Insect Pest Control

Common insects that flourish in the warm, humid conditions within your greenhouse include aphids, thrips, red spider mite and mealy bugs. There are several simple insect pest control measures which you can carry out to reduce the chances of insect infestations in your greenhouse. One of the simplest is to keep the greenhouse clean - keep pots and trays washed and clean, clean pruning tools with disinfectant and keep tools free off compost or soil by cleaning after use.

An effective and easy method of insect pest control in your greenhouse is to use sticky traps. The bright yellow colour of these non-toxic sticky traps attract flying pests such as whitefly, aphids, thrips, midges, leaf miners and hoppers, mites and fungus gnats. As well as catching flying insects, these also show you what insects are causing problems.

To reduce the risk of plants in your greenhouse being affected by pests, keep a regular check on your plants. Lift the leaves and check underneath them for signs of insects laying eggs. If plants already seem to be diseased as a result of insect or aphid infestation, consider removing the badly affected plants from the greenhouse so they can't contaminate your healthy plants. Also, check new plants for pests before you put them inside your greenhouse - a precautionary pest control.