A garden pest is any animal or insect that causes damage to plants. This may be by chewing leaves, sucking sap, removing bark or tunnelling through leaves, fruits or stems. Many pests can also damage plants by spreading viral or fungal diseases, whilst others, such as aphids, coat the plant in a sticky substance (honeydew), which encourages the growth of sooty moulds.

In this section, we take a look at some of the most common of these pests, including information on the type of damage they inflict on plants and some of the tried and tested methods of controlling them.