Preparing for the pests

Think ahead and harness the power of nature

- Ruth Hayes

THE last thing I needed to find on a Monday morning was an old module tray that had become a residential unit for snails. On the plus side, they were discovered before they had time to rampage through the garden, and are now roaming wild and free in the fields over the road.

The warmer weather and abundance of soft new growth make spring a boom time for pests, whether they are whitefly in your greenhouse, aphids on your roses, slugs and snails anywhere or pigeons pecking your young brassicas.

It's tempting, I know, to ruthlessly tidy everything up and reach for the chemical sprays in a preemptive strike. But I suggest you stay your hand.

While clearing away garden debris will remove dark recesses where pests lurk, it will also leave the beneficial bugs and invertebrates that pollinate plants and eat pests with nowhere to go.

Leave a couple of unruly patches of garden where 'pest controllers' such as ladybirds, spiders and beetles can hang out, make time to check plants regularly and remove pests by hand before small colonies turn into an infestation.