with a sticky trap. Coat a piece of card with grease, such as insect barrier glue, leaving a clean strip along

trees and bushesall year roundMore common garden pestsWoolly aphidsScale insectsPear leaf blister miteLeafhopper

or they'll fly off.At the first sign of attack, spray plants with imidacloprid, thiacloprid or sunflower oil. Treatment is more effective on larvae than adults.lilies, fritillaries and Solomon's sealspring, summer, autumnMore common garden pests

of plants. They debilitate the plants and secrete a sticky, sugary honeydew that covers the leaves, which often results in further problems, such as sooty moulds. Infestations of white, waxy insects on indoor and greenhouse plants, along with sticky honeydew

, and can be picked off by hand.The moment you spot an infestation, spray them with pyrethrum. If the plants are in flower, spray in the evening, so pollinating insects aren't affected.verbascum, buddleia, figwortsmid-spring to midsummerMore advice

. The adults have six legs and a pair of antennae, moving in the open at night, chewing the edges of leaves. This isn't itself a problem, but the fact that each adult is a female, laying almost 1,000 eggs in summer, is alarming.Holes and notches chewed out

The caterpillars of both the small and large cabbage white butterflies are are the two culprits. The first is pale green with a body up to 2.5cm long, the second is bigger at 4cm and is yellow with black markings. The adult butterflies lay eggs

More common garden pestsRosemary leaf beetleLily beetleVine weevilThrips

These miniscule sap-sucking insects multiply rapidly on leaves. Large colonies are immediately evident, as are the symptoms - silvery-white discoloration of the leaves and distorted shoot tips and buds.Packed clusters of tiny white insects on leaves

These tiny, sap-sucking pests may be only 0.5mm long but they can wreak havoc in a greenhouse or on houseplants indoors. For most of the year they are a pale green colour with two dark spots on their back; it's only in autumn and winter