Garden pests of 2013?

[eddie]

Our cute cats & their friends who love to sit, lay down and fight in our new flowerbeds or like to dig up freshly sown seed and bulbs. And the snails and slugs invasion this year....

[Blairs]

And the snails and slugs invasion this year....

Interesting Eddie. It has been very dry across most of the UK, so the snail and slug population has been badly hit this year and that seems to show a corresponding rise in Caterpillar, red spider mites and other insect populations, going by everyone's replies.

Has it been a wetter spring/summer in NL for you to have lots of snails/slugs?

[Rabbie]

Caterpillers and cats.

[DAVIDEVANS]

Definitely caterpillars. I didn't do anything about them. I enjoy butterflies in the garden so decided to do nothing but some plants especially the brugs really suffered.

[jungle jas]

Cabbage White caterpillars, they arrived late and have made up for lost time. The bright spot is no squirrels, they have finally taken the hint and left the garden alone.

[MonkeyDavid]

Definitely caterpillars. I didn't do anything about them. I enjoy butterflies in the garden so decided to do nothing but some plants especially the brugs really suffered.

Most of the caterpillars you find on your garden plants are probably moth caterpillars, there are much fewer butterfly species in the UK & they are very selective on the type of food plant, usually native plants we'd class as weeds

[huporhaha]

Rabbits; Red deer; Rabbits; Roe Deer; Rabbits; Caterpillars; Rabbits; Lepus Curpaeums; Lapins; Kaninchen; Conigli; Conies; Conejos; Rabbits.......................

[Conifers]

... caterpillars (especially on brugmansia), ...

Caterpillars have been really bad for me this year. My brugsmania have been totally shredded ...

.... especially the brugs really suffered.

Anyone know what species of caterpillar it is that can eat such a toxic plant?

[Mick C]

Rabbits; Red deer; Rabbits; Roe Deer; Rabbits; Caterpillars; Rabbits; Lepus Curpaeums; Lapins; Kaninchen; Conigli; Conies; Conejos; Rabbits.......................

You're just lucky you didn't get rabbits Hups. They can be a bit of a problem for some people, or so I'm told.

[Tom2006]

Had them all this year sick of fighting them. ...and losing.

[jungle jas]

Had them all this year sick of fighting them. ...and losing.

Try a bit if weight training, it may give you the edge.

[David York]

Under glass, sciarid fly much worse this year. Also scale on palms, and these attract ants which milk them for their excretions!

Outdoors, leafhopper. The worst year it's ever been for me.