Common garden pests

There's nothing quite like finishing your new garden DIY project, and then waking up in the morning to find that a slug has decided to make a home of your plant.

Here is a list of some common garden pests and how you can deal with them!

Slugs

These slimy fellows are most active at night, thriving in shady spots such as well mulched garden areas.

You can help to eliminate slugs from your garden by removing any rocks, debris or bricks that they may shelter under.

Try to also avoid watering your plants at night, as slugs love damp spots, instead opting for an early morning water.

Caterpillars

These creepy crawlies love to chomp bites out of your greens, but a spray of insecticide should see them leaving your plants alone.

It's probably not a good idea to spray your edible plants with insecticide, but a quick spray with the garden hose should do the trick of sending them on their way!

You may also want to speak to a plant specialist about a natural spray solution to keep caterpillars off your fruits and vegetables.

Birds

Birds can often fly through your garden and take cheeky nibbles of your tomatoes and other vegetables, but you can help to prevent this by putting netting around your plants to fence them off.

One idea that is often thrown around on gardening forums is to hang shiny objects - such as CDs - on a string around your plants to frighten away any birds.