Top 5 Most Disliked Garden Pests

The real struggle to keeping your garden alive and thriving is the battle against common garden pests! Below you’ll find a list of the pest gardeners hate the most, and more importantly, advice on how to get rid of them without using pesticides or other such chemicals that can damage your garden and ruin your hard work!

1) Slugs and Snails –

Every Kids and Gardeners worst discovery in the garden is the dreaded slug (and the less offensive but still a pain) Snail. These pests cause havoc in gardens throughout the year, eating holes in leaves, stems, flowers, tubers and bulbs.

How to get rid of them: Did you know that Slugs love beer? If you can spare some of this beloved liquid, simply pour a small amount into a container (a metal can will do the trick perfectly) and then bury it. The slugs will then crawl into the beer and drown. The only downside of this method is the fact that you will have to dispose of the slugs and may need several traps.

For snails you can simply place a small plank of wood on top of the soil, the snails will then seek refuge in the damp shelter underneath. Following this, you can simply lift up the wood and remove the snails.

2) Cats –

According to a survey conducted by the Telegraph, 34% of Gardeners stated that cats were their most hated garden pests, with many calling them ‘murderous’. While cats are beloved by many, for gardeners they ruin plants, mess up borders and kill the wildlife they’ve been nurturing.

How to get rid of them: despite their bad behaviour, most people wouldn’t dream of hurting a cat to get rid of it, after all they’re just so fluffy! However, the perfect compromise is our CATWatch Deterrent. This device emits an ultrasonic signal which is harmless to cats (and other wildlife), but it is unpleasant for them. This therefore means that they’ll voluntarily choose to avoid the area the device protects! It a win-win.

 SIDE NOTE: CATWatch is the only cat deterrent tested and approved by the RSPB, meaning we can confidently say that it will not have any affect on the birds in your garden!

3) Aphids –

Aphids are a common garden pest that can cause big problems. They are often hard to get rid of because they are too small to see and reproduce quickly. More than this, they can cause viral disease in your garden and target a wide variety of crops.

How to get rid of them: this said, there are several different methods you can use to get rid of Aphids. Firstly, you could try planting onions near infected plants as they are known to repel Aphids. Secondly, you could create your own chemical free repellent!

Simply mix lemon or orange rind with boiling water, essential oil, a few drops of peppermint and rosemary. Leave the mixture to ‘steep’ overnight and then filter out any large pieces using a coffee filter. Then spray on the infected plants!

4) Foxes

Another large pest is the Fox. Much like cats, foxes are renowned for digging up and fouling in gardens. They also pose a risk to any poultry or outdoor pets you may keep in your garden.

How to get rid of them: No doubt the best way to keep foxes off your property is through the use of our HUMANE ultrasonic deterrent FOXWatch. Working in the same way as CATWatch (described above) this small device is the answer to all your fox related problems.

5) Caterpillars –

Now everybody loves seeing butterflies in their gardens during the summer, however, unfortunately, Caterpillars can cause havoc to plants during the spring. The worst culprit is often the ‘white cabbage’ which destroys vegetables, fruits, and flowers.

How to get rid of them: Assuming you want to see butterflies later in the year, the best thing to do with caterpillars is to keep an eye out and move them off your prized plants. Alternatively, plant thyme and oregano around plants you want to protect as they’re known to deter caterpillars!