Pest Control

Identify the problem before you treat it

Half of all pest control money is wasted on the wrong product, so read the damage first.

• Holes chewed in leaves point to caterpillars during the day or snails and slugs overnight. Look for silvery trails to confirm snails, and treat with baits scattered thinly, about a small handful per square metre.
• Sticky leaves, ants running up stems or black sooty mould mean sap suckers: aphids, scale or mealybug. Oil based sprays smother all three.
• White powder or spreading leaf spots are fungal. Powdery mildew, black spot and rust all worsen in humid, still conditions, and need a fungicide plus better airflow.
• Flat weeds and bindii in the lawn call for a selective herbicide that kills broadleaf weeds without touching the grass. Check the label suits your lawn type, since buffalo needs its own formulation.

Start soft, escalate only if you need to

For most insect problems, begin with the low toxicity options: neem, eco oils and white oil smother sap suckers and are gentler on the beneficial insects doing free pest control in your garden. Pyrethrum gives a fast knockdown but is not selective, so spray it at dusk after bees have finished. Save systemic insecticides and fungicides for infestations that contact sprays cannot reach, such as scale deep in a dense canopy or fungal disease that keeps returning. Whatever you use, follow the label rate exactly: a double dose burns foliage and breeds resistance.

Weed control without collateral damage

Match the tool to the setting. In garden beds, a weed killer gel paints glyphosate onto individual weeds without any spray drift onto the plants you love. For paths, driveways and larger clean ups, a concentrate mixed into a pressure sprayer is the economical option, and a spray dye shows exactly where you have sprayed. On lawns, use a selective bindii and clover killer in late winter, before bindii sets its spiky seed. For new beds, weed mat pinned down and topped with 75mm of mulch prevents the problem rather than treating it.

Choosing a sprayer

A 2L pressure sprayer covers a courtyard and pot collection. A 5L unit is the workhorse for a standard suburban garden. Move up to a rechargeable shoulder or backpack sprayer around 15L for large blocks and acreage. Keep one sprayer for herbicides and a separate one for everything else, because glyphosate residue in a shared tank will damage the next thing you spray.

Common questions

What should I reach for first if I see aphids?

Hose them off, then follow with an eco oil or neem spray every 7 to 10 days until new growth stays clean. Ladybirds and lacewings usually hold the numbers down after that.

Are these products safe around pets and children?

Used as directed, yes, but the label is the law: keep everyone off treated lawns until the spray has dried, store concentrates sealed and out of reach, and choose iron based snail baits if pets share the garden.

When is the best time to spray?

Early morning or evening, in still conditions, with no rain forecast for 24 hours. Avoid spraying open flowers where bees are working, and skip days over about 30 degrees, when oil sprays can scorch foliage.

Prevention beats cure. What else helps?

Healthy plants defend themselves. Feeding and mulching from our potting mixes, mulches and fertilisers range reduces the stress that invites attack, our tools and accessories cover the pruning gear that opens up airflow, and our guide to identifying and treating common plant pests and diseases is worth a read before anything goes wrong.