Garden Pest Control Guide

Common garden pests to know

A garden supports a much wider range of insect and animal life than a house, and most of it is either harmless or genuinely beneficial. The pests worth actively managing are the ones that damage plants faster than the garden’s natural predators can keep up with — slugs and snails on tender seedlings, aphids on soft new growth, and lawn grubs feeding on grass roots being the three homeowners run into most often.

Slugs and snails

Slugs and snails cause the most visible, frustrating damage in a garden — ragged holes in leaves, and seedlings that can disappear overnight. They’re most active in damp, mild conditions and after rain, and are drawn to soft new growth and anything recently watered. Copper tape around vulnerable pots creates a mild electrical deterrent they avoid, and nematode-based biological controls, watered into the soil, target slugs specifically without harming other garden wildlife. Beer traps — a shallow dish of beer sunk level with the soil — are a genuinely effective, low-cost method, since slugs are drawn to the yeast and drown.

Aphids and other sap-suckers

Aphids cluster on new shoots and the undersides of leaves, feeding on sap and causing curled, distorted growth, and their sticky honeydew secretion can lead to a black sooty mould developing on leaves beneath an infested area. A strong jet of water knocks aphids off without chemicals, and is often enough for a light infestation on established plants. Encouraging natural predators — ladybirds, lacewings, and hoverflies — by planting nectar-rich flowers nearby gives your garden an ongoing, self-sustaining aphid control system rather than needing to treat repeatedly.

For a heavier infestation, an insecticidal soap spray applied directly to affected areas is effective and breaks down quickly, minimising harm to beneficial insects compared with a broader-spectrum insecticide.

Lawn grubs and chafer larvae

Chafer grubs and leatherjackets (cranefly larvae) feed on grass roots below the surface, causing patches of lawn to turn brown and lift away easily, almost like turf that hasn’t rooted. This damage is often made worse by birds and foxes digging up the lawn to get at the grubs themselves, which can look dramatic even when the underlying grub population is relatively small. Nematode treatments applied to the lawn in late summer, when grub populations are young and most vulnerable, are the most effective control method and don’t harm the birds or mammals that might otherwise dig up the lawn looking for them.

Balancing control with a healthy garden

Not every garden insect needs treating — a garden with a healthy population of ladybirds, hoverflies, and birds will naturally keep many minor pest populations in check without any intervention at all. The goal with most garden pest control is targeted management of the specific plants or lawn areas being damaged, rather than eliminating insects broadly, since a garden with no insect life at all also has no food for the birds and beneficial predators that help keep things balanced long-term.

When to call a professional

Most garden pest problems are manageable with the targeted DIY methods above. It’s worth calling a professional if lawn damage from grubs is extensive and repeated year after year despite nematode treatment, if you’re dealing with a plant disease alongside a pest problem that’s hard to tell apart, or if a persistent infestation is affecting a large area of edible crops where correct product choice and timing genuinely matter for a good harvest.

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