Start with holes, tunnels, mottling, sticky leaves or a failing pot. These guides help you separate likely causes, check seasonal timing and protect crops without treating every insect as an emergency.
Check what may be active now →Greenfly, blackfly and sap feeders
Identify greenfly, blackfly and other aphids on UK vegetable plants, understand sticky or curled leaves, and choose practical non-chemical controls.
A symptom-first brassica guide
Compare flea beetle, cabbage caterpillar, slug and pigeon damage on cabbage, kale, broccoli, rocket and radish leaves in UK gardens.
Carrot protection that starts early
Protect carrots in UK raised beds and containers from carrot fly using complete fine-mesh cover, careful timing, rotation and low-disturbance thinning.
Diagnose damaged leeks before acting
Tell leek moth caterpillars from allium leaf-miner maggots in leeks and onions, compare seasonal timing, and protect crops with fine mesh.
Hot-weather greenhouse check
Spot glasshouse red spider mite early on tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines by checking leaf mottling before fine webbing appears.
The pest with two kinds of damage
Diagnose vine-weevil adults and root-feeding grubs in UK containers, distinguish their damage, and decide whether a struggling potted plant can be saved.
A calmer pest routine
Hole shape, droppings, mines, webbing and root damage narrow the possibilities.
Inspect at the right time of day and use the pest’s life stage to confirm the diagnosis.
Seedlings and new transplants need more help than established plants that can tolerate modest feeding.
Photograph or mark damage so you can see whether it is continuing before escalating.