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to your veg patch you'll be ok. You can buy ant nematodes which are a natural predator of ants. You mix with water and drench the affected area. It worked on an ant nest in a large container in my garden last year. You can buy them online - just search

, As obelixx says, giving them a good feed and plenty of water will help them fight off bugs.  There is a predator for spider mite, but it is expensive (do a search for Phytosieulus persimilis.)  As long as temperatures stay above 15C, they will kill the lot

working alone. As well as cautious humans removing them from allotment sheds, the nests are also prone to flooding, mould and disturbance from predators. The queen will have to look elsewhere for another suitable site. With luck she will now find a hollow

the chicks flown the nest, or had a predator struck?Last week, while inspecting my standard roses for signs of pests I was amazed to come face-to-face with another nest perched in the thorny head of the bush. It contained three small speckled blue eggs. I

the camouflaged hind wings. If disturbed they'll flick up the front-wing eye spots in an attempt to startle a would-be predator, before taking flight as a final resort.The gatekeeper is a very common butterfly, but I hardly ever saw it when I lived in Nunhead

, the sparrowhawks move in too. We've moved the bird feeders and stopped using those that seem to leave the small birds exposed to predators. But what's the answer? It looks as if we're going to have to build a sort of Eden Project-esque mini-dome of chicken wire

!Slugs are everywhere, although they hide away pretty well until my back is turned, then come out in force to feed. By sheltering during the day and emerging under cover of darkness, they escape my attention as well as that of many wildlife predators. The occasional

this late in the year the dung-flies are ready to recycle. The adult flies, although only 7-10 mm long, are fierce predators, attacking other small insects they catch on the wing. Unlike houseflies, they do not come indoors, are not attracted to human food

-friendly garden should have a tree for them to perch in, and lots of dense shrubbery and climbers where they can hide from predators.Looking at the bare bones of my garden I can see why the birds aren't coming. There are lots of climbers, which, once they have

hoverfly). Both of these are supposed to resemble the common wasp to deter predators, and are completely harmless. They lay their eggs on plants and their larvae eat aphids.Having abandoned hopes of growing the world's tallest sunflower, I'm now content