Natural pest control for your garden

1 Herbal sprays
Strong aromatic herbs can be used to repel insects. You can steep 200g of herb leaves and stems in one litre boiling water. Cover and allow to stand overnight then strain and spritz the liquid over infested plant.

2 Beetle traps
To trap rose beetles, cut an 4×4 cm window in the top section of a 2 litre cold drink bottle and paint a yellow band above and below the window. Fill the bottle with sugar water. For chafer beetles that are active at night, position a bucket filled water and a little oil under a light at night.

3 Other beetle controls
The compost heap is the main breeding ground for flower beetles. Fork over the compost and kill the large, juicy looking white grubs that appear. Flower beetles can easily be collected by hand at midday when they are feeding.

4 Lawn caterpillar
Saturating the lawn may drown the caterpillars or bring them closer to the surface where they will be picked off by birds. Get rid of larvae by placing a wet towel on an infested area overnight and when the towel is lifted early the next morning the larvae will be attached to it.

5 Snails and slugs
Sprinkle dried and crushed egg shells or dried coffee grounds in unbroken lines around a bed, or around a plant.