Step up pest patrols

Just as plants are waking up from their winter slumber, so are many garden pests keen to make the most of spring growth. Sap-sucking aphids are probably the greatest exploiters, rapidly multiplying as they smother and drain the goodness out of soft, juicy leaves and flower buds. Look for them on roses, citrus and anything that is having a flush of foliage. Blast them off with water from the hose, or coat with a soap spray. Scale insects will be happily multiplying on new leaves and stems of gardenia, ixora and natives, including bottlebrush and melaleuca. Scrape them off with the back of your thumbnail or smother with an oil-based spray. Caterpillars will be fattening up in the vegie patch, particularly on members of the cabbage family, including kale and broccoli. If you see any chewing damage, pick off the grubs. Look around the leaves for their tiny, yellow eggs, which can be rubbed off. Bronze-orange bugs (stink bugs) are likely to be having a celebration in your citrus trees. It’s time to stop them, or you’ll risk losing most of your crop. Check trees regularly over the next month or so, and knock the bugs off with a stick into a bucket partly filled with water and a capful of kerosene. Cover your eyes and skin to avoid their caustic squirts. Fruit flies will be emerging, so install baits, and cover fruit with exclusion netting or bags.