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Identify from a photoCurrently active in Oct, southern/eastern Australia
These 27 pests are in their peak season right now. This is the whole country, not your street. Pro scores each pest against the current weather at your own postcode.
How to use this library
- Search and filter to find the pest you suspect.
- Each page shows how to spot it, when it breeds, what weather sets it off, and how to control it and keep it away.
- Peak months use the southern hemisphere calendar. Current month is Oct.
- We check every tip against Australian government advice (QDAF, NSW DPI, Ag Victoria, PIRSA). Sources are on each page.
- Not sure what it is? Plant Check names it from one photo.
Aphids
Soft-bodied sap-sucking insects that cluster on shoots and leaf undersides. They transmit many plant viruses.
Bacterial Spot
Small dark water-soaked leaf spots that expand and merge. Common on tomato, capsicum and brassicas after warm wet weather.
Bacterial Wilt
Soil-borne bacterium that rapidly wilts tomatoes, potatoes and capsicums in warm wet soils. No cure once plants show symptoms.
Bean Fly (Bean Stem Fly)
Small shiny black fly whose maggots tunnel down seedling stems. Worst in the first 3 to 4 weeks after the seedlings come up.
Bean Rust
Rusty pustules with yellow halos on bean leaves and pods. Spreads on the wind in damp weather.
Botrytis (Grey Mould)
Fuzzy grey mould on soft fruit and dying flowers. Thrives in humid still conditions. Major problem on strawberries and tomatoes.
Cabbage White Butterfly
The white butterfly whose green caterpillars chew through brassicas, often skeletonising leaves within days.
Common Garden Snail
Introduced snail with a tan spiral shell. Rasps holes in seedlings and leafy greens, especially on cool wet nights.
Cutworms
Fat soil-dwelling caterpillars that chew through seedling stems at ground level, often overnight.
Damping Off
A complex of soil fungi that kill seedlings before or shortly after emergence. Cold wet seed-raising mix is the classic trigger.
Diamondback Moth
Small grey-brown moth whose green caterpillars skeletonise brassica leaves. Globally resistant to many insecticides.
Downy Mildew
Yellow patches on upper leaf surface with grey-purple mould on the underside. Favoured by cool wet weather.
Early Blight
Target-shaped dark brown lesions on tomato and potato leaves, starting on older foliage and working upwards.
Fusarium Wilt
Soil-borne fungus that blocks water-conducting vessels. Plants wilt on one side and progressively yellow and collapse.
Green Vegetable Bug
A shield-shaped green stink bug that sucks sap from pods, beans and tomatoes, leaving hard white spots and deformed fruit.
Helicoverpa / Corn Earworm / Tomato Grub
Native caterpillars that bore into tomatoes, sweet corn cobs, capsicums and beans. Major pest of fruiting vegetables.
Late Blight
The pathogen behind the Irish potato famine. Water-soaked patches on tomato and potato leaves, collapsing the plant within days in cool wet weather.
Mealybug
Soft-bodied sap-suckers covered in white waxy fluff. Usually hide in leaf axils, under leaf sheaths and at the crown.
Mosaic Viruses
A family of viruses causing mottled, distorted leaves and deformed fruit across tomatoes, cucurbits, beans and peppers.
Powdery Mildew
White powdery fungal growth on leaves. Worst on cucurbits, peas and brassicas in warm dry weather with cool nights.
Pumpkin Beetle
Bright orange beetle that chews circular holes in cucurbit leaves and flowers. Common in warm coastal gardens.
Queensland Fruit Fly
Australia's most damaging horticultural pest. Attacks a huge range of fruiting vegetables and tree fruits across the eastern seaboard.
Root-knot Nematode
Microscopic soil-dwelling worms that form knotty galls on roots, stunting and sometimes killing vegetable plants.
Rust
Orange, brown or black powdery pustules on leaf undersides. Common on beans, garlic, leeks and silverbeet.
Slugs
Soft-bodied shell-less molluscs that feed at night on seedlings and leafy vegetables. Worst in cool wet gardens.
Spined Citrus Bug
Native green shield bug with distinctive shoulder spines. Primarily a citrus pest but can appear on tomatoes and capsicums.
Thrips
Tiny slender insects that rasp and suck plant cells, leaving silver streaks on leaves. Several species transmit tomato spotted wilt virus.
Tomato Potato Psyllid
Small sap-sucking insect now established in Western Australia. Vectors the bacterial disease Zebra Chip of potatoes.
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
Thrips-transmitted virus that causes bronzing, stunting and fruit distortion on tomatoes, capsicums and lettuce.
Two-spotted spider mite
Microscopic sap-suckers that flourish in hot dry weather, causing leaves to bronze and dehydrate. Fine webbing gives them away.
Whitefly
Tiny white-winged sap-suckers that swarm up in clouds when foliage is disturbed. Transmit serious viruses.
Wireworms
Slender yellow-brown larvae of click beetles that bore into root crops, potatoes and germinating seed.
Curl grub (scarab beetle larvae)
A fat, creamy grub that curls into a C and eats roots. Look under a dead patch of lawn next to a bed.
Scale insects (armoured and soft scale)
Small flat bumps that stick to stems and leaves and suck sap. Look for sticky leaves, black sooty mould and ants on the plant.
Birds (Bowerbirds, Cockatoos, Pigeons)
Native birds that raid fruit, peck seedlings and strip seed heads. Most are protected species.
Kangaroos and Wallabies
Native macropods that graze leafy greens, seedlings and soft shoots in rural and peri-urban gardens. Protected species.
Possums (Common Brushtail, Ringtail)
Native marsupials that browse soft new growth, fruit, flower buds and leafy vegetables at night. Protected species.
Rats and Mice
Introduced rodents that gnaw ripe fruit, tubers and seed stores. Also a food safety risk.