Bugs

Bugs-don't let the bugs bug you this summer.

The number of creatures in people's gardens is massive.  Some creatures are very beneficial, some are not at all helpful to the gardener.  Some look pretty but can cause a lot of damage.  Some look lethal and yet they are harmless.  Some times they are invisible and all you see is the damage to the plant in question. 

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Where do you draw the line, between a bug worth worrying about and one worth ignoring?  I think the answer is down to the individual with the garden.  Ants on the stems of plants are only there because they want to eat the aphid eggs.  Aphids sap sucking insects such as greenfly.  I have had a commercial spraying certificate for many years and the bottom line message from the course was the only spray chemicals as a last resort.

Nowadays, there are only a handful of sprays on the market and it is essential to meet all health and safety requirements and read the label to check that it does what you want.  You may only use it for what it says you can use it for.  If you have a plant with a deformity and you are not sure what the problem may be, then you can take a digital photograph, write a brief description and upload it into the Pests and Disease Forum and hopefully you can get a diagnosis and a remedy if there is one.  Please note, anything doing damage in your garden, from rabbits to deer and even children's footballs are pests!!  Sometimes it is worth just getting to the bottom of the cause, just in case it is a one-off and the chances of a recurrence is very slim.

A good example of this, would be the Leafcutter Bee.  The leaves on the affected plants would have up to 1 inch long and a third of an inch deep, chewed from the leaves creating a "C" shaped notch, quite often this occurs on roses.  The Bee very rarely returns to the same plant the following season.  Trying to kill them would be sacrilege, as they are excellent pollinators too.  Don't be frightened to find out and then when you have the answer you can proceed correctly.  Bugs away.