Slug fest in the wet, wet, wet

Slugs and snails were the number one problem on the 2009 Top 10 garden pests list, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Apr 2010, 15:55 BST
Updated 9th Apr 2010, 15:56 BST

The RHS Entomology team, based at RHS Garden Wisley, have compiled their annual list of garden pests, based on the enquiries by RHS members during the last year.

In second place were harlequin ladybirds; third place went to the infamous scarlet lily beetle; with vine weevil and chafer grub in

fourth and fifth place respectively.

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The cool, wet conditions of the 2009 summer were ideal for snails and slugs.

The non-native harlequin ladybird produced the second largest number of enquiries, although it is not a pest in the conventional sense. Since its arrival in 2004, it has caused a nuisance by coming in to houses to hibernate in the autumn. It has also been given a bad reputation as a destroyer of native ladybirds and other

aphid predators.

RHS Principal Entomologist, Andrew Halstead, says: "Adult harlequin ladybirds and their larvae feed mainly on greenfly and other aphids, so are helpful to gardeners. They will eat other insects if aphids are in short supply but it remains to be seen whether the arrival and spread of this new ladybird will have an undesirable impact on other aphid predators.''

TOP 10 PESTS

1 Slugs and snails

2 Harlequin ladybird

3 Lily beetle

4 Vine weevil

5 Chafer grubs

6 Viburnum beetle

7 Pear leaf blister mite

8= Ants

8= Rabbits

10 Capsid bugs

YP MAG 10/4/10