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. In severe cases, growth becomes distorted, leaves curl up, the plant weakens and can die.Natural predators, such as birds, earwigs, ladybirds, lacewings, hoverflies, ground beetles, spiders and parasitic wasps are a gardener's best allies. Some

.undisturbed ground, under stones, logs and pots. Prefers cool, damp habitats.all year roundMore common garden pestsWaspsMolesSnailsAnts

above 10 celsius in the greenhouse you can use a biological control, such as the parasitic wasp, Encarsia formosa, which attacks the juvenile forms of whitefly.Sprays with products containing imidacloprid and thiacloprid, which are absorbed by the plants

the broken knopper galls lying on the pavement. A knoppergall is a strange wrinkled and knobbly growth that distorts the acorn into a large sticky folded mass. It is caused by a minute midge-like creature, the gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis. As it lays

to the fact that the local wasps are making their nests out of our new front door and cling to it like limpets every time it is opened or closed, but this was different. The whole family ended up under the table to see exactly what was going on

nestling in the overlapping planks.These are the puparia of hoverflies, probably Epistrophe elegans, a distinctive little pale orange and brown wasp mimic, often the first species to appear on the wing in March and April. Resembling smooth translucent

fewer ladybirds in my garden this year. I expect they’re missing the aphids, too.Perhaps the birds are obligingly collecting the aphids up for their young, or they've all been parasitised by some wonder wasp. Who knows, maybe it was the hard winter after

the kids’ trampoline. It’s amazing how much difference the shade makes; you can feel the drop in temperature beneath the net, and the soil is noticeably damper.Sitting in the sunshine, I’m watching the confused wasps buzzing around a bowl of strawberries, a

windfalls to collect, so we can make some more juice.I’ll save a few apples for the birds - I’m happy to feed them, but I begrudge the wasps, which hollowed out far too many fruits in this year’s crop.

August's plum time in my garden, with 'Victoria' a firm family favourite. Everyone loves them, especially my daughter Danielle, who strips my single fan-trained plum before even the wasps get a taste!This has led me to extend my plum picking season