Dealing with garden pests

In the battle against all the creepy crawlies which would like to enjoy your plants as much as you do, it’s a good idea to be well-armed. You’ll find everything you need to fight the good fight in our garden centre in Jersey: keep these essentials in the garden shed and you’ll be prepared at all times for dealing with garden pests.

Sprays: insecticidal soap takes care of sap-sucking aphids on everything from roses to cabbages: you’ll find handy spray guns in our garden centre. We also stock tree washes for getting rid of overwintering larvae and eggs on fruit trees and bushes.

Barriers: keep pests at bay without having to kill them: a screen of horticultural fleece around carrots keeps carrot fly away, while garlic granules, grit and copper rings deter slugs. Insect-proof mesh available off the roll or as a ready-to-use cloche keeps caterpillars and other pests off crops.

Organic deterrents: in our garden centre you’ll find a range of organic methods for tackling pests, from super-effective wildlife friendly slug pellets to biological controls. We also stock a range of pheromone traps to hang among your plants for catching codling moth and other flying pests.

Managing Moles

Tiny, velvety, almost completely blind, moles are among the most secretive garden creatures. You might live with one for years and never see it. But you’ll notice what it’s been up to. Moles live underground, tunneling in search of earthworms to eat. Their habit of throwing up excess soil onto the surface of a lawn as molehills is maddening enough, but their tunnels also undermine the lawn’s surface, and moles can disturb roots of young plants as they move around.

You’ll find several options for controlling moles available in our garden centre:

Trapping: set the trap in a tunnel, about 10cm below the surface. Check live-capture traps twice a day, releasing any moles at least a mile away. It’s likely another mole will move in – so repeat as necessary.

Sonic devices and repellents: these use buzzing noises or unpleasant odours to drive moles away, although they can re-invade other parts of the garden.

Mole-repelling plants: You’ll find caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris), daffodils, tall and stately Fritillaria imperialis (crown imperial) and yellow Allium moly in our garden centre: all are said to be unpleasant to moles.

Pond Predators

After you’ve taken the trouble to stock your pond with fish, or encourage lots of frogs, toads, newts and dragonflies, the arrival of a voracious predator to gobble them all up again is both upsetting and infuriating. Grey herons are among the worst offenders: once a heron finds your pond you can lose your fish, and your frogs, in a single night. Cats looking for a quick snack, foxes and even dogs wanting a swim can also be devastating to the life in your pond. Netting is a quick and easy way to protect your pondlife – sturdy pond netting is available on the roll or in handy packs in our garden centre. However it’s sometimes not practical, especially if you have mature pond plants. In this case a fence of canes strung with netting or fishing line around the edge keeps most things away. Herons are also put off by tinfoil plates hung off canes to flash and clatter in the wind. There are also high-tech options available in our garden centre, from trip-wire activated scarers to audio devices or water jets triggered by motion sensors. Please ask the staff in our Jersey garden centre for more information and advice about keeping your pond safe from predators.

Wasps Wasted

Early in the year, wasps are welcome visitors: they gobble up aphids and caterpillars by the dozen to feed to their young, leaving your plants pest-free.
By summer, though, they become a nuisance, eating holes in ripening fruit and swarming over picnics, making outdoor life almost impossible and occasionally downright painful. You don’t have to destroy wasp nests unless it’s posing a risk to you or your family. But it’s wise to keep the insects at bay using a combination of deterrents and traps.
Wasp traps can be as simple as a jar with some sugary water in the bottom to lure them in, or a device which fits into the top of a plastic drinks bottle, allowing them to crawl in but not escape again. There’s a good selection to choose from in our garden centre. Always place traps well away from seating and play areas. Effective deterrents include imitation wasp nests, taking advantage of a wasp’s natural behaviour to keep them away. Wasps are very territorial and won’t re-use old nests, so if you hang an imitation nest near your patio or seating area they’ll go elsewhere.

Ask our staff in our garden centre in Jersey on dealing with garden pests.

Dealing with garden pests.